Fighting enemies in Stranger Than Heaven feels a bit like wading through soup — sloppy and slow

1. Gaming

Fighting enemies in Stranger Than Heaven feels a bit like wading through soup — sloppy and slow Features By Dashiell Wood published 12 June 2026

It’s strange alright

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Sega)

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Reddit
• Pinterest
• Flipboard
• Threads
• Email

Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter

Back in 2022 I went to a preview event for The Callisto Protocol in London to write an article for the gaming magazine that I worked for at the time. Shortly after shaking hands with director Glen Schofield, he watched in stunned silence as I repeatedly died in the corner of an intense enemy encounter, awkwardly failing to swerve incoming swings with its incredibly unwieldy directional dodging system.

“Have you tried using the gravity gun?” he eventually suggested. “I literally can’t find the button for it,” I replied. I looked over my shoulder and saw his head in his hands. Back then I thought that I was struggling because I had been tossed late into the game with no tutorial. Of course, when the game finally released, I, along with tens of other players around the world, realized that, no, it's actually just hellish to control.

I bring this up because I couldn't help but recount the episode as I walked away from my brief hands-on time with some of Stranger Than Heaven’s combat encounters at Summer Game Fest 2026. To be clear, I don’t think its mechanics are quite that rough—but even when I fully understood its many idiosyncrasies, I wasn’t exactly having fun.

Latest Videos FromWatch full video here:

Heavenly? Not quite

(Image credit: Sega)

Just like The Callisto Protocol, directionality is at the core of brawls in Stranger Than Heaven.

The left-hand side of your controller represents the left-hand side of the player character’s body, while the right-hand side is the right. It sounds simple enough. You tap the right bumper to swing with your right fist. Pull the left trigger, and you get a left kick. You’re meant to alternate between sides as you beat up thugs—rely on one too much and they’ll soon cotton on and block.

You may like

• Stranger Than Heaven is the latest action RPGs that has all of my attention
• Pragmata review: hacking combat shines in a spellbinding lunar setting
• Pragmata is one of the most original games I've played in years, and I'm not just talking about its unique puzzle combat

Fair enough: switching between mashing buttons on both sides sounds like it might have a good rhythm to it. Unfortunately, Stranger Than Heaven is far from a button masher. Encounters, especially those against large groups, play out at a snail’s pace. Swings are slower than you would expect, and you’re clearly meant to think about each move carefully. If you’re too aggressive, you’ll get knocked down and summarily beaten to a pulp.

Enemies deal a Dark Souls level of damage, and if one of them grabs you, they can easily whittle your health bar down to a slither in just a few hits. When you do find yourself in a baddie’s grip, your first instinct is probably to mash the dodge button to escape, but you actually need to work out which side they’re grabbing you on and send out some attacks from the opposite one in order to knock them off. It goes against basically everything that other action brawlers have ever taught you, and feels clumsy as a result.

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Don’t even think about using a health item either. For some reason, the protagonist takes what feels like an hour to scoff a single rice ball in an animation that you can’t seem to interrupt, even in the face of imminent danger. You’ll barely have a chance to swallow before a foe unleashes a special katana attack that cleaves you in half.

(Image credit: Sega)

You do at least get some melee weapons of your own to even the odds, and I got to try three. My favorite was comfortably the knife, finding it often hilariously unbalanced. Sprinting up to a goon while frantically mashing the attack button seemed to catch them totally off guard, causing them to freeze up and take a few hits before actually starting to fight back.

There was also a moment where I used my swings to push a powerful boss enemy, the supposed climax of my hands-on, into a doorway in the background of the combat arena—which he immediately became stuck on, giving me the opportunity to mince his torso into steak tartare. It felt like some well-deserved payback for the handful of times my own attacks inexplicably failed to connect throughout the encounter.

I was, of course, playing an early build, so a lack of polish is to be expected, but watching your fists simply pass through someone's chest with no visible reaction lent the fight a real sense of sloppiness that was hard to shake. It’s a shame that I wasn’t able to sample any of the activities outside of the fights as well, or even see any of the narrative beyond a few out-of-context voice lines before getting stuck in.

The idea of an epic story that spans five whole eras is certainly intriguing, and I hope it will be able to make up for any combat awkwardness that might remain when Stranger Than Heaven releases for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC on January 15, 2027.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Dashiell WoodSocial Links NavigationGaming Editor

Dash is an experienced tech journalist who specializes in video games, electronic entertainment products, and the wider industry that surrounds them. He currently serves as the Gaming Editor at TechRadar, leading our review, preview, feature, and news coverage of the latest and greatest releases.

Before joining the team, he was Contributing Writer at PLAY (formerly Official PlayStation Magazine UK) and has written articles for many of the UK's other biggest gaming magazines including the likes of Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX.

Now, when he's not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.

View More

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Read more Gaming Stranger Than Heaven is the latest action RPGs that has all of my attention    Gaming Pragmata review: hacking combat shines in a spellbinding lunar setting    Gaming Pragmata is one of the most original games I've played in years, and I'm not just talking about its unique puzzle combat    Nintendo The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales trades turn-based combat for real-time action    Xbox I was worried that the Gothic remake would water down the unapologetically tricky 2001 original, but seven hours hands-on has put my mind at ease    Gaming Life is Strange: Reunion review: I wish I could ‘rewind’ this sloppy new entry    Latest in Gaming Gaming Resident Evil Veronica producer says Capcom changed the title to fit the series' naming pattern which follows the individual themes attached to each entry — 'It's usually one word that is really iconic or connected to the concept of the game'    Gaming Spyro: A Realm Beyond studio CEO says there was no 'pushback' to becoming independent from Activision Blizzard, but the process and planning the game at the same time was 'complex' — 'I think that was the biggest challenge'    Gaming Resident Evil Veronica hype is here, as it reaches a million wishlists    Gaming 'For Spyro: A Realm Beyond, we are very much focused on making it an accessible adventure' — Toys for Bob wants the next Spyro game to be an 'approachable entry' in the series    Gaming Alien: Isolation 2 creative director confirms the sequel will draw inspiration from the original movie — 'Authenticity is the lens we do everything through'    Gaming 'I think that combination of interior and exterior will create these moments that really live long after the player puts down the controller' — Alien: Isolation 2 is designed to 'really stay' with players and be 'unforgettable', says Creative Assembly    Latest in Features Coffee Machines Hands-on with the new AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder    AI Platforms & Assistants Here's why Siri AI isn't coming to EU iPhones and iPads — and why users are totally split on the issue    Paramount Plus Dutton Ranch episode 6 recap: Jamie Dutton's Yellowstone death is used as a threat    ChatGPT These 5 ChatGPT prompts turned me into a smarter World Cup fan    Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Samsung’s XR headset might help you relax the next time you give blood    Paramount Plus Dutton Ranch star claims no disruption on set following Chad Feehan/Taylor Sheridan clash rumors    LATEST ARTICLES

1. 1I am unashamedly in love with the adorable Boox Tappy ereader page turner — but I'm heartbroken it doesn't work with my Kindle
2. 2NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, June 13 (game #1098)
3. 3Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, June 13 (game #1601)
4. 4NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, June 13 (game #832)
5. 5Quote of the day by inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee: "Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves" — highlighting the longevity of data as a resource