PlayStation 5 exclusive action game Stellar Blade received an in-depth trailer and release date during today’s State of Play digital event. The game, which comes by way of developer Shift Up, is slated to drop on April 26, just a few months away.
Initially announced as Project Eve and destined for a multiplatform release, the game was intended to hit shelves sometime in 2023 but over the course of its development, Sony Interactive Entertainment stepped up as publisher, making the game a PS5 exclusive before today locking in its April release date.
The latest trailer, linked below, shows off an extended look at Stellar Blade’s sci-fi/fantasy world, it’s incredibly British-sounding characters, and a load of the game’s expressive combat.
In Stellar Blade it looks like we’ll be playing as Eve, an agile fighter from something called the “Seventh Airborne Squad”, on a quest to rid Earth of an invading force known as the Naytibas, foul-looking creatures who have run humanity off into the stars. While exploring Xion, the last human city, Eve will link up with Lily and Adam (the aforementioned twunk who has stolen my heart), both of whom look to play a role in upgrading Eve’s combat powers and the narrative writ large.
Xion looks like a strange mix of some pretty stock standard sci-fi tropes and some genuinely sick new ideas; along the way, Eve can complete side quests to help the citizens of Xion warm up to her, explore a semi-open world, and just soak in the bizarre world of Stellar Blade.
Combat looks like a tightly tuned hack’n’slash experience, bolstered by some impressive animations and big set pieces. Deploying a combination of melee and firearms, Eve will face down a variety of techno-organic foes, an aesthetic theme that runs through the friendly NPCs and world too.
Stellar Blade will release on PS5 on April 26, 2024.
Are you keen to check this one out? Does it look stellar to you? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and on social media.
One part pretentious academic and one part goofy dickhead, James is often found defending strange games and frowning at the popular ones, but he's happy to play just about everything in between. An unbridled love for FromSoftware's pantheon, a keen eye for vibes first experiences, and an insistence on the Oxford comma have marked his time in the industry.
