Get ready to set forth and fulfil your destiny in Stela, the latest title from Skybox Labs, out now on the Xbox One.
Stela is a wonderful journey portrayed as a 2.5D platformer that has players traversing through an unforgiving but beautifully cinematic world and witnessing the end of an ancient civilisation. Upon awakening in a mysterious cavern, players take control of an unnamed protagonist and make their way through various areas that are equally beautiful as they are deadly. Moving through devastated vistas, cinematic action sequences and solving puzzles, players will attempt to reach their journeys end. In juxtaposition to the stunning scenery there is an ever present tension in Stela, with very little safe refuge for players to stop and take in the sights. Hazards come from not only the decaying civilisation around you but also from savage beasts and mysterious creatures that inhabit the world.
From the first moments of the game, Stela is beautiful and at times becomes downright gorgeous. There are lots of very obvious cinematic moments for players to revel in but even in the downtime between these, every shot has been carefully positioned for maximum effect. The camera will often pan in or out as needed to really highlight the action or to give a better sense of grandeur. There is plenty of depth to the colour palette with each area feeling new and different but still eerily devoid of life. Adding to the ambience and overall style of Stela is the magnificent soundtrack, full of a diverse range of themes that includes subtle melodies to heart pumping tracks. Full of soft strings, ethereal tones, heavy horns and industrial sounds that really helps to magnify the tension, relief or sense of accomplishment the player feels from moment to moment.
Although most of the time the player is on a single plane, there are often times when the character will need to climb onto background ledges to solve puzzles or avoid danger. Controls feel excellent and are easy to understand with the player only needing to know simple grab controls for things like moving objects, sliding boxes or pulling switches. Mechanics are introduced gradually and start to overlap with each other to become more complex but often lead to some sudden deaths that remind us of the original Prince of Persia.
Although Stela may not bring anything new to the genre, it is an absolute pleasure to experience. In a year full of beautiful games, it is one journey that should absolutely not be missed and one we look forward to getting a perfect achievement score in.
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Mat Panek, Chief Games Reviewer
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.
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Disclosure: Stela [Xbox One code] was kindly provided by Stride PR for this review.
