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Stellar Blade

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Stellar Blade
Developer(s)Shift Up[a]
Publisher(s)Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s)Kim Hyung-tae
Producer(s)Kim Hyung-tae
Edward Saito
Junho Lee
Kazuma Kizuka
Designer(s)Kim Hyung-tae
Lee Chang-min
Jang Hee-cheol
Composer(s)Hwang Joo-eun
Oliver Good
Keita Inoue
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)PlayStation 5
Windows
Release
  • PlayStation 5
  • April 26, 2024
  • Windows
  • 2025
Genre(s)Action-adventure, hack and slash
Mode(s)Single-player

Stellar Blade (Korean: 스텔라 블레이드) is a 2024 action-adventure game developed by Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Players take control of the protagonist, Eve, as she embarks on a mission to save humanity from a relentless war against monstrous creatures in a distant future. Throughout her journey, Eve is joined by her squad and other survivors as they fight to reclaim Earth.

Shift Up, a Korean studio founded by Kim Hyung Tae, first teased the game in 2019 under the working title Project Eve. By 2021, it was announced as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. In 2022, the game was officially named Stellar Blade.

After being delayed from its original 2023 release, Stellar Blade was launched for the PlayStation 5 on April 26, 2024. The game received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its visuals and combat, though some criticism was aimed at the story. By June, the game had sold over 1 million units. A Windows version is scheduled to release in 2025.

Gameplay

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Stellar Blade is an action-adventure video game set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, played from a third-person perspective.[1] The combat system emphasizes understanding enemy attack patterns and countering them with precise timing. Eve's Beta Gauge fills as players successfully parry and evade in combat. The Beta Gauge can be used for skills like piercing super armor and interrupting enemy combos. Eve also possesses a Burst Gauge, which fills through successive parries and combos, allowing players to activate buffs and execute powerful attacks. The game makes use of the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller, utilizing its haptic feedback to enhance the feel of enemy attacks and weapon accuracy. Exploration mechanics include wall scaling and rope swinging to traverse the environment, with rewards like extra costumes to be found. The overworld is populated with NPCs who offer side quests, which the player can choose to accept or ignore.[2]

Synopsis

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Setting

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The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been forced to abandon Earth after losing a war against monstrous creatures known as the Naytibas. In an effort to reclaim their home, Eve and her squad are deployed from the Colony to fight the Naytibas and retake Earth. Along the way, Eve encounters two survivors, Adam and Lily, and eventually settles in Xion, the last surviving human city on Earth. Eve then establishes contact with Orcal, an elder, and begins forming relationships with the residents of Xion, all in pursuit of her mission to save humanity and reclaim Earth.[3]

Plot

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The Colony sends the 7th Airborne Squad in its latest attempt to liberate Earth from the Naytiba. However, the invasion ends in disaster, with Eve being the sole survivor of the landing force. Her close friend, Tachy, sacrifices herself to protect Eve from an unidentified Alpha Naytiba. Eve is rescued by Adam, a scavenger who enlists her help in recovering a Hyper Cell power source from the ruined megacity of Eidos 7. In exchange, Adam leads Eve to a nearby Alpha Naytiba for her to kill. After eliminating the Alpha Naytiba, Eve encounters Lily, a survivor of the 5th Airborne Squad, who decides to join her as engineering support. Adam then takes them both to Xion, the last human city on Earth, and requests their assistance in saving it. Eve meets Xion's leader, Orcal, who explains that, in addition to the Hyper Cell she recovered from Eidos 7, three more Hyper Cells are needed to restore Xion to full functionality. This would not only allow him to revive the tens of thousands of humans kept in stasis within the city, but also to locate other Alpha Naytibas. Orcal further explains that four Alpha Naytiba Cores are required to form a Master Core, which will provide access to the Naytibas' Nest, where their leader, the Elder Naytiba, resides.

After recovering the second Hyper Cell, Orcal informs Eve of the location of the second Alpha Core. She is devastated upon learning that Tachy has been transformed into an Alpha Naytiba, forcing her to kill Tachy and retrieve her core. After recovering the third Hyper Cell, the team uncovers a recording from a former Airborne Squad member named Raven. Raven claims that what they currently believe to be humanity is, in fact, a race of advanced human-like androids called Andro-Eidos, and that the Naytibas are the original human race, which resorted to radical genetic modification. Orcal confirms that long ago, their leader, the AI Mother Sphere, created the Andro-Eidos at humanity's request, and both races coexisted peacefully. However, Mother Sphere unexpectedly ordered the Andro-Eidos to exterminate humanity and rewrote history to deceive the Andro-Eidos into believing they are humans. Meanwhile, the surviving humans went into hiding and eventually transformed themselves into Naytibas to fight back against Mother Sphere and the Andro-Eidos. Despite being shocked by the revelation that she has been killing the descendants of humanity, Eve remains determined to end the war by killing the Elder Naytiba.

