Stellar Blade is a 2024 action-adventure video game developed by Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5.
Taking place on a post-apocalyptic earth dominated by alien invaders, Stellar Blade follows Eve, a young woman on a mission to reclaim the world by working together with the people of Xion, the last surviving city. In her quest, she becomes acquainted with Adam and Lily, two of Xion's survivors. Stellar Blade is an action game presented from third-person perspective, with players controlling Eve as she comes into conflict with Naytibas, ferocious alien lifeforms who took over the earth beyond Xion. The world is primarily linear but contains several open-ended levels which Eve can explore for side objectives, quests and items.
Stellar Blade was the first home console title developed by South Korean studio Shift Up, at the time known for mobile releases like Destiny Child; studio head HyungTae Kim served as the game's director and artist. It began development under the working title Project Eve and was originally a self-published, multiplatform release for eighth-generation home consoles and Windows computers. The team was inspired by games such as Bayonetta (2009), Nier: Automata (2017) and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019), as well as the manga Battle Angel Alita and the 1982 cyberpunk film Blade Runner. The setting was inspired by locations like Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and China.[1] In 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment, which owned marketing rights to the title, became the publisher of Stellar Blade, with the game transitioning into a PlayStation 5-exclusive title as a result. Stellar Blade was announced in 2019; the game was originally slated to release in 2023 before a delay to April 2024.
Prior to its release, Stellar Blade became the center of controversies surrounding the character designs for Eve and other female characters depicted in the game - which were deemed sexualized and criticized by western publications. Stellar Blade received generally positive reviews, with praise directed at the visuals, combat system and soundtrack, though the story, controls and exploration mechanics were met with mixed responses, while criticism was directed several unpolished gameplay ideas. It was a commercial success, with an estimated 1 million copies sold by June 2024.
Gameplay[]
Stellar Blade is an action-adventure video game presented from a third-perspective camera. Players take control of Eve, a woman serving to reclaim a post-apocalyptic and desolate earth from alien invaders called Naytibas. The game is divided to combat and exploration. In combat, Eve can attack, defend and evade various enemy attacks, with players being encouraged to chain combos and execute finishers. Exploration is available between combat scenarios, and Eve is capable to traverse and investigate the landscape through scaling walls, sliding and climbing with ropes. The game also includes some role-playing elements; Eve acquires Beta Gauge (BG) through perfecting actions in combat segments, which can be then spent on new abilities or attacks, or utilize them for a Burst Gauge, which allows Eve to gain temporary buffs or execute unique moves.[2]
Synopsis[]
Setting and characters[]
Plot[]
Development[]
Stellar Blade is developed by South Korean game developer Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. Prior to its title reveal in September 2022, the game was developed under the codename Project Eve.
Characters and casting[]
South Korean model Shin Jae-eun served as body model for Eve.[3]
Marketing and release[]
Shift Up announced Stellar Blade under the working title Project Eve while hosting a live-event in April 2019, which also announced a mobile title codenamed Project NIKKE: The Goddess of Victory. At the time of its announcement, Project Eve was slated to launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.[4] Shift Up maintained low profile on Project Eve for two years before reintroducing the game at Sony Interactive Entertainment's PlayStation Showcase 2021, which presented improved and overhauled visuals as well as revealing a PlayStation 5 version without mention of the previously disclosed platforms.[5] Project Eve was shown again at Sony's State of Play of September 2022, which revealed the final title as Stellar Blade, a 2023 release window and the game being picked up by Sony as a publisher.[6]
