| Stella Sora | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Stella Sora is a light-action RPG with reverse bullet hell elements that puts you in the shoes of the Tyrant, a being whose return will change the world of Nova. Read our review of its early-access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Everything We Know About Stella Sora
Stella Sora Story Plot
The story is set in the land of Nova, a cross-shaped continent of prosperity surrounded by the sea. At its heart stand the Monoliths, ancient towers believed to be divine gifts from the Gods. These structures contain artifacts of technology and culture far beyond Nova's time, yet they are as dangerous as they are miraculous. To many, they are symbols of celestial favor; to others, they are a reminder that divine blessings often come at a cost.
To retrieve these artifacts, Trekkers, outcasts in the eyes of society, have taken it upon themselves to scale the Monoliths. These futuristic treasures, capable of redefining the very fabric of life, are coveted by the rich and powerful but accessible only through the Trekkers' daring efforts.
You, the Tyrant, have been awoken from your thousand year slumber by a group of these very Trekkers. Your unexpected return might just be the very catalyst of change to come to a world that has been corrupted by greed, as the world still trembles at the mention of your name.
Stella Sora Gameplay
Stella Sora is an action RPG with reverse bullet hell and roguelike elements. Players take control of characters called Trekkers as they ascend the floors of the massive Monoliths and claim the Artifacts inside.
To do so, players must fight against waves of enemies using their Trekker's various skills and abilities. These abilities can be strengthened with the Trekkers themselves by investing in their levels. A party can be composed of up to three, allowing a variety of playstyles using different lineups of characters. Players only directly control one main character, while the other two party members act as support.
Stages culminate in boss fights with unique mechanics, stimulating the need for players to experiment with their strategies and lineups.
Stella Sora Release Date
Stella Sora has yet to announce a definitive release date. As of writing, it is currently in closed beta testing from May 28th, 8 PM PDT / 11 PM EDT to June 8th, 12 AM PDT / 3 AM EDT.
Stella Sora Review [Early Access]
Bullet Hell, Gacha, and Cute Girls
Having sunk quite a number of hours into Arknights, one of their previous games, I had quite an admiration for developer and publisher Yostar’s works. Granted, they’re only the publisher to Arknights, but there’s a certain type of quality to be expected from their repertoire, and Stella Sora did not disappoint despite being only in closed beta as of the moment.
On that same vein, I was pleasantly surprised by Stella Sora’s brighter visuals and completely different combat style compared to the more dark, post-apocalyptic setting of Arknights. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed my first few hours with the game and I’ll be sure to continue playing until the testing ends—I’m not stopping until I get Freesia!
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Not-So-Easy Simple-Looking Gameplay
Okay, the header for this is a bit of a doozy to read, but let me explain. Entering into the tutorial, it’s not long before you’re taught how to do combat in the game, and the first thing it tells you is to have an enemy in your handy-dandy attack radius…which then your character proceeds to automatically attack. I’m gonna be honest, I was a little surprised at first—auto-auto-attacking (if you catch my drift) is usually a mechanic I see in idle mobile games, and this would mean the game’s pretty simple to play, right? However, I was completely wrong, especially when the rest of the mechanics opened up and the roguelike elements introduced themselves.
The game’s official X (Twitter) account describes it as a "top-down, light-action adventure game." Light-action is right on the money, as it's not in the difficulty level of other games like Hades and whatnot—but don’t let that fool you, it doesn’t mean you can just stand around and let your auto-attack do the talking.
Your character’s (or Trekker, as they’re called in game) auto-attack is not the only skill at your disposal, as you have a special ability and an Ultimate. You are also in control of the skills of your two support Trekkers which definitely give an advantage, like freezing through AoE attacks like Iris, or having sunflower shurikens dance around with Nanoha. As an action RPG with reverse bullet hell elements, enemies come in huge waves, which can easily overwhelm a player if they’re not careful, with all the projectiles and attacks coming your way. There is also a dodge element, and you can get extra bonuses for perfect dodges, too.
And that’s the main combat gameplay down—but there’s more intricacies to think of to make the perfect team, such as the equipping the right Discs, individual character levels and skill levels, making sure the party consists of the right Elements for the level, and making sure to unlock the right Potentials that suits your needs or your playstyle. Because of the game’s random roguelike elements, one run through a Monolith will not be the exact same as the one you did before. It adds a little more complexity to the whole formula, and in my opinion, keeps the combat fresh. Nevertheless, even with all that out there, the game doesn’t feel terribly difficult, and I think people of all ages will have a blast with the game.
Intriguing Story Complemented by Expressive Visuals
I love myself a healthy serving of lore, but with my terribly short attention span, I couldn’t really power forward through an entire chapter without getting burned out or distracted (sorry, Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves, etc…) Strangely enough, I completed the entire first chapter of Stella Sora because it was that engaging. The overarching plot isn’t anything superbly innovative—the amnesiac main character is discovered by the introductory trio, they try to recover his memories and such—but the way it's told is what sells it quite well to the player.
While they make use of familiar visual novel elements and UI, it’s in no way static and boring. The characters have a wide range of expressions, and are even accompanied by very anime-like sound and visual effects such as sparkles, question marks, or exclamation points floating beside their head, making it feel more lively overall. Even your own main character has their own set of expressions that make the scene more interesting. It carries the whole conversation, especially because most of the scenes are unvoiced. Cutscenes, on the other hand, are fully voiced, but are rendered in static images that pans across the picture.