Eve learns from Orcal that the third Alpha core is located atop a space elevator. Before they can break in, Adam receives troubling news from Xion and departs, leaving both Lily and Eve behind. After defeating the Alpha Naytiba Demogorgon, Eve fails to retrieve its Alpha core and is rescued by Lily, who sends a signal to the Colony to dispatch the powered exoskeleton Providence to assist in her return to Earth. They return to Xion, only to find it under attack by the Naytiba. Eve and Lily rush back to defend the city, and Eve faces the same unidentified Alpha Naytiba that had attacked her and killed Tachy. After defeating the creature and retrieving its core, she is shocked to discover its true identity as Raven. Raven manages to escape, while Eve tends to Orcal. Orcal reveals that he is also an Alpha Naytiba, a fusion of Andro-Eidos and Naytiba technology. With only three Alpha Cores in Eve’s possession, Orcal sacrifices himself by using his own Alpha Core to create the Master Core. Before passing away, he urges Eve to meet the Elder Naytiba. Eve and Lily then head for the Nest, where they find a final recording from Raven. In the recording, Raven reveals her disillusionment upon learning that Mother Sphere not only exterminated the original humans but also devastated Earth's surface by ejecting large parts of the Colony from orbit to prevent the Naytiba from completely overrunning the planet.

Upon reaching the entrance of the Nest, Eve encounters Raven, who attempts to prevent her from entering. However, Eve manages to defeat Raven, leaving her disabled but alive. Eve and Lily then enter the Nest, only to uncover Adam's true identity as Raphael Marks, the scientist who created the Mother Sphere, and the Elder Naytiba who designed the Naytibas, which plunged the world into conflict with the Andro-Eidos and Humanity wars. Adam reveals that he has come to regret creating the Naytiba, as it resulted in the sacrifice of their humanity. He also acknowledges that, as androids lacking human DNA, the Andro-Eidos cannot be the true successors of humanity due to their inability to evolve. To remedy this, Adam proposes to fuse himself with Eve, thereby becoming the next step in human evolution, which would eliminate the threat of the Naytiba and offer humanity a chance at a new future. The ending diverges based on Eve's choices and previous actions.

  • If Eve refuses to accept Adam's plan, the two are forced to battle each other, with Eve ultimately prevailing. Adam dies along with the last hope for humanity, and Mother Sphere welcomes Eve and Lily back to the Colony now that their mission is complete.
  • If Eve accepts Adam's plan, the two of them fuse to create an entirely new type of human being. Mother Sphere then overrides Lily's power armor and commands it to attack Eve, forcing her to defend herself. Eve prevails, with Lily surviving or dying depending on whether Eve has maximum affection with her.
    • If Eve hasn't reached maximum affection with Lily, Lily will die. Mother Sphere then arrives and congratulates Eve for eliminating the Elder Naytiba as planned. However, with no further use for her, Mother Sphere sends an army to destroy Eve, and the game ends with her fighting against an endless horde of Andro-Eidos soldiers.
    • If Lily's relationship has reached maximum affection and the Iberis code has been recovered from Lily's Atelier in Eidos 9, Lily hacks the robot with the Iberis code and ejects herself to safety. Eve manages to completely annihilate the army Mother Sphere sends at her. Lily then delivers the fourth and final Hyper Cell to Xion, fully restoring the city while Eve becomes its new protector.

Development

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On April 4, 2019, the Korean studio Shift Up (founded by Blade & Soul illustrator Kim Hyung Tae) announced Project Eve for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The game was set to be developed using Unreal Engine 4.[4] A prototype showcasing new gameplay and art direction was presented in late 2020, but the game's release platforms were not mentioned.[5] In the September 2021 PlayStation Showcase, the game was announced as an exclusive for PlayStation 5 and would be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.[6]

In a September 2022 PlayStation State of Play, the game's final title was revealed to be Stellar Blade, accompanied by new gameplay footage and an original release window scheduled for 2023.[7] The next day, MONACA announced their involvement, stating that their members, Oliver Good and Keita Inoue, are participating in the music production of the game,[8] which has been reiterated multiple times prior to release.[9] The game uses 3D scanning for some character models, with Eve being based on the model Shin Jae-eun.[10] The Naytiba enemies were designed by Korean movie monster designer Hee-Cheol Jang, who created clay models that were then 3D scanned to produce the game's 3D models.[11] In December 2023, the game was delayed to 2024.[12][13]

