Stellar Blade reimagines the style of ‘80s and ‘90s sci-fi
The story takes place on Earth, which is ravaged by unknown creatures. Can you tell us more about the abandoned planet?
We have designed the game so that the backstory of the desolated Earth will reveal itself as the game progresses. The story begins at the point in time after Earth was ravaged by mysterious creatures called Naytiba, leading the decimated human race to flee to an outer space colony. Feeling defeated and tired of life in space, humans decide to battle Naytiba to reclaim their motherland. Players will learn the backstory and the incidents in between as they progress through the game. After discovering the truth, Eve will be faced with a decision and what she chooses is in the players’ hands.
No one knows what the Naytibas are, where they came from, or even what they want. This is where Eve comes in: to uncover the mystery surrounding these unknown creatures.
From the last remaining city on Earth, Xion, to the vast wasteland and the great desert beyond, what special attention and consideration went into designing this post-apocalyptic world?
Post-apocalypse has been one of the longest-running genres in the game industry, among many others. So, for us to avoid monotony and make Stellar Blade a unique post-apocalyptic story was a major challenge. However, on the contrary, we wanted to stay away from making it eccentric or including bizarre elements so that it would be different. We decided it was best to reimagine and render the elements from ‘80s and ‘90s sci-fi for Stellar Blade.
People have their own vision of what a post-apocalyptic world is like based on what they’ve envisioned in their heads or seen in movies and such. I’m sure many players will appreciate and admire the details and attention that went into making the post-apocalyptic world in Stellar Blade vivid and realistic. A younger generation of gamers, on the other hand, will probably find our rendition of the post-apocalyptic world quite novel.
Is there any movie in particular that you took inspiration from?
There are quite a few. However, one of the most inspirational, in terms of theme and design, is the sci-fi manga Gunnm by Yukito Kishiro sensei. It was released as an action film in 2019 under the title Alita: Battle Angel. I’d say I took a lot of inspiration from that movie.
Developers share details on the game’s manga inspiration, themes of humanity, and more.
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