Plot-wise, the game’s writing is fun, and has quite a lot of humor sprinkled throughout. Even during scenes where a dire situation is at hand, it still manages to make it lighthearted and amusing to watch. Its plot twists are not shocking, but the buildup to Chapter 1’s ending was well-done and it made the conclusion stand out even more.
Since we’re already talking about the visuals here in this section, I’d also like to praise the game’s vibrant, cute, and intuitive UI. Everything is labelled well and there’s not a plethora of extensive menus with confusing terms to make it a headache.
Charming Soundtrack and Sound Design—Discs are Actually Discs!
The game’s sound design is great—everything has a corresponding tune, from the quick shuffling of footsteps when in the city and the noises of combat, to the more animated ones like the sound effect that plays when a character on screen looks excited, complete with bright exclamation points on her head to further her point—and all expressions have their own sound. Not incredibly realistic, yeah, but who’s chasing realism with a game like this? Nevertheless, it makes it feel much more alive and fun. Though, I have to admit, the crazy beep of the Lucky Oasis when you press Go on the main menu will always give me a heart attack.
Its background music is rather catchy as well and will always shift depending on the scene or environment, which is a nice touch. My only gripe is that it’s immensely loud by default, but that’s an issue that is easily remedied by turning it down a notch in the settings.
And yes, Discs are actually full working discs with not one, but two unique music tracks per disc. In Stella Sora, your party can equip Discs that provide stat bonuses when equipped before going into a Monolith, and also activates a Melody Skill that usually adds a special quirk based on certain criterion. Aside from just being stat boosters for your party with gorgeous album art to boot, finding out that they actually have their own set of tracks that play when you examine them is something I find pretty cool. They also seem to perfectly fit with their assigned Element as well, like Ignis (Fire) songs are punchy and upbeat, while Ventus (Wind) songs are more tranquil and nature-y. A minor detail, yes, but it adds to the whole experience and is a sign on just how detailed the developers are with the game.
Adorable Affinity System
In a game full of cute girls and waifus, it would be criminal to not have some sort of relationship or affinity mechanic—and Stella Sora delivers! Granted, it’s a pretty common system in most gacha games in some shape or form like Genshin Impact’s Friendship levels, Arknights’ and Reverse: 1999 Trust levels, and more. Thus, having it in Stella Sora just feels right.
After pulling for a Trekker in the recruitment gacha, you get access to their individual profiles, which lists all the basic things such as details and skills, and you also open up the Affinity tab. Building rapport with your Trekkers is important as it not only unlocks more of their backstories and events, but also offers some pretty good stat boosts. A happy and loved Trekker is a stronger Trekker!
Above Average Gacha Rates
Yes, Stella Sora is a gacha game, so we should dabble on its rates. Assuming they’ll keep the rate up until launch, it’s actually more forgiving than most other gachas. For instance, Genshin Impact’s rate rests at a measly 0.6%, with Wuthering Waves not trailing far ahead at 0.8%. Rates under 1% seem to be the norm for most, but other games have been upping the ante up. Popular otome game Love and Deepspace sits comfortably on the 1% rate, and strategic RPG Reverse: 1999 is among one of the arguably more generous ones at a 1.5% rate per 6-Star.
Stella Sora rises above all of them with a 1.6% pull rate, which is very nice with today’s standards. This makes it a maximum of 160 pull attempts to get the limited 5-Star Trekker if you’re unlucky enough to lose your first 5-Star pull to a non-limited. When pulling a 5-Star Trekker, you have a 60% chance of having the limited Trekker, and the remaining 40% is split between all standard 5-Stars. It’s more than half—it’s a chance I’m willing to take.
In terms of using real money, there’s no information as of yet as to how much a Stellanite Lumina (premium currency) is going to cost, but for now, I have pretty high hopes for Stella Sora simply because they seem more generous than most. Perhaps they’re also taking a page from fellow Yostar-published game Arknights, whose gacha system is quite promising.
Still Rough Around The Edges
Considering this is the game’s closed beta test, it feels pretty complete and well-done, save for some server disconnection issues and a few mishaps, such as the minor inconsistencies with the game’s text. For example, even when selecting the male character as your Tyrant (you are able to switch your appearance at will), some text messages in the Heartlink still refer to you as a Ms., which is a little strange if you’re trying to get into the immersion, but it’s no big deal and will most likely be ironed out before the full release anyway.
Definitely A Journey To Try
Stella Sora is definitely a gacha game you should keep an eye out for. From the interesting story told in an animated and lighthearted way, to the bright visuals and charming characters you’ll surely love, to the engaging gameplay loop that doesn’t feel stale with all the options there is to make it more suited to your playstyle, there’s a lot to like about the game.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a definitive release date or window for Stella Sora to be available to the public, so be sure to keep your eyes and ears peeled for it!
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Stella Sora Product Information
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| Title | Stella Sora |
|---|---|
| Release Date | TBA |
| Developer | YOSTAR |
| Publisher | YOSTAR |
| Supported Platforms | PC, Android, iOS |
| Genre | Action, RPG |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Stella Sora Official Website |
