Shift Up’s Stellar Blade is one of the decade’s great action games, blending together quick-paced sword combat and powerful parries. A sequel is on the way, but before it arrives, Shift Up isn’t done with the first game. It arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 later this week, the latest in a long line of satisfying Switch 2 ports, even if it shares the same issues as most of them.
Stellar Blade was originally a PlayStation 5 console exclusive when it was released in April 2024. It later came to Windows PC in June 2025, and future entries in the series might be multiplatform as well. Stellar Blade follows a soldier named Eve as she stylishly slaughters monsters called Naytibas as she tries to save humanity.
She only has a singular melee weapon, her trusty sword, but, like Miyamoto Musashi in Onimusha: Way of the Sword, she can wreak havoc with it. Combos and different weapon skills are continually unlocked throughout the game, ensuring that skirmishes next feel stale. I’ve already played through the whole of Stellar Blade, but didn’t mind revisiting it on Switch 2 as Eve’s swordfighting is just that entertaining.
Eve also has several defensive options at her disposal that open up combat. Each perfect parry rattles my Switch 2 with intensity. Her blink-dodge allows her to zoom behind a foe for a devastating follow-up combo.
You’ll need to master the timings on those as Stellar Blade’s enemies and bosses can pack a punch. While not quite on the level of a Soulslike in terms of its difficulty, regular enemies can still give you a hard time on Stellar Blade’s middle difficulty option. New costumes are continuously acquired throughout, and Bayonetta-inspired outfits arrive alongside the Switch 2 edition this week.
Just like the base game’s outfits, most of them are skin-tight, and don’t leave a whole lot to the imagination. The same can’t be said about some of Eve’s other outfits, which are basically lingerie. The great appeal of a Switch 2 is being able to play on the go in handheld mode on a long train ride or maybe in a park.
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