Ahead of Stellar Blade‘s release, a gaming journalist has gone up a blind alley. It’s one thing to criticize a game in a professional way, but this seems to go too far. Gaming critics can be harsh without a shadow of a doubt; however, it could be helpful for developers to make improvements in future endeavors.
Stellar Blade was developed by the Korean studio Shift Up and is slated to release on April 26th, 2024. The game’s story arc follows an alien invasion in which the central character of the game, Eve, must make a way forward alongside her squad to reclaim possession of the planet.
It Seems Stellar Blade Already Has a Fanbase
The internet has gone bananas after a gaming journalist writing for IGN took a harsh approach to providing insights into the female character of the game. This is what the critic had to say:
Stellar Blade’s Eve is just boring. A doll sexualized by someone who has never seen a woman
Furious rage among fans spread like wildfire and they began defending the character over social networks like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). Among them was Diablo 2 producer Mark Kern, who shared some images of the team artist and the game creator’s wife that countered the journalist’s argument.
So @IGN calls Stellar Blade protagonist a sexualized “doll” and says the creator “has never seen a living woman.”
The not real “doll”:
The creator’s wife and team artist: pic.twitter.com/IPgDbwmdgR
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 30, 2024
Several fans used this opportunity to criticize gaming journalists. A user dubbed The Immortal Tardigrade wrote, “They aren’t journalists. They are tabloid writers.”
They aren’t journalists. They are tabloid writers.
— The Immortal Tardigrade (@Tard545540261) March 30, 2024
One of the users dubbed Naho implied that the publication lost his/her respect following their “Too much water” review.
Moreover, several users were seen posting images of the model who gave a full body scan for the development of Eve. In 2020, she shared a 3D scan on her YouTube channel and has maintained silence over her involvement since.
The World of Gaming Journalism is Rapidly Changing
IGN has been active since 1996 and has focused mainly on the entertainment industry. However, in recent years, some fans haven’t been happy about the content being delivered.
The publication has provided several gaming reviews and is considered trustworthy by fans. However, there are arguments that the website, many times, has called some praiseworthy games bad. Meanwhile, praising the bad ones. Whether you agree with the opinions of IGN critics or not, the website will likely be a topic of debate among gamers after this comment.
The digital media landscape has been growing lately and the internet has seen a flux of publications trying to get ahead in the viewership race. The new ones have become so obsessed with search engine optimization that many of them have failed to deliver quality content. Instead of zipping past in the content race, they should slow down to investigate a bit to avoid a potential mess.
How do you feel about Stellar Blade‘s central character? Let us know what you think in the comments.
