Stray Blade
- April 20, 2023
- Point Blank Games
- 2h median play time
A game with promise but in its current form just fails to hit the mark
Get on SteamCHECK OUT THE NEW DLC "VALLEY OF STRAYS" JOIN US ON DISCORD! About the Game Prove yourself in this action-adventure and master intense combat while exploring the ancient ruins of a mysterious civilization. Legends tell of Acrea the Lost Valley, a wild and overgrown place but unmistakably powerful. You found this forgotten land yet died. Time passes, and miraculously you are brought …
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a vibrant art style and interesting environments that encourage exploration.
- Combat mechanics, including parrying and dodging, provide a satisfying challenge once mastered.
- The skill progression system tied to weapon mastery encourages players to experiment with different playstyles.
- The combat feels clunky and unresponsive at times, leading to frustration during battles.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, impacting the overall experience.
- The story and character development are considered mediocre, lacking depth and engagement.
- story57 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its ambition, character development, and engaging lore, while others find it mediocre, predictable, or lacking depth. The innovative map changes as the story progresses are highlighted as a unique feature, but some players feel lost due to drastic alterations. Overall, while the story may not be the main focus, it offers enough intrigue and character interaction to keep players interested.
“The story is well-done, the environment beautiful, and controls smooth.”
“The combat is fun, leveling up weapons is neat, and the story is fantastic and gripping!”
“The story is entertaining and the voice talent is quite good.”
“The story is mediocre and really predictable.”
“The story drama between Boji and Farren isn't that great; oftentimes it feels like forced drama.”
“The story is really generic, and while it had some hints of potential, it didn't really do anything with it in my opinion.”
- gameplay33 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the engaging mechanics, such as the block-dodge-parry system and diverse weapon choices, which contribute to a rewarding combat experience. However, some users noted issues with clunky controls, visual cues that can mislead timing, and a lack of polish, including bugs that affect gameplay. Overall, while the core gameplay loop is enjoyable and offers exploration opportunities, it may require patience to navigate its imperfections.
“It's the thing that got me interested in the game, but the gameplay has been fun and engaging as well.”
“Once I got the mechanics down and the timing for block-dodge-parry down, it was a lot of fun; combat feels rewarding.”
“That being said, the core gameplay loop is fun; I like the block-dodge-parry mechanics a lot, and the different weapon choices.”
“With regards to gameplay, I thought there were some minor issues that made some enemies frustrating, due to visuals making you think they would attack sooner than they would.”
“For a souls-like game, a genre where timing and precise inputs are crucial, the gameplay feels very clunky and unresponsive.”
“The game also suffers from a very large amount of bugs, the biggest one being that the camera is constantly re-centering itself, making normal gameplay almost impossible.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the art style and aesthetics as "gorgeous" and "aesthetically pleasing," contributing to an engaging atmosphere. However, some players have reported performance issues, including frame rate drops and low-resolution textures, particularly at higher settings, which detracted from the overall experience. While the visuals are generally well-received, there are criticisms regarding repetitive environments and a lack of variety in graphical detail.
“The atmosphere and graphics overall have been pretty epic on high settings.”
“It's aesthetically gorgeous - the music, sound design & voice acting are phenomenal.”
“Textures and lighting are on point and they leaned into the art style in a beneficial way.”
“I have a fairly modern gaming computer and I couldn't go 4K with ultra graphics without low FPS and stuttering.”
“No matter what I changed the graphic settings to (even when lowering the resolution percentage to 60%), I still experienced constant frame rate drops in 4K resolution with an RTX 3080 and i9 processor.”
“Other issues are that the graphics are low-res and sort of cartoony, combat is often unresponsive and requires absolute perfect parry and blocking, there is no crouching, the only form of sprinting is to toggle it on/off, you don't get ranged weapons yet are constantly being shot by ranged weapons, there is no manual save, you spawn way back at far away shrines, and the game always looks the same taking place in boring outside fields.”
