If you enjoy games like Inside or Limbo, then this 2D platformer might pique your interest. Stela by SkyBox Labs (co-developer of Halo Infinite), is eerily beautiful with its level design and chilling with its soundtrack. I haven’t pieced together the story, but I believe it takes place within a world where civilization is collapsing under the weight of war, famine, and resources, and perhaps technological progress gone awry.
Our female protagonist goes unnamed throughout the story. She is dressed in white, which might symbolize her purity in the darkening world. We begin as our heroine wakes in a cave, and we emerge to find a farm overrun with rats and a giant beetle. Beyond the farm lies the forest, and shadowy, lanky, creatures lurk within, searching for you. We eventually make our way through fire and ice, beholding ruins of civilizations. I speculate that we are witnessing the destruction of the current civilization and we delve deeper into an even older one. Since there is usually only one direction to travel, I also suspect that our protagonist knows perfectly well what she is doing. I would call it an ascension, but it could also be an escape.
The gameplay is straight-forward. For the most part, you tend to run toward the right of the screen, but you will occasionally need to progress in another direction. You can jump and interact with some objects as well. There are a lot of switches and levers in here. Regarding difficulty, I don’t think it’s very hard. Some moments may have you puzzled, especially the last sequence, but otherwise most work is minimal or trial and error. It took me about 2 hours to run through the whole game.
One of the positive aspects of Stela is that the developers insert checkpoints in the best places. You are constantly blazing through puzzles and chases, and its really easy to die. Sometimes I feel like it’s on purpose, like when you are introduced to the shadows in the forest. You don’t know what subtle thing might attract them until it happens, like walking through water without stopping halfway. Another aspect of the game is how much the interactable items are reused. Some might see that as a bad thing, but I see it as the game teaching you how an object can be used, and then you apply it to a totally new area. I don’t only mean levers, but also torches, rocks, and crates/stones. Other objects are only used once, such as the shield and the bookshelf.
The world design is awesome. I have the impression of magic with the appearance of these monoliths that creatures appear to be attracted to, but there is also industry (hence all the levers and strange energy sources). But the game also appears to have mythological aspects to it as well. There is a creature of unimaginable size in one instance, and its tendrils alone prove existentially crushing. There is so much to see, but it is incredibly hard to understand what you’re actually experiencing. I’m certainly feeling anxiety as I frantically solve puzzles, platform, and run away from monsters. But other than emotional trauma, I just don’t know what my motivation is. As beautiful as the levels are, I feel like the game is lacking a meaningful story. There are a lot of implications, like when a stranger saves you, but it’s a lot of showing versus telling.
I think a fair rating for Stela should be an 8 out of 10. It does the job very well as a platformer and as a puzzle game. My major criticism is that the game lacks any real meaningful substance. It is thrilling, it is engaging, and it is most definitely intriguing, but I don’t understand anything. A good example of how to extrapolate story into this genre is by Inside. You come to understand what is happening in this world and to you as a character. The end of Stela seems uplifting, as though I am ascending to a greater purpose, but that all falls flat because I have no way of weighing the significance of mounting a giant monolith in an ethereal plane. I surely don’t know what the shadows are, what the burrowing sea lions are, what the giant tentacle monster is, why there’s an army of archers killing everything on sight, or why rats are so prevalent. Subtext is very good, but I think I just need a little more.
Check Out the Stela Trailer:
For more information, please visit the Stela website.
Xbox One Review
I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.
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