Shift Up’s Stellar Blade isn’t out for another two months, but retail copies are apparently already stocked in Japan. Genki on Twitter got their hands on one and revealed the back specifying “more than 35 GB” of free space for installation.
13.02.2024 - 14:49 / gamerant.com / Pam K Ferdinand
Shift Up’s upcoming PS5-exclusive action RPG Stellar Blade has been given an 18+ rating in Korea. This might not come as a surprise to many people, but it may render the game off limits for some players. In screenshots and trailers released so far, the game’s protagonist wears generally form-hugging outfits that don't leave much hidden, and the developer has even revealed that “special attention” was paid to Eve’s backside in Stellar Blade since players will spend most of their time looking at it.
Eve’s shape is based on Korean model Jae-eun, and in an interview with Push Square, developer Shift Up shared that it sought to create the “most attractive-looking body” for people to gaze at while playing. Stellar Blade will also feature about 30 different costumes to find during the game, some of which are assumed to be more risqué or revealing than others. But all of the attention hasn’t gone into only Eve’s physical attributes. Players will also collect accessories like glasses and earrings for Eve, as well as costumes for the other two main characters, Adam and Lily.
But it’s not just suggestive costumes that have earned Stellar Blade the most mature rating possible, 18+, in Korea. According to that country’s Game Management Committee, the title also features excessive violence, including red blood and mutilation. The rating decision, parsed using machine translation, also seems to suggest that some of Eve’s costumes are so scanty that they equate to nudity.
Europe and the US have not yet rated Stellar Blade, but it’s expected that the game will earn a PEGI 18 and M rating, respectively, if Korea’s decision is any indication. This may in fact give the game a boost in popularity, as many people on social media seem to view Stellar Blade’s 18+ rating as a positive thing. What counts as excessively vulgar, suggestive, or violent is also highly subjective. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League received an 18+ rating in Singapore due to its violence and language, which many people are unbothered by.
A lot of games are considered great not despite their M ratings, but because of them. Sometimes the mature themes and perhaps necessary violence allow the developers to tell a story as intended, without being watered down, and therefore evoke the emotions or visceral reactions that make a game memorable. Whether Stellar Blade has earned this rating for necessary storytelling and atmosphere or just to give gamers a nice backside to look at while playing remains to be seen.
Stellar Blade is an action-RPG developed by Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game follows protagonist Eve as she attempts to save a devastated Earth from invaders called Naytiba.
Shift Up’s Stellar Blade isn’t out for another two months, but retail copies are apparently already stocked in Japan. Genki on Twitter got their hands on one and revealed the back specifying “more than 35 GB” of free space for installation.
The download size of Stellar Blade may be in the ballpark of 35GB, as suggested by one newly emerged leak. Although the source of the claim seems to be a prematurely revealed official estimate, that's quite a modest figure for a contemporary AAA game, to the point that some fans have already expressed skepticism about whether Stellar Blade could truly end up being so small.
Developer Shift Up has confirmed that its upcoming PS5 exclusive action RPG Stellar Blade will feature multiple options to allow players to tweak the game's performance. These settings will take the form of three different Stellar Blade graphics settings that players can choose based on their preferences.
Shift Up’s Stellar Blade is coming soon to PS5, and several new details are available following an impressive showing at the latest State of Play. The action-adventure RPG promises fast-paced action akin to NieR: Automata (which served as a “huge driving force” for the project), but for those who aren’t as skilled, there are options to make things easier.
Upcoming PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade has been given an adults-only rating in Korea, where developer Shift Up is located. Considering the attention-grabbing headlines the game has been generating, it should come as no surprise this is due to apparent (or suggested) nudity and extreme violence.
Something that's come to define PS5 games throughout the console's lifespan is more choice with regards to visual and performance options. Where we used to simply have to put up with whatever resolution and frame rate a game had by default, nowadays, a lot of major titles will have at least two variations. It seems Stellar Blade will be no different, allowing players to decide how the game looks and runs using a trio of options.
Stellar Blade will feature three different display modes when it launches this April on PlayStation 5, members of the development team confirmed.
With a fairly barren line-up of titles from Sony in the coming year, PS5 exclusives like Shift Up’s Stellar Blade will become essential. The action-adventure RPG has looked very impressive thus far, especially in the latest State of Play trailer, but what graphical options can players expect?
The United States’ Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has rated Shift Up’s Stellar Blade, and to no one’s surprise, it’s “M” for “Mature 17+” due to “Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, and Violence.”
The developers behind the upcoming Stellar Blade revealed the real-life South Korean model they worked with in order to create the game's action heroine, Eve. Stellar Blade has been a hot topic of discussion ever since its re-reveal in 2023, with many anticipating its April 26 release. The design of Stellar Blade's protagonist has dominated conversations, especially after the game's latest State of Play trailer.
The upcoming Stellar Blade for PlayStation 5 has received an 18+ age rating in Korea.
Stellar Blade just earned an unusual distinction prior to release.