Stellar Blade, the upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive from South Korean developer Shift Up, has garnered a lot of excitement from gamers and the press. The demo for Stellar Blade received exceptional praise, but not all the feedback has been positive.
Some Western media outlets have criticized the protagonist Eve of Stellar Blade, accusing her of being oversexualized. They went as far as suggesting that her design was created by someone who had never seen a real woman before.
Stellar Blade isn’t just about sexiness
It was later revealed that Eve’s character design was based on a real model, and once fans discovered the model’s identity, she became a viral sensation.
This led to a sort of backtrack, but the controversy still lingers, to the point that Game Director Kim Hyung-Tae addressed the response from Western media in a recent interview.
Perhaps ironically, in the interview, Hyung-Tae presents a rather gender-progressive message about Stellar Blade’s protagonist. Stating that Eve is a warrior, and in the grand scheme of things it makes little difference whether the hero of the story is male or female. This prompted the interviewer to mention the recent reaction some Westerners had towards the game, with Hyung-Tae responding:
I know that in the West, game characters must reflect realistic appearances in many ways and that numerous issues such as gender and racial diversity are intertwined. However, ‘Stellar Blade’ is only an entertainment and cultural product. I hope you’ll keep an eye on this as a fun action game has just been released.
Ultimately, Stellar Blade is meant to simply be enjoyed as a great game for everyone according to Hyung-Tae. This message seems to not be lost on most members of the Western audience. Numerous online fans have not let the negative nature of media coverage discourage them, coming out in support of Hyung-Tae Kim’s vision.
Use the Skin Suit at your peril
Despite this, Hyung-Tae himself is not ignorant of the fact they’ve created a ‘beautiful asset’ of a protagonist that will attract attention from a segment of the gaming population. But with that in mind, the team has already brilliantly addressed these concerns.
During a separate interview, the discussion veered onto the various suits for Eve, including the attention-grabbing Skin Suit. In contrast to the other suits, this one aims for a more leather-like appearance to mimic skin, creating the illusion that Eve is not wearing anything. But despite its attractive look, this suit increases the difficulty of the game by giving Eve far less defensive capabilities.
Thus the Skin Suit creates an incentive for inexperienced players to refrain from choosing to use the tantalizing outfit until they’ve mastered gameplay. Perhaps this design decision will find its way into future projects to strike a balance between concerns of modesty and kinetic gameplay.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
