In a year of many big titles, Stellar Blade made a name for itself in a good way. Now, the game is finally on sale for the first time thanks to PlayStation and Black Friday. Created by South Korean developer Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive, Stellar Blade is a post-apocalyptic action hack-and-slash with a futuristic tone. The story follows Eve, a space soldier, as she fights dangerous monsters that threaten humankind and Earth.
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Its gameplay is a mix of NieR: Automata and Dark Souls (with a hint of Alita: Battle Angel), blending futuristic weapons with challenging yet rewarding combat. Initially revealed as Project EVE in 2019, it became a PlayStation exclusive soon after, with future trailer premiering in State of Plays. September 2022 was when the game was changed to Stellar Blade. Upon it’s launch in April, many have enjoyed the thrilling fight sequences and impressive visuals. Now, those who have yet to try it out have a better incentive to do so, thanks to PlayStation.
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The PlayStation Store is holding their annual Black Friday sale, which houses some great deals on many titles like Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. One of those titles is Stellar Blade, which marks one of the first times the game has been put up on sale, as the official Stellar Blade Twitter/X says. The deal cuts 29% off the $69.99 price, bringing it down to a solid $49.69. For a title that just came out this year, it’s a fantastic deal that won’t break the bank too much. The link to the deal is available here. It’s important to note that the deal is only on the PlayStation Store for the Standard Edition for digital copies, not physical. Furthermore, the deal does not extend to the Digital Deluxe Edition, which is still $79.99. The sale ends on December 3rd at 11:59 pm PST/2:59 am EST.
Despite the positive reception, Stellar Blade did stir up some controversy before and after its launch. Some came to question the title’s need to have the protagonist Eve wear certain revealing clothing. While it is an option to choose how Eve looks in the game, some outfits seemed a bit too risque for audiences. However, in a fun twist added by the developers, if you stare too long at Eve, she’ll stare back at you, which can be quite creepy if not funny. This of course, is reminiscent of NieR: Automata‘s easter egg, where 2B will kick the camera away if you try to do some inappropriate snooping.
On Metacritic, Stellar Blade holds an 81 critic score with a 9.2 user rating. Many criticize the story and pacing, while adoring the gameplay, music, and visuals. In our review, we gave the game a 4/5, saying that, “Stellar Blade boasts some surprisingly involved combat systems and fantastic creature designs all in a relatively compact experience.” The title is also nominated for two competitive Game Awards this year: Best Action Game and Best Score & Music. Regarding the many mentions of 2017’s NieR: Automata, its no surprise that a recent collaboration between the two launched last week after an initial reveal at the September 2024 State of Play.
With the recent NieR collab and the game’s two Game Award noms, now feels like the perfect time to save the human race as Eve. As mentioned before, Stellar Blade is currently available for $49.69 on the PlayStation Store until December 3rd at 11:59 pm PST/2:59 am EST. A PC version is also in the works, alongside a demo for the title available to try out.