Release

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In a January 2024 State of Play, it was announced that the game would be released on April 26.[14] A demo of the game was released on the PlayStation Store worldwide on March 29, 2024;[15] but it was accidentally published early in the United States on March 8 and was quickly removed.[16] An update for the game adding support for enhanced visual fidelity and higher framerates on the PlayStation 5 Pro was released on October 22, 2024.[17] On November 19, 2024, photo mode was added[18] to coincide with the release of collaboration DLC with Nier: Automata.[19] A free Christmas-themed update added new cosmetics and minigames on December 17, 2024.[20] A Windows version of the game will be released in 2025.[21]

Reception

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Critical reception

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Stellar Blade received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic, based on 136 critic reviews.[35] On OpenCritic, 84% of 113 critic reviews recommend the game.[22]

Portrayal of Eve

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According to Den of Geek, some critics argued that the marketing for Stellar Blade heavily leaned on the sexual appeal of Eve, with elements like revealing costumes and suggestive character designs being central to the game's promotional strategy.[36] The game has also received an Adults Only rating in South Korea, attributed to its explicit content, including revealing outfits, violence, and suggestive imagery.[37] TheGamer argued that the protagonist, while attractive, is "barely sexy at all," and that the lack of any real characterisation for Eve made the sexualised outfits "feel like she's playing dress up".[38] Kim has defended some of these design choices by explaining that, from a third-person perspective, the player's view is predominantly directed at the back of the character, hence the emphasis on making this view appealing.[39] He further elaborated that the design choices were made to entertain an adult audience.[40] IGN Italia noted that while some criticized Eve's design as oversexualized, others felt there was a double standard among critics, fans, and developers who condemned the game while praising other examples like Nier Automata and Bayonetta.[41][40]

Sales

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Stellar Blade was the best-selling game in North America in April 2024, reflecting its strong market performance during that month.[42] In Canada, it ranked as the second-best-selling software for the same month.[43]

In Japan, Stellar Blade sold 67,131 physical units during its first week, making it the best-selling game of the week.[44] It had sold 111,490 physical units in Japan by 14 July 2024.[45]

By June 2024, Shift Up announced that the game had sold over 1 million units, indicating its successful reception among players.[46]

Awards

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Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2024 The Game Awards 2024 Best Score and Music Nominated [47]
Best Action Game Nominated
PlayStation Partner Awards Special Award Won [48]
Users' Choice Award Won
PS Blog Game of the Year Awards Best New Character Won [49]
Best Story Runner-up
Best Graphical Showcase Runner-up
Best Audio Design Runner-up
Best Soundtrack Runner-up
Best Use Of Dualsense Runner-up
Best PS5 Game Runner-up

Notes

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  1. ^ Additional work by PlayStation Studios XDev

