​Stela Review

By Kevin Mitchell  |  Posted: October 29, 2019

Without dialogue or text, a mysterious woman awakens at the bottom of a dark well. With no knowledge of her identity or purpose, you guide her across treacherous lands. A press release reveals you're experiencing an ancient world's final moments. Like Playdead's Limbo and Inside, this cinematic puzzle-platformer has you moving right, fleeing creatures, and solving environmental puzzles.

Stela's masterful musical score heightens anxiety during chase sequences and leaps of faith. Each unique area features distinct visuals, color schemes, and enemies. Rolling fog and muted sepia tones create tense hide-and-seek moments in a dying forest, where lanky black creatures with piercing eyes hunt you. The monotone fires give way to breathtaking blue-tinged snow caps, complete with burrowing beasts sensitive to sound.

While puzzles are straightforward, timing and precision are crucial for survival. Red-highlighted boxes indicate interactive elements. Early challenges include shutting out deadly beetle swarms, while later sections require light to ward off lethal bats. The camera occasionally pans out to showcase stunning scenery, though these zoomed perspectives can complicate precise jumping.

Though there's an achievement for completing the game without dying, it seems impossible on first attempt. Many intense sequences rely on trial-and-error. Creatures kill instantly, but well-placed checkpoints prevent retreading. Some moments feel unfair, particularly one section requiring precise jumps and knowledge of subsequent mechanics. Stela emphasizes foreground-background movement for both traversal and evasion. Puzzles remain simple, mostly involving switch activation and box manipulation.

Simply Put

Stela is a beautiful atmospheric puzzle-platformer that favors style over substance. Its phenomenal musical score elevates routine actions to grandiose or anxiety-inducing moments. The initial playthrough takes a couple of hours, though knowing the solutions reduces completion time to under 90 minutes.