Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and the early God of War games have blessed us with some brilliant hack-and-slash experiences, but the genre seems to have been going dormant in recent years. Fortunately, Stellar Blade's release back in 2024 felt less like a swan song to the genre, but a new beginning, and now the slashnaissance continues with the game's PC port just around the corner – you can get it at a tasty discount if you buy it from the right place.
It remains to be seen whether Stellar Blade will earn a place on our best action games list, but it strikes a balance between the challenge of a soulslike with the fast-paced combat of those classic hack-and-slash games. With gorgeous visuals and a kick-ass apocalyptic story to boot, Stellar Blade is one of my favorite games of last year, and I'm so glad it's coming to PC now.
You play as Eve, a cyborg who is sent down to Earth alongside her squad to retake the planet from the monstrous creatures called Naytibas. Much like many other apocalyptic games, saving your home isn't exactly an easy task, and things quickly get out of hand, leaving Eve as the sole survivor on a familiar yet dangerous world.
Like many of the best soulslikes, the combat puts a hefty focus on learning attack patterns and surviving long enough to fight another day. However, the intense gameplay is also visually stunning to watch unfold, with plenty of flair that many character action games showcase. As you spend more time battling it out with Naytibas, you'll get used to fighting and will be able to hold your own in this action-adventure game.
With the Stellar Blade PC release date fast approaching, as well as the news of a sequel potentially arriving before 2027, now's the best time to pre-order your copy and dive into this beautifully dark world. Wonderfully, there's a price cut worthy of the hack-and-slash genre ahead of launch, as you can grab Stellar Blade for just $53.99 / £53.99 on Fanatical. That's a 10% discount already, and if you were looking to buy it, you may as well get a discount on top.
It might be worth checking whether or not the Stellar Blade PC port is banned in your country before buying a copy, but for most people, this is an exceptional deal for a pre-order. You're getting a new PC game before it even releases at a price cut, but if you're not 100% sure if you'll pre-order Stellar Blade, our list of upcoming PC games is sure to have plenty of other things to get you excited.
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