Stellar Blade Demo - PC performance graphics benchmarks of Graphics Cards and Processors
We have tested Stellar Blade Demo on maximum graphics settings with video cards of the GeForce RTX 20, 30, 40 and 50 series, as well as Radeon RX 6000, 7000 and 9000. Also, during the tests we conducted, we assessed the quality of the graphic display of the game itself.
| THE GRAFICAL PART |
This subsection of our review highlights the main graphical aspects of this game. Particular attention is paid to the version of the graphics engine used, the version of the API used, graphic settings and the quality of development of the main visual aspects.
| Supported OS and Graphics API |
Stellar Blade — a techno-fantasy action game with an emphasis on dynamic battles, futuristic environments, and high visual density. The game uses DirectX 12 and requires a 64-bit system with a modern processor and at least 16 GB of RAM. Despite being available to users with mid-range video cards, it is advisable to play on a configuration closer to the recommended one for a full visual experience.
System Requirements
The minimum
• OS: Windows 10 (64 bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-7600K / AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
• RAM: 16 GB
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) / AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB)
• DirectX: 12
• Storage: 75GB (HDD supported, SSD recommended)
• Settings: Low graphics, target 60 FPS, resolution 1080p
Recommended
• OS: Windows 10 (64 bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
• RAM: 16 GB
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
• DirectX: 12
• Storage: 75GB (SSD required)
• Settings: Graphics Medium, Target 60 FPS, Resolution 1440p
| DEVELOPMENT HISTORY |
The project that became known as Stellar Blade has come a long way from the initial concept of a single-player action game to a full-fledged game with ambitions for an international release. Originally conceived as a visually oriented action film in the spirit of slashers of the late 2000s, the game underwent serious metamorphoses as it developed. The main focus was an attempt to combine elements of Asian animation style, complex combat mechanics and a sci-fi storytelling. This combination required the team to both revise the project architecture and adapt the engine to visual tasks.
The development period was accompanied by constant adjustments due to changes in technical guidelines. Initially, the project was designed for a cross-platform release, but later the focus shifted to a release on one platform, which temporarily simplified optimization and testing. However, a year after the release on consoles, it was decided to transfer the game to PC, which again opened up the same difficulties: from supporting a wide range of configurations to taking into account the wishes of a new audience segment. The issue was not only in transferring content, but also in reworking controls, setting up graphics, supporting upscaling technologies and adapting the interface for a keyboard and mouse.
One of the challenges in the development of the PC version was the contradiction between the original visual concept and the technical limitations of desktop systems. The game was built on visual richness and an abundance of post-processing, which at high separate screen resolutions led to shader load overload and a drop in performance. At the same time, a significant number of effects initially built into the gameplay (for example, visual feedback from skills, color filters and distortion effects) turned out to be impossible to disable without violating the concept of the combat system. This gave rise to discussions within the team: to what extent is it worth sacrificing the integrity of the visual design for the sake of increasing the frame rate.
In addition to graphics, significant resources were spent on reworking the control system. The game was originally designed for a gamepad with adaptive feedback and vibration effects. For PC, it was necessary to make changes to the binding of skills, parry systems, and aiming accuracy. Special attention was paid to users who prefer the keyboard: it was necessary to implement an alternative layout and fully customizable combinations. However, even after the release of the demo, there were complaints that a number of combat techniques were inconvenient without an analog stick, and dodges lost accuracy on the keyboard. The team continues to correct this in patches.
The storytelling, which was initially geared towards quick exposition and cinematic quality, proved to be a controversial element. Frequent changes in tempo, sudden interruptions from dialogue to cutscenes, and an overabundance of internal monologues all provoked mixed reactions, especially from players accustomed to more interactive storytelling. At the same time, the story itself was largely unchanged in the PC version, and no additions or alternate endings were added. This reinforced the feeling that the game had simply been ported to another platform without any serious adaptation to the peculiarities of the desktop audience.
| GRAPHICS |
Stellar Blade's graphics were originally built around high-quality character models, rich animation, and rich lighting. The PC version retains these elements, but the experience has changed. At high settings, the game displays crisp textures, realistic skin, hair, and fabric, but at the same time, many environmental objects look simplified. Some areas, especially those built on corridor architecture, seem empty — their content suffers from repeating assets and excessive symmetry.
