Prior to release, all indications were that Stellar Blade would be an unusually technically polished current-gen launch, with the game’s demo leaving many impressed. But, of course, demos aren’t always indicative of the final game, with devs sometimes taking a thin slice of gameplay and give it more polish than the rest of the game. Well, the review embargo for Stellar Blade has arrived, and it seems it’s not only a good time in terms of action (check out Wccftech’s positive review here) but according to the tech heads at Digital Foundry, the full game is every bit as technically sound as the demo. You can check out Digital Foundry’s full video analysis below, provided you have around 20 minutes to spare, or you can scroll down for our rundown of the salient points.
Stellar Blade Will Get Extra Costumes And New Game Plus In Free Updates
05.04.2024 - 02:21 / thegamer.com / Kim Hyung Tae
Stellar Blade is only a few weeks away, which means developer Shift Up has started doing its best to convince people why they need to play it. Its excellent demo is definitely helping the team achieve that goal, but director Kim Hyung Tae has been doing the rounds to provide more enticing details about Stellar Blade, and they're not just about Eve's figure.
Speaking with Korean outlet Ruliweb, the director goes into great detail about Stellar Blade's post-launch updates, stressing that most of the new content added to the game "will not require any additional expenses" that people aren't currently aware of. Everything added to Stellar Blade will come with the price of the game, which includes potential new costumes and a New Game Plus mode, which will be added shortly after launch.
There is one exception to this rule though, and that's if Shift Up decides to work with any other developers for "collaboration costumes". Kim Hyung Tae states that any collaborations between Stellar Blade and other IP "may be sold for a fee," but that everything else will come in post-launch update with not a single microtransaction to be seen. That's what we like to see.
Whatever you think of Stellar Blade, it's nice that Shift Up is choosing to provide new content for free rather than asking for more cash on top of the base price. We've already seen multiple controversies regarding microtransactions and DLC crop up this year, especially when it comes to the biggest games of the year. Capcom ended up throwing away a lot of pre-release hype around Dragons' Dogma 2 to stuff relatively pointless microtransactions into the game.
Even a title as well-received and beloved as Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth caught some heat prior to launch when it was revealed that its New Game Plus mode would be locked behind a special edition, rather than included in the standard game for free as is expected these days. Sticking with Sega, Persona 3 Reload's recently announced Expansion Pass, revealed alongside Episode Aigis, was also criticized for being a "cash grab".
With these shenanigans happening on a pretty consistent basis, it's refreshing to get a game made by a developer that is happy to dish out minor post-launch updates for free. We'll have to wait and see how extensive Stellar Blade's post-launch updates are, but at least it's good to know they'll more than likely be free.
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Stellar Blade Will Receive a Day One Patch
Shift Up’s Stellar Blade is over two weeks away, but the hype continues to build, especially after the recent demo. Speaking to RULIWEB (as spotted by Genki on Twitter), director Kim Hyung-tae revealed that the team completed the game and demo on the same day. However, the team will release a day one patch with “some updates.”
Stellar Blade will get free updates and New Game+
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Stellar Blade will receive New Game Plus and free skins as DLC
Stellar Blade studio Shift Up has discussed its DLC plans for the upcoming PS5 exclusive.
Free Skins and New Game+ for Stellar Blade After PS5 Launch | Push Square
Stellar Blade developer Shift Up has shared what the studio has planned in terms of post-launch support for its soon-to-be-released PS5 exclusive. In a recent interview with bbs.ruliweb.com, it revealed the title will receive free updates that bundle in new costumes for protagonist Eve to wear alongside a New Game+ option. It's also stated «DLC has not been determined» separately to the free content drops, which could suggest there'll be a larger Stellar Blade expansion in the future also.