Today marks the debut of Shift Up’s action RPG “Stellar Blade” on PC, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment after its release on PS5 last year. You can read our review of the PS5 version here. Prior to its PC launch, I’ve been testing out the Steam version of Stellar Blade on my Steam Deck and ROG Ally devices to evaluate the PC port and its compatibility with handhelds. Although “Stellar Blade” has been designated as Steam Deck Verified, there are many games that receive this label yet fail to deliver a good experience on Valve’s handheld. I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised by how well the PC version of Stellar Blade performs on my Steam Deck.
As an ardent fan, I’m thrilled about the enhanced edition of Stellar Blade coming to PS5, offering additional features at no extra cost such as Japanese voiceovers and more. Eager to immerse myself in a new auditory experience, I decided to sample the Japanese voiceover option on the Steam version. Unfortunately, during the initial release, my PC save file was wiped out due to a change in file path during the day-one patch download on my Steam Deck. Consequently, I found myself replaying the opening stages. Fortunately, since then, I haven’t encountered any issues with saving files across three distinct devices.
Stellar Blade PC graphics and display options
With Stellar Blade, you can customize the visual settings to suit your preference. You can choose the display mode (fullscreen, borderless, windowed), set the resolution from 800×600 up to 4K on your screen, enable or disable v-sync and set the frame rate target, adjust the aspect ratio (automatic, 5:4, 4:3, 16:10, 16:9, 21:9, 32:9), set the HUD area ratio to match the aspect ratio, toggle High Dynamic Range (HDR) on compatible displays, adjust motion blur and camera shake, enable or disable film grain, and toggle chromatic aberration.
In terms of visual settings, Stellar Blade offers several presets: custom, low, medium, high, very high, with the last one being either Steam Deck or Handheld PC depending on your device. The Steam Deck version displays the Steam Deck preset, while other devices show the Handheld PC option. For resolution scaling, only FSR 3 was available to me, though the game does support DLSS 4 as well. You can customize anti-aliasing among TAA, FSR 3 Native AA, Nvidia DLAA, or even turn off anti-aliasing in Stellar Blade. Additionally, the game allows adjustment of rendering scale, FSR and DLSS sharpness, activation of FSR 3 or DLSS frame generation, Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and fine-tuning settings for various categories.
Stellar Blade PC graphics options
In the Settings menu, you can customize various aspects of both characters and environments:
– Adjust the level of detail for environment elements (simple, moderate, detailed) and objects within characters (simple, moderate, detailed).
– Choose from different levels of texture quality for both environments (low, medium, high, very high, 4K) and characters (low, medium, high, very high).
– Modify the density of clutter in your environment (sparse, moderate, dense).
– Fine-tune the visibility of environmental objects and characters based on their distance.
The Lighting and Shadows options allow you to:
– Change shadow quality settings (poor, low, medium, high, very high).
– Alter lighting quality (low, medium, high) and volumetric fog levels (sparse, moderate, dense).
In Stellar Blade, you can modify particle and animation quality levels ranging from low to high via the Visual Effects & Animation settings. Additionally, the game’s post-processing settings enable customization of various graphical aspects such as ambient occlusion (low, medium, high), depth of field (off, low, medium, high, very high), chromatic aberration toggle, film grain toggle, motion blur quality adjustment, and screen space reflection quality (off, low, medium, high). Certain options like motion sickness accessibility, mobility accessibility, among others, can also be adjusted through the different accessibility presets.
In addition to its other features, Stellar Blade offers customizable HUD options such as size, background, compass display, aspect ratio of the HUD area, and a convenient Handheld UI Mode. This setting enhances readability of small text or difficult-to-see interface elements on handheld computers by optimizing their visibility. It’s evident that a great deal of effort has been put into ensuring Stellar Blade delivers an enjoyable experience on portable devices.
Stellar Blade PC control options
Stellar Blade offers versatile control options, with compatibility for traditional controllers, DualSense controllers when connected via cable to a PC, as well as keyboard and mouse inputs. You can customize numerous actions across these different methods, adjust sensitivity settings, swap confirm/cancel buttons, modify the intensity of vibration, tweak Adaptive Trigger functions, control the speaker on your controller, and more. The display of button prompts will automatically adapt based on the controller you’re using and the input method selected.
Stellar Blade Steam Deck full game performance impressions
If not considering other factors, I can confirm that Stellar Blade performs exceptionally well on Steam Deck, with impressive haptics, and it seems like a port that has been meticulously crafted for optimal performance across different hardware. The game has earned the Steam Deck Verified badge, which is also given to games like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, but Stellar Blade truly deserves this recognition in my opinion. However, it’s important to note that you may experience a frame rate below 60fps.