References

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  1. ^ Romano, Sal (March 25, 2024). "Stellar Blade demo launches March 29". Gematsu. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  2. ^ Romano, Sal (September 9, 2021). "Project EVE confirmed for PS5, gameplay trailer". Gematsu. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  3. ^ Kim, Hyung Tae (September 13, 2022). "New story trailer revealed for Stellar Blade, formerly known as Project Eve". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Romano, Sal (April 4, 2019). "Korean studio SHIFT UP announces Unreal Engine 4-based action game Project EVE for PS4, Xbox One, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Romano, Sal (November 26, 2020). "Project EVE 'Battle Report' prototype gameplay, screenshots". Gematsu. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (September 9, 2021). "ShiftUp's Project Eve showcases shiny suit and gory monsters". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (September 13, 2022). "Project Eve Gets a New Title, 2023 Release Window". IGN. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  8. ^ @MONACA_jp (September 14, 2022). "【告知】2023年発売予定 PlayStation®5用ゲームソフト『Stellar Blade』オリバー・グッド(MONACA)、井上馨太(MONACA)が楽曲制作に参加させていただいております。" [[Notice] Oliver Good (MONACA) and Keita Inoue (MONACA) are participating in the music production for the PlayStation®5 game software "Stellar Blade" scheduled to be released in 2023.] (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Barker, Sammy (February 8, 2024). "Interview: Shift Up on PS5's Highly Promising Stellar Blade". Push Square. Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Tu, Trumann (December 31, 2023). "PS5 Exclusive Stellar Blade Spotlights Real-Life Model Used for Protagonist". Game Rant. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Epps, De'Angelo (April 11, 2024). "Stellar Blade: how a Hollywood monster designer and clay models shaped the terrifying Naytiba". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on April 13, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  12. ^ Epps, De'Angelo (December 28, 2023). "PlayStation in 2024: Highlights". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  13. ^ Romano, Sal (December 28, 2023). "Stellar Blade delayed to 2024". Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  14. ^ Romano, Sal (January 31, 2024). "Stellar Blade launches April 26". Gematsu. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  15. ^ Kim, Hyung Tae (March 25, 2024). "Stellar Blade demo arrives March 29". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  16. ^ Serin, Kaan (March 10, 2024). "PlayStation pulls Stellar Blade demo off consoles after the RPG was accidentally made available, in a move it didn't even make for P.T." GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on March 9, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  17. ^ Square, Push (October 23, 2024). "Stellar Blade's Latest Update Preps for PS5 Pro Enhancement". Push Square. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  18. ^ Ivan, Tom (November 19, 2024). "Stellar Blade's photo mode update has been released early". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  19. ^ Sinha, Ravi (November 20, 2024). "Stellar Blade x NieR: Automata Collaboration is Now Live, Adds New Cosmetics". GamingBolt. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  20. ^ Ivan, Tom (December 16, 2024). "Stellar Blade's Christmas-themed update adds a new mini-game and costumes". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Romano, Sal (November 12, 2024). "Stellar Blade coming to PC in 2025". Gematsu.
  22. ^ a b "Stellar Blade Reviews". April 26, 2024. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  23. ^ "Stellar Blade". Metacritic. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  24. ^ Miller, Matt (April 24, 2024). "Stellar Blade Review: More Than A Pretty Face". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  25. ^ Mills, Steven (April 24, 2024). "Review: Stellar Blade". Destructoid. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
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  27. ^ Khan, Imran (April 24, 2024). "Stellar Blade Review - Nier As It Can Get". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  28. ^ "Au-delà de la polémique, l'exclu PS5 Stellar Blade est-elle un excellent jeu d'action ou une simple étoile filante ? Découvrez le verdict dans notre test !" [Beyond the controversy, is the PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade an excellent action game or a simple shooting star? Find out the verdict in our test!]. Jeuxvideo.com. April 24, 2024. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
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  30. ^ Orr, Jessica (April 24, 2024). "Stellar Blade review - no thinking, just slashing". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  31. ^ Saltzman, Mitchell (April 24, 2024). "Stellar Blade Review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
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  37. ^ Herrero, Pedro (February 13, 2024). "'Stellar Blade' gets an Adults Only rating due to nudity and explicit gore". Meristation. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  38. ^ Henley, Stacey (April 26, 2024). "After All That, Stellar Blade's Eve Is Nothing Like We Expected". TheGamer. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  39. ^ Tiwari, Rohit (April 6, 2024). ""We put special attention on the back of the character": Hyung-Tae Kim Justifies 1 Aspect of Stellar Blade That Should Manage to Avoid Controversy". FandomWire. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  40. ^ a b Digioia, Alessandro (February 8, 2024). "Stellar Blade, la protagonista Eve è troppo attraente? L'autore risponde a tono alle critiche ricevute" [Stellar Blade, is the protagonist Eve too attractive? The author responds in kind to the criticisms received]. IGN Italia (in Italian). Archived from the original on April 28, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  41. ^ Digioia, Alessandro (April 3, 2024). "Stellar Blade scatena polemiche online: insulti e tensione sui social per il design della protagonista" [Stellar Blade sparks controversy online: insults and tension on social media over the protagonist's design]. IGN Italia (in Italian). Archived from the original on April 28, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  42. ^ "April 2024 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games - U.S. (Dollar Sales, Physical and Digital from digital data sharing publishers, excludes add-on content)". Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  43. ^ "ESACanada on X: "Here are our Top Selling Games in Canada for April 2024! 🎮 #videogames See the full list on our website: t.co/cNK204M8MU @WeAreCircana @npdgroup t.co/SGd48HBZEs" / X".
  44. ^ Romano, Sal (May 9, 2024). "Famitsu Sales: 4/22/24 – 5/5/24 [Update 2]". Gematsu. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  45. ^ Romano, Sal (July 18, 2024). "Famitsu Sales: 7/8/24 – 7/14/24 [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  46. ^ Square, Push (June 25, 2024). "PS5 Fan Favourite Stellar Blade Sold Over 1 Million Copies, Dev Estimates". Push Square. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  47. ^ Maas, Jennifer (November 18, 2024). "Game Awards Nominations 2024: 'Astro Bot,' 'Final Fantasy VII Rebirth' Lead With 7 Nods Each". Variety.
  48. ^ "30th Anniversary PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 Japan Asia winners announced". PlayStation.Blog. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  49. ^ "PS Blog Game of the Year 2024: The Winners". PlayStation.Blog. December 17, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
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