Stela for the Xbox One is a side-scrolling adventure game set in some post-apocalyptic world full of creepy monsters. I’d love to give you something deeper than that, but Stela doesn’t give the player much in terms of story. Heck, it doesn’t even give you hints as to what the heck is going on during your brief adventure.
The game focuses on stealth to avoid enemies
You play as Stela, or I assume so, and wake up on some sort of altar and simply get moving. No backstory or dialogue, you just wake up and get to your adventure. Look, I love games that don’t hold your hand and let you get into the adventure as much as the next guy, but I also need a reason to be doing what I’m doing other than just finishing the game.
But while we don’t get even a hint of a story, a shame because the world of Stela is fantastic, we do get some solid, if basic gameplay. The game centers around avoiding the spooky monsters that roam the world, or if that’s not possible defeating them using the environment.
It’s a simple process and one that oftentimes felt far too easy in scope. I never really faced an enemy or section in Stela that had me frustrated or tested me in any way. A few late game puzzles had me scratching my head but for most of the game, the correct path forward was laid out pretty clearly.
Stela is a two-button affair. You can jump and you can pick up/move items. Jumping is going to be your bread-and-butter but picking things up is used much more infrequently. I think there are only three, maybe four times in the whole game that you need to pick an item up to use it in another location. The grab command will mostly be used to move boxes back and forth to reach ledges and new areas.
There is no combat in Stela. The game focuses on stealth to avoid enemies. Once an enemy sees you then you are brown bread. Getting by enemies in your way often comes down to finding a different path or solving a puzzle to remove them from the field of play.
It’s never hard or challenging and always left me wanting more. It does feel like the team wanted you to “experience” the game rather than get caught up playing it. Look, I’m totally okay with that but if I have the time and luxury to experience your game you have to give me something to sink my teeth into.
Much of the beauty comes from the various environments and what’s going on in the background
Graphicly Stela looks nice. Much of the beauty comes from the various environments and what’s going on in the background. There are some really gorgeous shots, beautiful panning, and general love and care given to this world we learn nothing about.
Dark caves set a bleak mood, snow-covered peaks show how bleak the world is, and forests on fire show that maybe there is more here at play than just monsters running wild. Stela dangles so many things in front of the player, unfortunately it just never bothers to answer any of them.
There are no people, at least humans, left on this world. But we get hints that a civilization once thrived thanks to ruined buildings and structures. We never see or hear people but a segment where fire arrows are unleashed against you show that some sort of battle might still be raging.
And at one point we are even seemingly saved by a mysterious hooded figure. All of this is well and good, but none of it is explained so matters little. Stela is a beautiful game that will leave you feeling as confused at its end as you were at its beginning.
This is an experience you can finish in one or two sittings and gives you no reason to come back for more. I know people are going to say video games are art and Stela is something spectacular that must be “experienced” or some such nonsense.
Maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind as I don’t hate games as art. All I know if that Stela left me wanting in almost every aspect. I wanted more gameplay, more story, more of the world; I wanted a reason to invest myself in this adventure because god knows I really wanted too. I hate that when the game ended I felt absolutely nothing.
Stela isn’t broken, it isn’t a glitchy mess, and everything works as the developers intended, it’s just that none of it worked for me, especially when there are titles in this genre that do it all far better. Maybe this was a winner on the iPhone/iPad but I need a little more meat on the bone with this one.
“Stela has something deep and artsy to say, too bad it never gets around to saying much of anything.”
Final Score: 3/5
*A review copy was provided for this piece*
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