Stellar Blade: All difficulty settings explained

A screenshot from the game Stellar BladeShift Up

Are you looking to jump into Stellar Blade, but unsure of how difficult it will be? Here are the difficulty settings you can use.

Stellar Blade borrows from Soulslike games, meaning there are bound to be some tough enemies and boss fights. This is a game that attempts to encourage players to use their reflexes rather than mindlessly button mash if they want to conquer its difficult bosses and elite enemies.

This kind of combat leads to a certain degree of challenge and elevates the difficulty level of the game. Fortunately, there is a difficulty slider, so here is what you need to know about these settings in Stellar Blade.

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A screenshot from the game Stellar BladeShift Up
Stellar Blade has two difficulty settings.

All difficulty settings in Stellar Blade

Stellar Blade has two difficulty settings:

  • Story Mode
  • Normal Mode

Story Mode is the easy mode where enemies do not hit as hard and the game does not feel very punishing. You also get access to Action Assist where you will receive prompts to press buttons for moves that have very small timing windows. This mode is for players who want to enjoy the story of the demo.

However, it is important to mention that, even in Story Mode, you still need to be cautious around fights. You simply won’t get punished as hard for making mistakes and parry windows will be more forgiving.

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Normal Mode is the standard mode that features tense battles and is made for players who want to get a taste of the full depth of Stellar Blade’s combat in the demo. In Normal Mode, you do not get access to the Action Assist button during battle. The enemies will hit harder with tighter parry windows, meaning you will be forced to learn enemy movements and master the game’s mechanics.

In the demo, you could change the difficulty setting at any point during the game. However, upon changing, the game will load back to your last save.

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