5 best games like Stellar Blade to play before launch
If you’re hunting for some of the best games to play before Stellar Blade’s launch, look no further than this handy list with some exceptional titles to try.
For this list, we’ve looked at some of the key features of Stellar Blade’s combat, gameplay mechanics, and narrative and selected titles that offer a similar experience to the game.
Great games like Stellar Blade
5 – Vanquish
Click to enlarge- Platforms: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- Release date: 2010
- Key features:
- Intense firefights and fast-paced combat
- Story as bizarre as it is epic
- Fast and fluid movement
This won’t be the only Platinum game you see on this list, but it is certainly one of the most underrated. This third-person shooter will have you sliding into action to engage an army of enemies who are completely unrelenting in their pursuit of taking you down.
If you want to pick up Vanquish, you can purchase it in a collection with the next game on this list, demonstrating the exquisite amount of love that goes into Platinum’s games.
4 – Bayonetta
Click to enlarge- Platforms: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, WiiU, Nintendo Switch
- Release date: 2009
- Key features:
- Unique combat and abilities
- Beguiling story
- Mother
It would be remiss of me to miss out on the mother of all mothers herself. Bayonetta is one of the most iconic female protagonists in all gaming and, by far, one of the most deadly with her array of witchy abilities.
Bayonetta is the epitome of cool, with combo-heavy combat keeping the player engaged at all times, and with a sultry story of biblical proportions that will take players to the furthest reaches of heaven and hell.
With it primarily bundled alongside Vanquish, now is the perfect time to dive in and experience the baddest witch in town.
3 – Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Click to enlarge- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
- Subscription Service: N/A
- Release date: 2023
- Key features:
- Huge, sweeping battles with unique combat
- Weapon customisation
- Big mechs are the best
FromSoftware’s mecha masterpiece is one of the most underrated games of the last year and demonstrates the sheer scale of the studio’s versatility. With Stellar Blade’s story set in a grandiose planetary war, it has echoes of the mecha title that made it onto many a Game of the Year list… including ours.
AC6 is on this list for its outlook on a devastated universe, and the sheer scale of the close and ranged combat that makes it one of the most immense experiences you’ll find today. There are even plenty of games like Armored Core 6 ready and waiting for you, should you decide to follow that rabbit hole as well.
2 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Click to enlarge- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
- Subscription Service: N/A
- Release date: 2019
- Key features:
- Incredible, fluid combat
- Parrying mechanic is incredibly satisfying
- Difficult but rewarding bosses
While often considered one of FromSoftware’s most difficult games (and that’s saying something) a pivotal mechanic of Sekiro’s combat is its precise parrying techniques, which have their way into Stellar Blade in some form.
Sekiro has a particular cadence you need to recognise if you’re going to master its difficult combat, but once you do, you’ll feel like the most powerful swordsman around. However, with Stellar Blade looming, perhaps EVE will be giving our iconic shinobi a run for his money.
What is the best game like Stellar Blade?
1 – NieR: Automata
Click to enlarge- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Subscription Service: N/A
- Release date: 2017
- Key features:
- Beautiful, sombre soundtrack
- Fast-paced, flowing combat
- Will send you on an existential spiral questioning what it means to be human
NieR: Automata is one of the most beguiling, intriguing and downright powerful gaming experiences you will ever have, as it merges existential themes with some incredibly fluid combat that feels like a gossamer dance.
Yoko Taro’s masterpiece will have you take on the roles of androids 2B, 9S and A2, you’re embarking on a quest to rid the world of machines so that humanity can return to earth. However, it’s of course never that simple, and the journey in this game is a long and spiralling one that isn’t for the faint of heart.
While EVE may be an android exploring a world following its destruction, only time will tell if it will deliver the same impact as NieR: Automata.
That’s it, five games that you should be playing before Stellar Blade’s launch and beyond. If you like the sound of any of these games, be sure to check out our Stellar Blade homepage where you’ll find plenty of guides and news coverage of the game, like all about its semi-open world.