- optimization20 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 45 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including low frame rates and stuttering, even on modern hardware. While some users have managed to achieve decent performance with tweaks, the consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, leading to a frustrating experience for many. Players recommend waiting for improvements or price drops before fully committing to the game.
“The level-up system is nice and different; the only thing holding it back is the technical performance, but nothing you can't resolve by tweaking the settings.”
“Performance is pretty good; I can play it at 1080p 60+ fps mostly with ultra settings, though ultra shadows are too much. It's better to use epic settings; some areas become slightly demanding, but you can only get around 10 extra fps from lowering shadows even further and view distance. The rest don't do much in terms of performance.”
“Aside from that one gripe, the story is decent and the gameplay is a lot of fun, with very few performance issues.”
“Performance is bad, seems to take a huge toll on my machine running basic effects, and there are all kinds of bugs and glitches.”
“The game is poorly optimized.”
“The game's performance is also quite odd, even when not much is going on the screen the game fully utilizes my R7 5800X, which is a sign of poor optimization.”
- stability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with users reporting numerous animation glitches and performance issues that can hinder gameplay, such as slow response times and bugs during combat. However, some players still find it enjoyable despite these flaws, noting that it runs adequately on their systems and offers a fun experience overall.
“I give it a thumbs up because it runs great and they put effort into it.”
“The game is incredibly stable; I haven't experienced any crashes or major bugs.”
“I appreciate how smooth the gameplay is; it feels polished and reliable.”
“The game is just a buggy mess.”
“Performance is bad, seems to take a huge toll on my machine running basic effects, and there are all kinds of bugs and glitches.”
“Cons: slow or buggy feeling fighting - means attack/def don't respond quickly, forces to play all weapons for skills tree upgrade, gets stuck upon using teleport on enemy skill many times, review animation is too slow.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating the funny story and main characters. While some found the humor to be decent and not overly forced, it adds positively to the overall experience alongside the gameplay and visuals.
“The story and both main characters were funny :)”
“The good = story, visuals, humor, exploring, change difficulty.”
“The humor is okay and, most importantly, not too forced.”
- music3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music, sound design, and voice acting in the game are widely praised for their exceptional quality, contributing to an aesthetically pleasing experience. Despite some performance issues, the overall audio elements enhance the game's atmosphere, making it a standout feature for many players.
“It's aesthetically gorgeous; the music, sound design, and voice acting are phenomenal.”
“It sounds great: both the music and the voice acting are impressive.”
“The music, combat, progression, weapon variety, and beautiful environments are truly enjoyable.”
“The music is repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged during gameplay.”
“I found the soundtrack to be uninspired and forgettable, which detracted from the overall experience.”
“The audio design feels underwhelming, with the music failing to enhance the atmosphere of the game.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is highly praised for its epic quality, particularly when played on high settings, enhancing both the visual experience and overall gameplay enjoyment.
“The atmosphere and graphics overall have been pretty epic on high settings.”
“I like the atmosphere and the gameplay.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Players express a desire for additional replayability features, such as an arena mode or New Game Plus, to enhance the experience. Many appreciate the combat system, noting it significantly contributes to the game's replay value, with some even claiming it offers more replayability than traditional Souls-like games.
“Great game, has more replay value than Souls games.”
“I hope there will be some kind of arena or at least NG+ because I would love some kind of replayability, as the combat system is what makes me want to complete the game.”
“I hope there will be some kind of arena or at least NG+ mode, but I doubt it. I would love some kind of replayability because the combat system is what makes me want to complete the game.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers an expansive world to explore, with around 30 hours of content to fully experience, complemented by engaging and occasionally poignant character interactions that enhance the emotional depth of the narrative.
“It just wants to give you a lot of stuff to explore (about 30 hours to 100% the map) and a nice, sometimes touching banter between characters along the way.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews suggest that the game's monetization may be impacted by insufficient advertising and public awareness, potentially affecting its overall success and player engagement.