One of the visual elements that caused polar reviews was the costumes of the main character. The style is emphatically glossy, with a large emphasis on the shape and detail of the body. Against the backdrop of a harsh world filled with ruins and remnants of civilization, this creates a visual contrast that does not always work in favor of the atmosphere. Many players regard this as a dissonance between the style of the character and the environment. This is especially noticeable in night or gloomy locations, where the heroine's body looks like a bright spot against the background of gray and dull textures.
The lighting system is based on dynamic rendering using global shading. Lighting effects in battles, reflections, weapon glows - everything is bright, but often overloaded. With a large number of opponents, the scene becomes difficult to read: simultaneous use of special abilities, explosions and crumbling body parts fill the screen, making it difficult to understand what is happening. This is aggravated by the abundance of color correction - filters distort the perception of the real distance and depth of the scene.
Shadows in the PC version have been improved: it is now possible to choose the quality of soft and sharp shadows, their rendering range and drawing depth. This has a positive effect on the perception of scenes in city ruins and underground complexes. However, this comes at a cost in resources: on mid-range video cards with maximum settings, there may be drops, especially in areas with a large number of light sources. Support for DLSS and FSR partially solves the problem, but distorts the clarity of the image in dynamics.
Weather effects and backgrounds are uneven. Some scenes, especially pre-rendered ones, look impressive, but game areas often suffer from static. Rain, dust, sand — all of this is present, but it works as a visual mask, not a full-fledged simulation. Wind does not affect the behavior of particles, and environmental objects do not react to precipitation. This makes the visual style more decorative than interactive.
The main character's animation is one of the most elaborate aspects. The movements are precise, the transitions between phases are smooth, parries and dodges are expressed in body movements, and not just in effects. However, with prolonged play, the effect of repetition occurs - combat scenes begin to seem monotonous due to the limited set of animations. This is especially noticeable when repeatedly clearing the same areas: the behavior of enemies, visual phrases, effects of blows - everything goes in a cycle.
| GAME ENGINE |
Stellar Blade runs on Unreal Engine 4, modified to support dynamic lighting, high-poly models, and complex combat physics. However, the engine is not designed for an open world: all locations are divided into zones, between which loading occurs. This simplifies the data flow, but limits the scale of perception of the world. The player cannot move freely around the planet - he follows a given route, despite the presence of branches and hidden zones.
The physics model of interaction with the world is simplified. Outside of combat, the player has almost no ability to influence the environment: objects are static, there is no destruction, and simulations of liquids or particles are kept to a minimum. The combat system is built on a predictable pattern of attacks, with an emphasis on blocking and counterattacking. This works reliably, but does not provide depth. You cannot, for example, knock an enemy off a height, use physics to destroy cover, or interact with elements of the environment in a way that becomes part of the strategy.
The enemy AI is trigger-based. When entering a zone, a certain set of enemies are activated and act according to a predetermined scenario. Enemies do not patrol the territory, do not pursue the player beyond the boundaries of their zone, and do not coordinate with each other. This makes battles predictable: you can lure out enemies one by one, repeat tactics, and remember timing. This structure is appropriate in an arcade action game, but it reduces interest during repeated playthroughs.
The mechanics of leveling up are implemented through a skill tree and a resource collection system. The player does not have the ability to flexibly customize the build — the choice of skills is fixed, and each path opens strictly defined skills. This reduces variability and puts the gameplay in a rigid framework: the character always develops along one of three or four trajectories. Improvements to equipment and suits are mainly cosmetic in nature, and their impact on combat effectiveness is minimal.
The PC version supports DirectX 12, scalable shaders, frame generation, HDR, and ultra-wide monitors. However, in-game optimization suffers from memory leaks and rare but noticeable freezes when changing zones or loading effects. The interface is poorly adapted for mouse control: scrolling does not work correctly in the inventory menu, dragging objects is missing, and some buttons require precise aiming. This is especially noticeable in moments of haste - for example, when urgently changing consumables or activating skills.
There is no network integration in the game: no co-op, invasion or interaction with other players is provided. This deprives the game of replayability and social component. After the first playthrough, there is only a repeat with a different build - but, as mentioned above, the progression system does not offer much opportunity for customization.
| QUALITY |
At minimum settings Stellar Blade displays a simplified version of the visual content. Textures lose sharpness, lighting becomes more static, and environmental objects are simplified. The surfaces of metal structures and suits look matte and lose volume. Reflections and post-processing are disabled, and visual effects during battles are minimal. The environment - be it futuristic streets or techno interiors - is presented without dynamics and saturation.
