Stellar Blade Reveals New Updates and Possible Sequel

All corners of the entire world are now buzzing about Stellar Blade. The anticipation for the game has reached an all-time peak since the demo was released. Impressive art style, fantastic soundtrack, and unexpectedly enjoyable combat were all on display in the game. Despite initial speculation that it might be more along the lines of Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, the developers have dubbed it NieR meets Sekiro. However, the comparison appears to lack any real substance. Recently, some intriguing news regarding Stellar Blade was revealed, along with details regarding the future of Shift Up and their plans following the release of Stellar Blade.

 

Hyung-Tae Kim, CEO of Shift UP, mentioned in an interview that a sequel could be in the works if Stellar Blade is a huge success. Kim made a joke about how, in Stellar Blade 2, we might find out how old Eve and her pals are. Having said that, Stellar Blade appears to be doing exceptionally well in sales at the moment. In North America, it has sold more copies than any other PS5 game, and in Japan, it is the number two seller on Amazon. The game's physical copies have already sold out on Amazon Germany. Stellar Blade appears to be doing well on its own, while Shift Up is busy plotting out their future game.

Several intriguing pieces of information regarding their next project have leaked into the job advertisements, which indicate that they are already recruiting. The game is being developed using Unreal Engine and will be accessible on mobile devices and PC consoles. The game will be an RPG with an emphasis on story, featuring a variety of enemies and monsters and featuring dazzling action sequences. It would be logical for them to construct an action RPG live service game that ran indefinitely, drawing on their expertise in Stellar Blade and their gacha games, Destiny Child. While we don't yet have confirmation of any of this, the inclusion of mobile on this list raises the chance that it is true.

As for this game, the CEO of Shift Up recently gave an interview in which he discussed Stellar Blade in depth. He estimates that playing through the main story alone on Easy mode will take 20–25 hours. This means that if you play the game straight through without spending more than three or four hours on any one boss, it should take around twenty to twenty-five hours. Adding 10–15 hours to the game is possible if you decide to complete side quests as well. More than forty hours of playtime is possible if you complete the game's collectibles. And the length is ideal for a game like this.

 

Truthfully, a lot of people are exhausted of games being 100 hours or longer. I know I've been there, having played those extremely lengthy games and felt completely exhausted by the end. Considering how many times you can play this game, 20–35 hours is more than enough time. If you're looking for more than just a casual experience, you can unlock a Hard mode when you beat the Easy mode. So, if you were unsure about the hard mode when you just saw Easy and Normal as options in the demo, you'll have to beat the game on Normal first. New Game+ will not be available during the launch, as verified in a separate interview. Nevertheless, this will be addressed in a subsequent patch.

In case you didn't know, Stellar Blade allows you to vary the length of Eve's ponytail by going into the menu and making the adjustment. Although I adore the style of the long ponytail, my one gripe is that it can greatly detract from combat focus. A statement was made by the chief executive officer on the ponytail style for long hair, which stated that "due to physical errors, it is not easy to implement long hair." Nevertheless, a long ponytail was found to be an effective way to highlight the action-packed gameplay of focus. While engaging in an intense action battle, it is fun to watch the ponytail twirl around.

Now, typically, when you think about Stellar Blade, you'd picture a plethora of downloadable costumes (DLC) that are laden with microtransactions, even though it's quite probable that microtransactions will be present in this game. You would imagine they would have this kind of thing since this is a studio whose sole portfolio includes gotcha games before Stellar Blade. Their dedication to avoiding digital content and microtransactions is very admirable. Nevertheless, Stellar Blade will be an exception to this rule. The game was designed to have all the content that was needed, hence there are no plans for further content at this time.

 

In light of the criticism that has recently been brought up by the inclusion of these microtransactions in Dragon's Dogma 2, it would have been very simple for Shift Up to get away with it in this game. The business model was discussed. Apart from the game purchase, there are no other business methods; everything may be obtained through in-game means. though it's possible to buy certain costumes as part of a collaboration with a particular IPS. Many wouldn't mind if they decided to sell a 2B suit for $5 later on, but I would be more upset if they decided to make Eve's clothes unavailable until you paid.

In addition, the developers also discussed the monstrous design of the enemies in the game. The enemies that appeared in the game were created to be missing particular components or to have outward looks that were more prominent. This is because the game is aimed at a mature audience and features an action-packed plot, as well as the design of the enemies is tied to the story's general development. Although the enemies are somewhat hideous in appearance, they are a lot of fun to beat up on. They were conceived by scanning 3D clay models and were produced by a skilled artist.

The primary plot was developed using a linear map, a progression technique, and the framework of the game's world. Once you reach the main city, you'll find yourself in a semi-open world environment ready to explore locations like the big desert and wasteland. The developers of this game are planning to combine open-world elements with linear map design, similar to one of the many strong points of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Even though it's an open-world game, there are plenty of linear dungeons and portions to keep you from becoming bored with exploring the world at large.

 

Furthermore, the demo's soundtrack has been superb. It may sound rather similar to the music in NieR: Automata if you've played that game. Surprisingly, the in-house team was responsible for creating 60% of the game's OST, while the external business Monaka Studio contributed 40%. Keiichi Okabe, who composes the NieR games' soundtracks, is also a director who helped produce the score for NieR: Automata; he formed the firm Monaka Studio. Despite this, Keiichi Okabe was not involved in any way with the creation of the Steller Blade OST. Contrary to popular belief, Keiichi Okabe is not the game's composer. Nevertheless, the OST can sound quite similar because it is his firm and perhaps a large portion of the NieR: Automata sound crew.

There's a lot of talk about how difficult Stellar Blade will turn out to be, particularly towards the end of the game. so, they made an effort to keep death sequences brief. In the later stages of the game, it is anticipated that there will be a significant number of deaths, as the developers have stated that this is a deliberate decision. Since there is no death penalty, the scenes are kept short, the intention is that death will be seen as a fun aspect of the gameplay.
 

Azfar Rayan (@AzfarRayan)
Senior Editor, NoobFeed