Stellar Blade, previously known as Project Eve, is South Korean studio Shift Up’s upcoming single-player title. The PlayStation exclusive action-adventure game has made quite the impression on fans since it was first revealed in 2021, and as we get closer to release hype has been steadily building.
With Stellar Blade set to officially launch later this week, we’ve rounded up everything we know about the game that’s being described as hack-and-slash meets soulslike.
Let’s dive right in.
Table of contents
Stellar Blade News
- April 22, 2024: Stellar Blade Will Be ‘Uncensored’ In Every Region
- The game won’t be receiving any regional variations, with developer Shift Up confirming the game will be “uncensored” in all regions.
- April 17, 2024: Why Nier’s Yoko Taro Envies Stellar Blade (And Its Director)
- A new interview with Nier series vet Yoko Taro explores the famed director’s feelings on the upcoming game, and why he envies its director.
- April 5, 2024: Stellar Blade Won’t Have Microtransactions, Says Dev
- According to the team working on the single-player only game, the game won’t contain microtransactions of any sort.
- March 30, 2024: Stellar Blade’s Demo Is A Delicious Amuse-Bouche Of Stylish Action
- March 28, 2024: Stellar Blade Previews Say It’s More Sekiro Than Bayonetta
- Previews are trickling out, and the word it’s got a lot more From Soft in its DNA than you may have expected.
- March 26, 2024: PS5’s Stylish Action Exclusive Stellar Blade Will Have A Free Demo Soon
- The game is getting a free demo on the PlayStation Store starting March 29.
- March 15, 2024: Wearing Stellar Blade’s Sexiest Outfit Will Get You Shot To Pieces
- You can wear Stellar Blade‘s sexy skin suit, but it comes at the price of having no shields. Are you willing to take the risk?
- September 14, 2022: Project EVE Is Now Called Stellar Blade, Coming 2023
- ShiftUp’s Project EVE, first announced in 2021, is now called Stellar Blade and will be releasing in 2023 as a PlayStation 5 exclusive.
Stellar Blade: Release Date, Pre-Order Date & Demo
Stellar Blade releases on April 26, 2024. Pre-orders are available on JB Hi-Fi and EB Games now – with in-game pre-order bonuses including Classic Round Glasses, Ear Armour Earrings, and Planet Diving Suit cosmetics for Eve. There’s also a demo currently available to play on PlayStation – players have already been putting in the hard yards with some clocking over 50 hours in the demo alone.
Stellar Blade: Gameplay
Stellar Blade has been described as Bayonetta meets Sekiro meets Devil May Cry and Nier by many thanks to its combat systems and aesthetics. Players control protagonist Eve as you traverse through a desolate Earth, fighting the alien-like Naytiba that have taken over the planet and driven humans out. Combat is fast-paced, with the timing of strikes, blocks, dodges, and parrying all playing a vital role in dispatching enemies and avoiding damage.
Each type of Naytiba has a different combat tactic, meaning going in guns-blazing isn’t always the best strategy. You’ll have to assess each situation on the fly and take into account environmental factors that can be used to your advantage. You’ll also need to upgrade Eve’s gear and skills to make your way across the planet. As mentioned, the game is a blend of hack-and-slash and soulslike combat, meaning players who enjoy either style of combat are likely to find something they enjoy here combat-wise.
As a story-driven action-adventure title, Stellar Blade has a semi-open world which you can explore while working to fulfill Eve’s goals – and from the sounds of it, complete side quests for the citizens of the settlement called Xion.
Stellar Blade: Platforms
When it was first announced as Project Eve, Stellar Blade was set to come to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Since the game became a PlayStation exclusive, it will launch solely on PlayStation 5.
Stellar Blade: Characters
Stellar Blade puts players in the shoes of Eve, an airborne squad member and warrior from an off-world colony who descends to Earth to defeat the Naytibas – the strange creatures that appeared on Earth and led to the destruction of humanity’s home planet. Eve is joined by Adam, a survivor left on Earth and Lily, a member of a previous airborne squad. Eve and her party must journey across the Earth together throughout the game – and will also run into various other humans left on Earth in the last human city, Xion.
Stellar Blade model: Who is the model behind Eve?
Eve is based on South Korean model Shin Jae-eun, with Stellar Blade game director Hyung-Tae Kim confirming this in a February interview with Push Square.
“We thought that [Shin Jae-eun’s] body shape would be a good reference for the character that we were pursuing,” he said. “But the face was created originally in-house – it’s just the body of the model that we scanned for the game.”
Eve’s design has been at the centre of online discourse, with some criticising her look as overly sexualised within the context of the story and others praising the design. Kim further explained the choice to use the model’s body as a base for Eve, saying: “Of course, it depends on how you define beautiful bodies, but for us, we wanted to come up with the most attractive looking body for the user, so this is why we made the decision to work with her.”
What weapons are in Stellar Blade?
As the name of the game might suggest, Eve wields a sword in Stellar Blade called the Blood Edge. The weapon can be upgraded and modified in-game, but this is the only melee weapon Eve has. Eve will also have access to a ranged gun later in the game as seen in the demo.
Stellar Blade: Trailer
Shift Up brought fans a six-minute long gameplay overview during this year’s first PlayStation State of Play, and we’ve since received an additional shorter trailer to showcase what to expect when it launches. You can check out both below:
Stellar Blade: Plot and story
Stellar Blade focuses on the story of Eve, a warrior from off-world who descends to Earth to save humankind from the Naytiba – a mysterious alien-esque force that has caused devastation for humanity. Earth is all but abandoned as the majority of the human race has fled to an outer space Colony, with one last human city remaining on the planet – Xion.
Eve and her party – made up of Earth survivor Adam and another airborne squad member, Lily – must piece together the mystery of the past and the Naytiba as they make their way through ruins and wastelands. However, not everything is as it seems.
Stellar Blade: Developer
Shift Up is the developer behind Stellar Blade. The developer is based in South Korea and founded in December 2013 by artist Hyung-Tae Kim (Magna Carta, Blade & Soul), and is known for their previous mobile titles Destiny Child and Goddess of Victory: Nikke. Stellar Blade is specifically being developed by Shift Up’s second team, called Second EVE Studio. Many of the core members behind Blade & Soul make up the Second EVE team.
Stellar Blade: Review
Keep an eye out for a Stellar Blade review when the game releases later this week. We’ll update this piece with links to any reviews once they’re live.
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