《星刃》遵循“炫酷动作”传统，融合了砍杀、角色扮演和第三人称射击元素。 《星刃》从《尼尔机械纪元》和《猎天使魔女》等游戏汲取灵感，拥有时尚的女主角、多样的敌人以及快节奏、电影化的战斗场面。 对于《猎天使魔女》的粉丝来说，最熟悉的可能是《星刃》中的电影化时刻，这些时刻与《猎天使魔女》中的精彩场景很像。
《星刃》中，玩家将扮演Eve，她是试图从入侵地球的Naytibas手中解放地球的战士团体的一员。尽管游戏表面之下可能有更多的深层内容，但在这些内容浮出水面之前，Eve将与Adam和Lily一起保护人类最后的城市Xion对抗外敌威胁。
SHIFT UP CEO及《星刃》总监金亨泰在接受Famitsu采访时提到了游戏的灵感来源，其中最明显的是《尼尔》——由PlatinumGames与导演横尾太郎合作的作品。无论是Eve和2B都从太空殖民地降落至后末日地球支援对抗入侵者的战争，再到最终开始质疑人性的本质，《星刃》对《尼尔》有着显著的借鉴。
然而，《尼尔》也深受PlatinumGames早期作品的影响，追溯到该工作室的第一款突破性大作《猎天使魔女》。这款游戏的成功使《猎天使魔女》与《DMC》并列为动作游戏的标杆，并且即使经历了波折的后期，《猎天使魔女》仍被视为该类型必玩之作。因此，即使《星刃》直接受到《尼尔》的启发，并包含了近期《战神》系列的世界设计元素，它终究是在追随《猎天使魔女》的脚步。
《猎天使魔女》与《星刃》之间有许多相似之处，这也体现在两款游戏时尚的女主角上。Eve可用的超过20套服装让人联想到《猎天使魔女》系列中积攒的众多服饰精品店，还有更多装扮选项已被预告。从主角到敌人，《星刃》中的Naytibas怪物在外形上的怪诞多样令人想起《猎天使魔女》中的恶魔和天使。
Among 2024’s PlayStation-bound exclusives, Stellar Blade stands out. Developed by the Korean studio SHIFT UP, the game’s rare second-party Sony publishing circumstances set it apart from other first and third-party PlayStation exclusives out this year. Players take control of Eve, a warrior part of a group trying to liberate Earth from the invading Naytibas. Stellar Blade likely has more going on underneath its surface, but until that comes to light, Eve will join up with Adam and Lily to keep the last human city, Xion, standing against the foreign threat.
Stellar Blade follows the general “stylish action” tradition more closely than any other confirmed 2024 games, even the Team Ninja-developed Rise of the Ronin. The game plays like a hack-and-slash title with some RPG and third-person shooter elements, an uncommon combination that is only partially represented by other 2024 releases like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. It’s in comparison to past games in that subgenre where a clearer picture of Stellar Blade starts to form, particularly when it’s set beside Bayonetta.
SHIFT UP CEO and Stellar Blade director Kim Hyung Tae outlined the game’s inspirations in a recent interview with Famitsu, and the largest being NieR: Automata, a collaboration between developer PlatinumGames and director Yoko Taro, is quickly apparent. Eve and 2B both descend to a post-apocalyptic Earth from a space colony to support a war against invaders, and eventually start questioning the nature of humanity. Without even going into granular parallels like support drones and the presence of characters named “Adam and Eve” in both titles, Stellar Blade owes a lot to NieR: Automata.
However, Automata also owes a lot to PlatinumGames’ past work, tracing back to the studio’s first breakout hit, Bayonetta. Director Hideki Kamiya, who once directed Devil May Cry 1 for Capcom, set the tone for PlatinumGames’ body of work with a slick, sexy, and stylish action game about a witch fighting angels. The game’s success managed to install Bayonetta alongside DMC as a touchstone for action games to come, and Bayonetta is still considered a must-play entry in the genre even after its tumultuous later years. Even if Stellar Blade is directly inspired by NieR: Automata, and includes elements of world design from the recent God of War titles, it’s still ultimately following in the footsteps of Bayonetta.
There are a lot of vibes shared between Bayonetta and Stellar Blade, and they start with each game’s fashionable heroines. Over 20 costumes available for Eve recall the boutique of outfits Bayonetta built up across her franchise, and even more cosmetic options have been teased. Going from protagonists to enemies, the Naytibas in Stellar Blade are grotesque and visually diverse in ways reminiscent of Bayonetta’s demons and angels. These monsters, as well as various terms and locations in Stellar Blade’s world, add some spiritual touches to the game’s usual ruined future aesthetic, striking a balance between Bayonetta and NieR: Automata’s influence.
What really lands Stellar Blade in the role of “2024’s Bayonetta,” though, is how it plays. A full open world has already been deconfirmed, suggesting plenty of linear mission areas that are still wide enough to encourage exploration like in a PlatinumGames title. Combat is a fast-paced, predominantly up-close affair with an emphasis on reacting to enemy actions, and includes occasional bouts of cinematic action to heighten excitement like how Bayonetta often infuses its encounters with over-the-top setpieces. If Stellar Blade sticks its landing, stylish action fans will be looking at the genre’s biggest new title since 2022’s Bayonetta 3, and that is a proud legacy to carry.