On higher settings Enhanced lighting is activated, materials receive highlights and reflections, and the scene is enriched with shadows and fog. Animations become visually more impressive due to particles, dynamic light and additional layers of detail. Heroes and opponents gain volume and expressiveness, models of equipment and buildings are drawn with high precision. In general, the picture becomes much more cinematic, especially in combination with the fast combat system.
| TEST PART |
Below you will find a table of equipment that was kindly provided by our sponsors: GIGABYTE, ASUS, Kingston и Deep Cool. It reflects the list of motherboards, video cards, memory modules and cooling systems used in the tests, and also indicates the current configuration of the operating system and drivers.
| Test configuration | |
| GIGABYTE | |
| motherboards | |
| ASUS | |
| motherboards | |
| Video Cards |
Asus GeForce RTX 5070 TUF Gaming OC ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4070 Ti OC |
| KINGSTON | |
| RAM |
16 GB DDR4 4600 CL19 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR4 3600 CL16 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR4 4000 CL18 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR5 5600 CL40 Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB DDR5 6000 CL30 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR5 7200 CL36 Kingston FURY Renegade 48GB DDR5 7200 CL36 Kingston FURY Renegade |
| Storage devices |
Kingston FURY Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD |
| Deep Cool | |
|
Cases and cooling |
|
| Software configuration |
|
| Operating system | Windows 11 24H2 |
| Graphics driver |
Nvidia GeForce/ION Driver Release 576.52 WHQL AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.5.2 |
| Monitoring programs | MSI Afterburner 4.6.6 Beta 5 Build 16555 |
All video cards were tested at maximum graphics quality using MSI Afterburner. The purpose of the test is to determine how video cards from different manufacturers behave under the same conditions. Below is a video of a test segment from the game:
Our video cards were tested at different screen sizes 1920x1080, 2560x1440 и 3840x2160 with maximum graphics quality settings without upscales.
| TEST GPU |
In the video card test, the default resolution is 1920x1080; other resolutions are added and removed manually. You can also remove and add any positions of video cards. You can also select any of our test processors from the list in the drop-down menu, comparing its performance with the given video card tests (by default, the most productive solution is selected). The test is carried out on the most powerful CPU in this game and is scaled to other processors, taking into account their testing on NVIDIA and AMD video cards.
- Max
When resolved 1920x1080:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached on video cards of the level of Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060 level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with video cards of the level Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060.
When resolved 2560x1440:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached on video cards of the level of Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060 level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with video cards of the level Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060.
When resolved 3840x2160:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached on video cards of the level of Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060 level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with video cards of the level Radeon RX 9070 or GeForce RTX 4070s.
| VIDEO MEMORY CONSUMPTION |
Testing of the video memory consumed by the game was carried out by the MSI Afterburner program. The results on video cards from AMD and NVIDIA at separate screen resolutions of 1920x1080, 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 with different anti-aliasing settings were taken as an indicator. By default, the most current solutions are displayed in the graph. Other video cards are added and removed from the graph at the reader's request.
- Max
GameGPU
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 5 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 6 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 6 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 6 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 9 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
| CPU TEST |
Testing was carried out at a resolution of 1920x1080. In the processor test, you can remove or add any processor positions. You can also select any tested video card from the list in the drop-down menu, comparing its performance with the given processor test results (by default, the most productive solution from NVIDIA is selected). Testing takes place on the most powerful NVIDIA and AMD video cards and scales to low-end models.
- Max
When using NVIDIA video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
- Processors for comfortable FPS (at least 60 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
When using AMD video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
- Processors for comfortable FPS (at least 60 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
- Max
Loading and using streams:
- Maximum load: The game can load up to 12 streams.
- Optimal loading: Uses up to 8 threads as efficiently as possible.
| RAM TEST |
The indicator was taken as all used RAM. The RAM test on the all system was conducted on various video cards without launching third-party applications (browsers, etc.). In the graphics, you can add and remove any resolutions and video cards as desired.
- Max
GameGPU
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 13 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 13 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 13 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
| SPONSORS TESTS |
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