Shift Up’s Stellar Blade launched on April 26th this year to a very positive critical and commercial reception. While the game is pretty well made and super fun throughout, there is one explorable area in the game that has been slightly divisive amongst the fanbase.
This area is The Great Desert, filled with quicksand traps that will definitely consume new players without warning, and is one of the two sandbox areas in the game, the other being The Wasteland.
The Great Desert in Stellar Blade is a Bit of a Slog
Slog being literally, not figuratively, of course. The area is filled with fun side quests and some great world-building, just like The Wasteland.
While The Wasteland had mountains and traversal hiccups, The Great Desert has several quicksand traps that are hard to notice—at least on the first playthrough. You’ll likely be deep within the trap when you first realize you’ve suddenly stopped running and are being consumed by the ground below, but it’ll likely be too late as the trap is rather hard to get out of once you’ve stepped into it.
Can we all agree this area has the most “fun” in the game
byu/dzdhr instellarblade
This map also has an area with several tall, old, and destroyed buildings that players can parkour around to find quite a few treasure chests, collectibles, and even a mini boss. The problem is, the game has some strict fall damage, and even falling around three stories will get you killed.
Besides the quicksand deathtraps and somewhat annoying building parkour, this area is also filled with high-density, high-difficulty enemies that are usually roaming around in groups, in close proximity to each other. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and die if you’re not careful while exploring these areas.
There are also a few turrets that can just one-shot kill you if you’re not careful. All of these combined do make this area a lot more difficult than The Wasteland, as well as all the other more focused areas that you explore in the game. The majority of players share the sentiment, greatly preferring The Wasteland as the better sandbox area in the game.
This is Only Stellar Blade’s Second Most Divisive Topic
Another divisive and controversial topic leading up to the release of the game and continuing for a while after release was in regards to the game’s censorship, as well as the appearance of the main character, Eve.
Shift Up announced on Twitter/X on April 21st that Stellar Blade would release uncensored across all regions and offer a consistent experience worldwide. This news was actually pretty exciting for the future of gaming, as games should be released uncensored and in their original form in order to properly and fully showcase the creator’s vision.
Stellar Blade was released on April 26th to very positive reviews, receiving an 82/100 on both Metacritic and OpenCritic. The ‘uncensored across all regions’ promise mostly held true, although three outfits were slightly censored via a Day-One patch in order to make them a tad less revealing.
What do you think of The Great Desert area in Stellar Blade and the game in general? Let us know in the comments below.
