Stela

Stela is a beautiful platformer, but not much else

It took me the best part of a month to come back to Stela in order to finish this review. I’m glad I did, as it still had some astonishing sights left to show me. But it was a close call.

Stela clearly wants to be as unnerving and fascinating as its contemporaries but the end product is merely an empty imitation. There is no element of surprise or wonder here, nothing to make players consider the game at a deeper level. Instead, it acts as a good reminder of the far superior titles that came before it.

Stela is a platform-puzzler that's quite clearly been made in Inside's (and indeed Limbo’s) image. It's a serviceable approximation of Playdead's work, with a beautifully strange world and even a couple of neat ideas of its own. But it fails to immerse you in its world in quite the same way courtesy of some unfortunate flat spots.

Stela is an atmospheric platformer that offers solid puzzles and mechanics that will genuinely challenge the player, but may leave them wanting more than what is ultimately offered.

Stela is the sort of dark and moody platformer you’ll want to play after being saturated by colorful traps in Super Mario Maker 2. It does nothing new, and don’t expect to walk away from the experience with a new sense of profound realization. Nonetheless, you’ll enjoy the time you have with it, even if the ending is disappointing and the game requires a fair degree of trial and error.

Stela is a visually striking, atmospheric 2.5D platformer that closely follows in the footsteps of Playdead’s Limbo and Inside. Developed by SkyBox Labs, the game presents a wordless, cinematic journey through haunting landscapes filled with light puzzles and subtle threats. Players control a nameless woman on a mysterious pilgrimage, encountering environments like snow-covered death fields and burning forests. While its controls are serviceable rather than precise, the emphasis is clearly on mood, symbolism, and aesthetics over tight gameplay mechanics. Despite its heavy borrowing from Playdead’s formula, Stela stands as a beautiful and meditative experience in its own right.

Whilst the story that surrounds Stella went over my head, the world it built combined with an outstanding soundtrack still managed to touch me in ways I didn't consent to.

Overall, Stela is a beautifully well-made game, with the score and the background creating a wonderfully immersive atmosphere. Its mysterious setup creates curiosity that would have been lost with a comprehensive storyline, allowing for an unique sensation despite its fairly common game style. While the puzzles aren't overly tough, keeping yourself levelheaded enough in real life to keep going was more than enough challenge for me, making Stela as interesting and fun as it is beautiful and immersive.

The only thing that could affect the beautiful art, the incredible music and the simple gameplay of Stela is the fact that it ends much sooner than it should.