Shift Up’s upcoming title, Stellar Blade, marks the studio’s entry into the console gaming category, along with it being their first AAA game. The game is set around an alien invasion, and the players will play as Eve, who along with her squad, needs to win back planet Earth. The game will be a PS5 exclusive, which will be released on April 26.
Fans got to see the demo gameplay, which came to the PS5 on March 29. The demo shows Eve and her squad being sent to Earth from the Colony to fight the aliens in an attempt to reclaim the planet.
The controversy around Stellar Blade’s protagonist Eve
It was a pretty standard demo gameplay release, however, the game became the center of controversies after many objected to the protagonist’s body design. They were of the opinion that Eve’s character was designed in a very s*xualized way.
Even though a few fans have appreciated the developers for Eve’s beautiful character design, especially her hair, others felt that her body was designed in an unrealistic manner, which resembles a s*x doll.
Previously, Stellar Blade director Hyung-Tae Kim stated that he is inspired by games such as NIER. Since games like NIER: Automata are known to have stylized and s*xualized female protagonists, many felt that Kim has taken some inspiration from this as well.
Things became complicated even more when, in a recent interview with GamesRadar, Stellar Blade director Hyung-Tae Kim stated that they have put “special attention” into the design of the back of that game’s playable character, Eve.
Stellar Blade Director makes a request to fans
As the game has garnered the attention of fans due to its controversies, Hyung-Tae Kim recently came out to speak about the controversies surrounding Eve’s character design.
During an interview, Kim was asked whether he was aware that some Western media outlets criticized the portrayal of Eve in Stellar Blade.
To that, he added,
I know that in the West, game characters have to be realistic in many ways and that there are numerous issues involved, such as gender, race, diversity, etc
He also went on to justify Eve’s character design by adding that the game is only an entertainment and cultural work and people should take it that way. Kim also made a sincere request to fans amid all the controversies surrounding Eve by saying,
I hope people will look at it as just another fun action game that has been released
Stellar Blade Director Kim Hyung Tae hopes people will view Stellar Blade as just another fun action game #StellarBlade
“I know that in the West, game characters have to be realistic in many ways and that there are numerous issues involved, such as gender and racial diversity.… pic.twitter.com/k0PKHQlQEQ
— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) April 4, 2024
Kim also added during the interview that since several games focus on typical male action scenes, he wanted Stellar Blade to have a different feel, and, therefore introduced Eve as an attractive female as the main character in the game.
The team also wanted players to have fun in the action scenes and therefore incorporated acrobatic movements in her character drawing inspiration from ballet and gymnastics.
