I didn't expect to like this Switch 2 game, but one feature makes it a fascinating case study
Stellar Blade is an advert for frame generation
You never know when a game's going to surprise you. Since its release back in 2024, I've pretty much dismissed Stellar Blade on the fairly uncontroversial grounds that some of its aesthetic choices aren't for me (and I'm being polite here). Still, the game's release for the Switch 2 just came around, in the form of a new Complete Edition that packages in all of its DLC.
So, I thought it might be time to question my assumptions and see what the game has to offer – and, in fairness to it, I've been roundly surprised in my five or so hours playing it. Where I thought I'd get a Bayonetta or Devil May Cry-style action game full of combos and button mashing, I've actually found a parry-heavy, methodical combat sim with interesting exploration.
Of course, the proportions of its characters haven't changed, and I'm still as embarrassed as ever to be seen playing it given the state of some of its character designs, but Stellar Blade also does something else very interesting on the Switch 2 – frame generation.
When the Switch 2 was first being leaked and then unveiled, it was reported that it would be capable of upscaling and frame generation, but I didn't expect the latter feature to arrive this quickly. After Dragon's Dogma 2 a few weeks ago, this is the second big game to bring it to the tablet, and just like my previous experience, I can't help but be won over.
I'm not going to pretend that there aren't downsides to this frame-injection tech, and input latency is the big one here, particularly in handheld, but that doesn't change the fact that I was pleasantly surprised when I started the game and found it smooth. It gets a roughly 60fps readout with frame-gen turned on (as it is by default), and looks remarkably solid for it.
Head to Reddit and you'll find fans debating whether the game feels better with the setting on or off, but having played with it turned on during my time with the game, I genuinely don't really have any issues with how it works. The boost it gives is, frankly, worth a tiny bit of latency – especially since I've been learning the parry and dodge timings with that latency baked in.
Those parries and dodges are great fun, too. This is a game that's far more challenging than you might assume, with a combat system that rewards a calm head and a patient approach. I nearly bounced off its early difficulty, but a switch in attitude has helped me to keep making progress.
I wish its protagonist had literally almost any other character design, because that single change would make me feel way more comfortable evangelising on behalf of Stellar Blade, but I can definitely say that those in search of a satisfying combat on their Switch 2 should check out its demo. It's an acquired taste, but you might find something that really hooks you – and it's a technical showcase of a feature that might become way more common as the Switch 2 matures and really beds in.
