Stellar Blade’s Director On Crafting A Game For “All Genre Fans”

Stellar Blade is an upcoming epic sci-fi adventure that blends skillful combat with dystopian storytelling. The debut console release from developer Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive, the game follows protagonist Eve as she attempts to save a ravaged Earth from monsters called Naytiba. A PlayStation 5 exclusive, it utilizes the DualSense controller to its full capabilities, offering feedback during combat that ties into the timing of players’ moves.

The inspiration drawn from other games like NieR: Automata and FromSoftware titles is clear in things like the game’s aesthetic and combat, but it also sets itself apart in key areas. Memorizing enemy patterns and parrying in Stellar Blade, but it’s not the only way to play – over time players can choose to develop moves for Eve that are more offensive or defensive, and can also opt for a story mode difficulty setting that offers assistance along the way. By not locking Eve into one style, the game aims to appeal to a wider player base.

Screen Rant interviewed Shift Up CEO and Stellar Blade director Hyung-Tae Kim to discuss crafting the game’s complex combat, the unique design process behind the Naytiba, and how Stellar Blade sets itself apart within the action genre.

The Inspirations Of Stellar Blade

Drawing From Many Sources & The Importance Of The PS5

Screen Rant: First, I would love to hear a little bit about where you found the most inspiration when it came to crafting the story for this game, whether it’s other games, other TV shows or movies, things like that.

Hyung-Tae Kim: I’ve many times talked about Neir: Automata being one of the inspirations, but the overall atmosphere and the vibe of Stellar Blade, it comes from all the dystopian and post-apocalyptic world contents from the ’80s and the ’90s that I used to enjoy and became familiar with. So to name a few, Battle Angel Alita, the comic version. Also, there’s Blade Runner and Akira and many other numerous works and also a lot of Japanese anime and mangas as well.

So if you are someone who is familiar with all these, you’ll be able to discover all these familiar things here and there in different parts of the game. And if you’re new to this, you’ll get to see it with a fresher perspective and everything will seem new.

And why was it so important for this game to be a PS5 exclusive? I know the controller is a large part of it.

Hyung-Tae Kim: Absolutely, that is correct. The controller was one of the biggest parts because the DualSense controller, it has a lot of influence on the gameplay experience more than we expected. We wanted to make the most use out of the features that the controller provided, so we made use of the haptic feedback and the adaptive trigger and the touchpad as well. So, it’s really important for the gamers to play this game themselves.

And another reason was that because we are a Korean developer with not much of experience in global publishing of our game, it was important for us to work together with a partner who could really help us in raising our awareness. And in that way, Sony Interactive Entertainment was the best partner that we could find. And also, because of course PlayStation is one of the best platforms, that’s why PlayStation 5 exclusive was important for us.

The Design Process Of Stellar Blade

Crafting Combat & Uniquely Terrifying Enemies

And the Naytiba are so uniquely horrifying. What was the design process like behind them?

Hyung-Tae Kim: We actually think the Naytibas are the true protagonists of Stellar Blade, so we really paid a focus on bringing out those very unique features in these creatures. We really wanted them to look very natural and not artificial, so that’s why we chose the method of hand sculpting these monsters with clay and then creating the model of it.

So if you hand sculpt these creatures with clay, then you have to make them one by one by hand, even the repetitive parts of the design. So you don’t get to see those artificial digital Naytibas, they look more natural than this. And we were also able to depict that massive feel that they have, and also their presence and where they are affected by the gravity or the proportion of it. This all affected the quality of the overall design. And then we would take that model and then 3D scan it and take the data to use in the game. That’s how these monsters were created.

That’s so cool. And has the vision for this game changed in any significant ways over the course of development?

Hyung-Tae Kim: Of course there are little things that changed over the course of the development, but the fundamental basis never changed from the beginning. When we first announced the project back in 2019, it was when we were starting from scratch, but the vision that we had was that we are going to make an action game that is a slightly mature theme with a powerful story and also a complete single-player game. That’s what we wanted to create.

And also the basis of the battle didn’t really change much from the beginning either. But then of course, during the process we were influenced by other games as well. So, these little quality up changes, and the quality improved and then we were able to raise that level of completeness.

The combat system is so fast-paced and parry-centric in this game. What was it like developing that fighting style that requires really skillful control like that?

Hyung-Tae Kim: There are many different combat styles in many diverse games, but then I feel like it can be divided into two big groups of a hack and slash or soulslike battle. But then we thought that maybe we can find something in the middle that can satisfy all users and that’s what we wanted to implement in the game.

So in the beginning of Stellar Blade, you first get to learn the movements and the patterns of the enemy and learn how it attacks, and then you get used to it. And then later as you acquire more skills and more equipment, you get to choose how you want to proceed with the battle and the gameplay, and then you get to choose whether you want to play it like hack and slash style, or maybe you can focus more on defense. So you get to evolve the combat style that you wish to proceed with.

And what were the biggest ways you really wanted to make sure you differentiated Stellar Blade from other action games?

Hyung-Tae Kim: We didn’t want this game to be just for one particular user of a specific genre, we wanted to be able to encompass users of all genre fans. And that was the philosophy that we had when we designed the system base of the game.

For example, there is an easier mode called story mode in the game, and the mode provides action-assist. If you use this, you get help from the beginning to the end to defeat the enemies with the battle. But then this also has to do with the learning curve of the player, so by using this mode, you get to learn and get familiar with the gameplay. And then once you get used to it, once you think you learned enough, then you can return to the normal mode and then play again.

That way you have grown as the game player, and also at the same time the game character also grew, and we really balanced it out really well, so all users can enjoy. So, either mode will give you that experience of, “Oh! I finished this battle excellently.” And that’s one of the strengths of Stellar Blade.

The Bright Future Of Stellar Blade

Release Day & Beyond

And what are you most excited to see players react to once the game releases?

Hyung-Tae Kim: We have already been seeing some reactions here and there all over the internet, but then when the game releases, I would definitely like to see reactions like, “This game has really fun battles, and the exploration is also interesting, and this is just a very enjoyable action-adventure game.”

Are there any future plans already for after release, or is it too early to say?

Hyung-Tae Kim: Right now we’re still focusing on this game itself, but we got to find out what the players really liked through the demo release. When we released the demo, we were able to learn what players particularly liked. So based on that, we want to come up with more additional content, and maybe some cosmetic and also constant updates so that the users get to continue to enjoy this game.

Awesome. That about does it for my questions, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me about this game.

Hyung-Tae Kim: Just as a finishing note, of course we have the mobile game from the Goddess of Victory, but then this is the first console game that we get to meet our Canadian fans. So, we’re very honored. And this game is actually more than you might expect or think, it can be enjoyed by all users actually.

So even if you’re not so familiar with action games, or if you’re a hardcore action gamer who’s an expert, everyone can enjoy this, and we’ve designed it that way. So hopefully people will take interest in it and play it. And also, so that we can come up with more amazing works in the future, we ask for your continued support.