There is a significant drop in performance when navigating the game’s menu, specifically when adjusting costumes and skills. This appears to be due to rendering the character model at a higher resolution in this section, which results in a considerable decrease in performance compared to during gameplay.
Stellar Blade Steam Deck recommended settings for the full game so far
Following my play of Stellar Blade a few days ago, I re-experienced the initial hours after the day one patch was launched. To keep my settings current for any significant pre-release updates, I typically do so. However, due to an issue with saves during the review phase, I had to initiate a new save file and confirm that the following settings remain valid for both Steam Decks. Keep in mind that you’ll need to use the “SteamDeck=0 %command%” launch option (without quotes) to access features like aspect ratio and other settings restricted on Steam Deck. This is beneficial if you intend to play while docked on a higher resolution display.
There are two methods to play Stellar Blade on Steam Deck: the first method involves sticking with the default settings, without any modifications. The default settings for Stellar Blade on Steam Deck utilize the Steam Deck preset and FSR 3 upscaling at the performance setting. This configuration provides a steady frame rate of around 40fps on the LCD screen of the Steam Deck and approximately 45fps at 90hz on the OLED screen, although it’s not advisable to use Frame Generation as it causes input lag and feels unresponsive. Instead, aim for a smoother gameplay experience with better visuals at either 30 or 40fps.
The issue is that, when increasing performance or high performance, certain image aspects may appear less than ideal, even on smaller screens. This includes Eve’s hair, which is frequently visible. I suggest reducing the frame rate slightly and using FSR 3 at Quality or Balanced mode. I found a target of 40fps on Steam Deck OLED satisfactory in terms of gameplay overall.
If you’d like to enjoy gaming on a 1440p or 1080p screen, consider selecting a 1080p output and opt for either performance or high-performance upscaling based on your desired frame rate. I found myself revisiting the game’s initial hours using 21:9 and 31:9 aspect ratios to experience the difference. Interestingly, Stellar Blade feels quite good when played with 21:9 support, even when tested on a 16:9 monitor.
Stellar Blade ROG Ally impressions
I was eager to explore if the ROG Ally, with its turbo mode, could offer a 60fps portable gaming experience for Stellar Blade, given that it isn’t feasible on Steam Deck. Before delving into my impressions of the ROG Ally, I found it peculiar that Sony and Shift Up concealed the “Sign In to PlayStation Network” menu option when Stellar Blade was played on Steam Deck. Another observation was the replacement of the Steam Deck preset with a Handheld PC one. Despite having spent more hours playing Stellar Blade on Steam Deck, I’ve only recently started exploring ROG Ally, but it appears to deliver better performance when settings are comparable. In fact, achieving 60fps seems possible, although at 720p resolution with upscaling on the ROG Ally. During a two-hour playtest of the game on ROG Ally at 30W power setting to check if the lowest settings maintain 60fps, I didn’t notice any instances where the frame rate dipped below 60fps aside from the in-game menu. The images shown are from testing both 1080p and 720p resolutions with various upscaling options to maximize the frame rate.
Instead of increasing Frame Generation’s settings due to some issues I encountered, I opted to lower them to avoid additional input lag. I plan to reevaluate this decision once I’ve had a chance to thoroughly test it on the ROG Ally in the future. Currently, I haven’t noticed the typical Unreal Engine stuttering, which is promising news for those using Windows. However, I strongly advise downloading the demo first to see how the game performs specifically for you. Please note that the demo may not accurately reflect the game’s performance later on, so it’s wise to start with more conservative settings. If you’re content with a 30fps limit or maintaining around 40fps, the ROG Ally can offer a superior gaming experience compared to the Steam Deck in this case.
Should you play Stellar Blade on Steam Deck and ROG Ally
I’m torn about the portable version of Stellar Blade on handheld devices like the Steam Deck, despite its stunning visuals on PS5. On one side, I believe the game should be experienced with top-notch graphics and 60fps for optimal gameplay, but on the other, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by revisiting it on the Steam Deck for a mobile gaming experience. Compared to many recent AAA games verified for Steam Deck, Stellar Blade stands out as a more optimized and playable title. If your gaming setup only includes a Steam Deck or ROG Ally, I’d recommend giving Stellar Blade a try, but it shines particularly on PS5 or high-end PCs to appreciate the animation work, environmental details, and smooth 60fps combat fully. The game’s playability on handheld devices is promising for the overall quality of the PC port due to its optimization and various features tailored for enhancing the gaming experience.
You can now play Stellar Blade on PlayStation 5 and PC (via Steam). If you’d like to try out the PC version before purchasing, a demo is available for download on Steam.
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2025-06-12 06:56