Seoul-based game development studio Shift Up has finally released Stellar Blade for PC earlier this month. The game, originally codenamed Project EVE, was actually supposed to launch on PC right away alongside PlayStation 4 and even Xbox One.
However, when the game resurfaced in September 2022's State of Play stream as Stellar Blade, it did so as a PlayStation 5 exclusive with Sony Interactive Entertainment set to publish. Back then, the developers still hoped for a 2023 launch, but the launch had to be delayed until April 2024, when it became available for the PS5. Shift Up confirmed a PC port and a sequel only a month later, although this version of the action game took over a year to be released.
Ultimately, though, quality is all that matters, especially given the current state of the games industry. Therefore, I'm happy to say that Stellar Blade on PC is a very solid port on all accounts. It doesn't even seem like Shift Up got any help from Sony's dedicated PC porting team, Nixxes Software, which makes the port's quality all the more impressive.
First things first. This PC version includes most of the technical bells and whistles we expect from a 2025 triple-A launch, such as:
- Full support for Ultra-wide and Super Ultra-wide display (21:9 and 32:9), cutscenes included
- Support for NVIDIA DLSS 4 Super Resolution (with the latest transformer model), AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation and Multi Frame Generation, AMD FSR 3 Frame Generation, NVIDIA DLAA and FSR Native AA
- Support for the DualSense controller's haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and controller speaker features
- Support for High Dynamic Range displays
- Six predefined frame rate limiter options (30 FPS, 45 FPS, 60 FPS, 120 FPS, 144 FPS, 240 FPS, and of course, unlimited frame rate)
Now, a few things are missing, like Intel XeSS, a 165 FPS frame rate limiter option, better HDR calibration options (they're the same for SDR: brightness, contrast, and UI brightness), and possibly a field of view slider, although the latter isn't really standard for third-person games.
Overall, though, there's more than enough here to be satisfied, especially since the game itself runs very smoothly. Powered by the Unreal Engine 4, Stellar Blade can run at an average of 540 frames per second on a GeForce RTX 5090 with DLSS Super Resolution set to Performance Mode.
In this case, however, there's little reason to use Performance Mode when the frame rate is already so high. In our testing, we used NVIDIA DLAA while also maxing all the graphics settings and still registered a maximum frame rate of 423 FPS, an average frame rate of 377 FPS, and a minimum frame rate of 313 FPS, in a custom benchmark run of the Wasteland level seen in the video above.
Being an Unreal Engine 4, Stellar Blade on PC is not entirely devoid of the all-too-familiar stuttering we've unfortunately come to expect from the technology. When analyzing the data captured with FrameView, nearly 12% is labeled as stuttering. On the other hand, the rest of the gameplay is buttery smooth, delivering a great action experience.
Sure, the game isn't the most visually demanding in 2025. It doesn't have path tracing, or even just ray tracing, or UE5's Lumen global illumination. Even so, the art style goes a long way toward delivering an aesthetically appealing experience.
The upside of launching one year later is that the game has been improved through several updates. Furthermore, there are two expansion packs (one themed around NieR: Automata and another around Shift Up's first big hit, the gacha Goddess of Victory: Nikke) that can be purchased separately or as part of the Complete Edition.
Overall, I'm having a lot of fun playing Stellar Blade. While it is a fairly straightforward experience could certainly have used more complexity (and more narrative, as noted recently by Shift Up's CEO), it understands the core of what's entertaining about an action videogame, and that's why it has reached so many players.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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