On December 28, 2023, Sony confirmed that Stellar Blade was slated for a 2024 release.[7] A gameplay trailer aired as part of a State of Play presentation in January 2024, with Sony confirming the release date to be April 26, 2024.[8] A demo for the game was announced on March 25, 2024 and released on March 29.[9] As part of the game's promotion, Sony and Shift Up collaborated with South Korean singer BIBI on an original song titled "Eve", which was released on April 18, 2024.[10]
Shift Up supported Stellar Blade with post-launch content updates. A boss rush challenge mode was added on May 25, and included new outfits for Eve.[11] A summer update was released on July 25, adding new outfits and a time-limited location.[12] A photo mode was teased alongside the summer update.[13]
Reception[]
Pre-release[]
Examining the demo, Push Square's Sammy Barker expressed positive thoughts over Stellar Blade, praising the "dense" combat system, "beautifully rendered" game world and the cutscene direction. While criticizing the English dub, Barker ultimately summed Stellar Blade as a title potentially addressing desires from PlayStation fanbase: "original, single player-centric, and gameplay focused," he wrote.[14] IGN's Esra Krabbe also praised the combat system, drawing favorable comparisons to FromSoftware's 2019 title Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and noting the influence of Soulslike game design through the demo. In addition to combat, Krabbe also praised additional features such as the camp mechanic, as well as underwater swimming, which he noted was a rare mechanic for an action title.[15]
From his experiences with the demo, Kotaku's Levi Winslow complimented how the combat, visuals and plot threads he encountered made up for a "captivating" setting, and generally felt "pretty good" about Stellar Blade's potential.[16] GamesRadar's Austin Wood was less enthusiastic coming off the demo, but nonetheless highlighted its appealing nature to his tastes, as well as finding it to be a "fascinating slice of the last 15 years of game design".[17]
Reviews[]
- Metacritic: 82/100
- Destructoid: 8/10
- Game Informer: 8.75/10
- GameSpot: 8/10
- GamesRadar: 3.5/5
- IGN: 7/10
- PlayStation Universe: 8.5/10
- Push Square: 8/10
- VGC: 4/5
- VideoGamer: 6/10
Sales[]
In a June 2024 press briefing, Shift Up estimated that the game sold over 1 million copies since its release.[18]
Future[]
As part of its initial public offering filing in May 2024, Shift Up mentioned plans for a PC port of Stellar Blade and a sequel as being "under consideration".[19]
Gallery[]
Promotional[]
Videos[]
Trailers[]
Others[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/stellar-blade-dev-talks-inspirations-and-yes-nier-automata-is-right-up-there
- ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2021/09/project-eve-confirmed-for-ps5-gameplay-trailer
- ↑ https://www.essentiallysports.com/gaming-news-who-is-shin-jae-eun-and-whats-her-stellar-blade-connection-heres-everything-to-know-eve-character-face-model/
- ↑ https://twinfinite.net/2019/04/project-eve-nikke-announced/
- ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2021/09/project-eve-confirmed-for-ps5-gameplay-trailer
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/project-eve-gets-a-new-title-2023-release-window
- ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2023/12/28/playstation-in-2024-highlights/
- ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2024/01/stellar-blade-launches-april-26
- ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2024/03/25/stellar-blade-demo-arrives-march-29/
- ↑ https://noisypixel.net/stellar-blade-official-music-video-k-pop-star-bibi/
- ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2024/05/stellar-blade-boss-challenge-mode-update-launches-may-24
- ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2024/07/stellar-blade-summer-update-now-available-adds-two-new-outfits-and-more
- ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/stellar-blade-summer-update-is-out-now-with-new-outfits-but-photo-mode-will-have-to-wait/1100-6525292/
- ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/features/preview-stellar-blade-is-the-ps5-exclusive-enthusiasts-have-been-praying-for
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/stellar-blade-preview-sekiro-meets-nier-automata
- ↑ https://kotaku.com/stellar-blade-ps5-game-demo-preview-dmc-sekiro-1851375165
- ↑ https://www.gamesradar.com/stellar-blade-hands-on-preview/
- ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/06/ps5-fan-favourite-stellar-blade-sold-over-1-million-copies-dev-estimates
- ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2024/05/shift-up-considering-stellar-blade-pc-version-and-sequel-cross-platform-project-code-named-project-witches