Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed during their “State of Play” showcase that the action-adventure game “Stellar Blade,” developed by Shift Up, is set to launch on April 26th.
“Stellar Blade” is an action-adventure game where players embark on a mission to reclaim Earth from invaders. In this narrative, humanity faces an invasion by beings known as Naytiba, prompting the surviving humans to seek refuge in the last bastion, Xion.
The protagonist, Eve, alongside her companions, arrives on Earth as part of a deployment team from the colony tasked with aiding in Xion’s reconstruction.
Xion is intricately connected to semi-open world areas, namely the Wasteland and Great Desert, providing players with expansive regions to explore. Throughout their journey, players will encounter various characters and complete various missions.
Among these tasks is the collection of Hyper Cells, crucial for powering Xion. Additionally, players will engage in scenarios where they must rescue citizens.
In battles against Naytiba, players can employ combo attacks and skills, as well as execute precise actions such as deflecting or evading enemy assaults. The Naytiba include formidable boss entities, necessitating strategic approaches to emerge victorious.
Through battles, players earn SP EXP to unlock new skills and obtain a plethora of equipment. Furthermore, a wide array of costumes, accessories, and hairstyles for Eve are available, as highlighted in the recently unveiled trailer.
Stellar Blade, formally known as Project Eve was originally revealed by Shift Up back in 2019 for a multiplatform release on PC alongside both Microsoft and Sony console platforms, however the game seemingly went dark before Sony themselves swooped in and paid a lucrative sum for distribution rights to Project Eve, now rebranded as Stellar Blade.
We got a first glimpse at the new Sony “exclusive” Stellar Blade back during a showcase back in September 2021 as the game is now seemingly an “exclusive” to the PlayStation 5 console.
The game grew to prominence simply due to the fact that its Korean developers clearly don’t value modern social constructs orchestrated by the ESG cabal of Blackrock and Vanguard, with the main protagonist, Eve being a female character with a rather attractive appearance and revealing outfit which is a rarity in this day and age.
Given the five-year wait from the initial reveal to the eventual release, coupled with Stellar Blade’s complete rebranding and periods of neglect, I harbored doubts about whether Sony would impose Californian style censorship on the game by toning down the characters’ attractiveness.
However, based on what I’ve seen in the trailer, it seems my concerns were unfounded.
It’s entirely plausible that Eve and other female characters have had minor adjustments to their breast sizes, however throughout the four minute long showcase and specifically in cinematic sequences, jiggle physics remain apparent.
However, many players will criticize Sony for confining Stellar Blade to the PlayStation 5, however on the plus side for the Californian based outfit, they are now taking steps to offer genuine “exclusive” titles to consumers after the system has been available for over two years.
Nevertheless, the absence of the “Only on PlayStation” label throughout the entire trailer raises hope that Sony may eventually release Stellar Blade on PC, similar to their recent trend of bringing their “first-party exclusive” titles to the platform at a later date.
Pre-orders for Stellar Blade will commence on February 7, 2024, at 10 AM ET/7 AM PT. Pre-order bonuses include an early unlock of the Planet Diving Suit, Classic Round Glasses, and Ear Armor Earrings for Eve.
The standard edition is priced at the now standard $70 USD, while the Digital Deluxe edition is available for $80 USD.
In addition to the pre-order incentives, the Digital Deluxe edition includes the Stargazer Suit for Eve, Stargazer Wear for Adam, Stargazer Coat for Lily, Half-Rim Glasses for Eve, Quadruple Rectangle Earrings for Eve, Stargazer Pack for the Drone, and 2,000 SP EXP and 5,000 Gold in-game currency to aid in your mission to reclaim Earth.
Since restricting myself to a predatory and proprietary console ecosystem goes against my morals I among many others are devastated by the fact that at least initially, Stellar Blade will be locked to the PlayStation 5 console, the gameplay and general sex appeal premise is reminiscent of NieR:Automata and I look forward to an eventual PC release.
