Stellar Blade will let the protagonist show a lot of skin in exchange for making the game harder

Did the camera really need to focus on Miranda’s butt in Mass Effect 2? What about having a self-conscious trophy/achievement in NieR: Automata awarded for trying to look at 2B’s panties? What about Lollipop Chainsaw (“I swear, it was an accident”) and God of War 3 (“Bros Before Hoes”) that were based on the same thing? Are the female characters in Metal Gear Solid a demonstration of prevailing machismo in the saga? The debate about sexualization in video games is not new, but Stellar Blade has been consistently putting it back on the table with some of its design choices.

Described as a cross between Bayonetta and NieR: Automata, this Korean hack-and-slash is one of the biggest PS5 exclusives of 2024, but that’s not the only reason why it’s giving people a lot to talk about. The game, which recently saw its demo accidentally published on the PlayStation Store (which has since been pulled down), has a voluptuous protagonist whose appearance has been a huge focus of the title’s marketing, and which has admittedly been referred to as the devs as an important part of the game.

The protagonist, Eve, can seemingly be given all kinds of outfits throughout the game, some of which greatly emphasize her figure. It doesn’t seem to be something so out of place for the developers, Shift Up, as the studio is known to use highly sexualized designs and imagery in most of their previous games. Titles like ‘Destiny Child’ and ‘Nikke: Goddess of Victory’ are all about collecting attractive characters, with microtransactions often depicting them in skimpy outfits. The studio has even had to apologize publicly before because of it.

And while we still have to are yet to play the game by ourselves, what was leaked from the demo seems to suggest that this same “attention to detail” is being given to Eve in Stellar Blade. Clips of a specific outfit in the demo have been going around social media, depicting a highly provocative look that leaves very little to the imagination. Apparently, this “armor” comes with a gameplay effect that leaves the character without shields, meaning highly increased damage received.

Thus, wearing less in Stellar Blade comes with the added effect of making the game more difficult as a penalty. Certainly a bit more fuel for the debate, that could very well stem from a kind of culture shock: This game is one of the biggest titles to come from a South Korean studio, so it’s to be expected that they have a different take on sensibilities than on the rest of the world. But will it fly in other territories or will it cause it to tumble on a global scale?

With a release date set for April 26, 2024, all we can do is wait and see how it’s received by critics, and more importantly, by players.