Sony’s Stellar Blade is not even officially supposed to be out yet, however, hundreds of players around the world have received copies of the game on their doorsteps a few days before the title was supposed to come out. This was also followed by reviews of the game finally being released on April 24th, where it was pointed out how the game lacks a feature that could make the experience way better.
After it was recommended by the said critics, the developers of the game added the feature of using New Game+ as part of the Day-1 patch of Stellar Blade. This patch also brings with it a removal of unintentional graffiti that created controversy.
Why Is Stellar Blade Receiving A Day-1 Patch Update
Starting with unintentional racist remarks, it was noticed by many how there is graffiti all around the map in Stellar Blade. Unfortunately, in a particular instance, one of the graffiti spelling ‘Hard‘ can be seen next to another visual element with the words ‘R Shop‘, which when put together may come off as racist despite being unintentional.
For those who do not know, R Shop in the game refers to Roxanne, who is one of the information brokers in the title. The placement of these two visual elements was completely unintentional, which was mentioned by PlayStation themselves in a statement to IGN–
“The placement of two graphics near each other in Stellar Blade resulted in an unintentional objectionable phrase. Shift Up had no intention of creating offensive artwork and will be replacing the graffiti for the Day 1 patch.“
Furthermore, the Day 1 patch will also include the ability to use the New Game+ feature as mentioned before, allowing players to take over all their progress and unlocked weapons as well as abilities into a new game. This will help players experience the game from an easier perspective if they want to as starting again with all the potential abilities already unlocked gives them time to better enjoy the storyline instead of focusing on getting resources.
While the game might have faced a speed bump just a few days before its release, it still manages to capture the heart of many gamers by being one of the few games in modern times to ship without microtransactions.
Stellar Blade Gets Praised For Not Implementing Microtransaction
Unlike other studios, Shift Up has decided not to implement any microtransactions in the game, allowing players to unlock content such as cosmetics just by exploring the game instead of shelling out more money to obtain them. This is a move that was also appreciated by fans, as the gaming community has already grown tired of the paywalls many titles have started including in recent times.
The game includes a total of 30 different outfits that players can unlock just by exploring the given map, going on missions and quests, or going to the in-game shop made available to the player’s convenience in order to buy them. The director of the game has even stated how this mechanic helps players enjoy the collecting element of Stellar Blade.
