The Gooner game is actually pretty good. I honestly have a hard time rating Stellar Blade. Still, the fact that this was Shift Up’s first major game release and it has as many good qualities as present is a HUGE feat on its own, yet their inexperience still shows throughout the experience of Stellar Blade. There are a lot of great things in this game. The combat, music, graphics, level design, enemy design, and enemies/boss fights, in general, are such a joy to experience, yet the cons of this game make the scales tip a bit. While the gameplay loop is excellent, the side quests and “open world” design feel so bland and uninspired. None of the quests and characters in them serve as memorable moments in the game's overall experience, and the copy-paste quest design doesn’t help their case. However, this stuff is optional, so what are the cons of the main game? The story and voice acting are… stale, to say the least. Throughout the story, I could already predict what would happen due to the obvious religious undertones present with the game's main cast. Still, the predictability isn’t where the problem lies for the story. It’s the lack of character writing and voice acting that harms this game, imo. I genuinely couldn't care less about the main, side, and “villain” cast. The plot twist regarding the two final villains in the game are not only a bit predictable and boring, but the voice acting and characterization make it so much worse. I have 0 connection to anything throughout the story besides the somewhat interesting ending that hints at a future sequel. My biggest takeaway from the story was just wondering where tf they take the sequel, and I like how it’s all up in the air as of right now. Shift Up has a solid foundation that can be realized in a sequel, and I am rooting for this team to deliver something great! While not the most memorable story-wise, the gameplay and boss fights are fantastic, making this a solid experience and a GOTY contender for 2024.

Final Score: 8/10

The Gooner game is actually pretty good. I honestly have a hard time rating Stellar Blade. Still, the fact that this was Shift Up’s first major game release and it has as many good qualities as present is a HUGE feat on its own, yet their inexperience still shows throughout the experience of Stellar Blade. There are a lot of great things in this game. The combat, music, graphics, level design, enemy design, and enemies/boss fights, in general, are such a joy to experience, yet the cons of this game make the scales tip a bit. While the gameplay loop is excellent, the side quests and “open world” design feel so bland and uninspired. None of the quests and characters in them serve as memorable moments in the game's overall experience, and the copy-paste quest design doesn’t help their case. However, this stuff is optional, so what are the cons of the main game? The story and voice acting are… stale, to say the least. Throughout the story, I could already predict what would happen due to the obvious religious undertones present with the game's main cast. Still, the predictability isn’t where the problem lies for the story. It’s the lack of character writing and voice acting that harms this game, imo. I genuinely couldn't care less about the main, side, and “villain” cast. The plot twist regarding the two final villains in the game are not only a bit predictable and boring, but the voice acting and characterization make it so much worse. I have 0 connection to anything throughout the story besides the somewhat interesting ending that hints at a future sequel. My biggest takeaway from the story was just wondering where tf they take the sequel, and I like how it’s all up in the air as of right now. Shift Up has a solid foundation that can be realized in a sequel, and I am rooting for this team to deliver something great! While not the most memorable story-wise, the gameplay and boss fights are fantastic, making this a solid experience and a GOTY contender for 2024.

Final Score: 8/10