Summary
- Stellar Blade is to receive content updates and additional DLC in 2024 and 2025, but a big expansion could fix one issue.
- Specifically, DLC could introduce new environments to add some much-needed variety to the game's exploration, as there are too many desert areas in the base game.
- A substantial narrative expansion may be necessary to justify new environments in the post-apocalyptic setting, but many would surely like to see it.
During a recent IPO press conference, Stellar Blade developer Shift Up announced several content updates coming to the game later in 2024, with "additional DLC" likely coming in 2025. While this additional DLC could be nothing more than supplementary outfits for EVE, it could also be more substantial content that adds to Stellar Blade's story and world. One piece of rather telling evidence that this DLC could be more significant than additional cosmetics is the fact that Shift Up seemingly has it planned for next year, implying it will need plenty of time to develop the content. The only question that remains is what Stellar Blade's impending DLC could be.
As Stellar Blade stands right now, it is excellent in many ways but could still use a bit of variety in its exploration and environments. The game's open-world zones are far from nothing to look at, boasting stunning textures and lighting. However, they are all too similar in their appearance, essentially using the same building blocks in each area but with trivial differences. This is where a potential DLC could come in, but it would need to be a considerable update to the game for it to succeed.
Stellar Blade's Endings Explained
Shift Up's Stellar Blade has three different endings to its story, each of which offers a unique and worthwhile take on the story's epic conclusion.
Stellar Blade DLC Could Introduce New Environments
Stellar Blade's Environments All Look the Same
Despite featuring some eye-catching visuals, Stellar Blade's environments all look the same. Stellar Blade's open-world zones, the Wasteland and Great Desert, are both the same tones of light and dark brown, with occasional manmade structures and geological formations looming in the distance. It's a bit disappointing, considering there are no mounts in Stellar Blade, so players are required to cover miles of desert terrain on foot. The game's urban environments are no different, showcasing decaying buildings painted with the same selection of muted colors.
From a certain perspective, it makes sense for Stellar Blade's post-apocalyptic environments to look the way that they do, considering the world they are set in. One would expect such a setting to be dull and lifeless, and for its open areas to be nothing more than dry, empty deserts filled with crumbling infrastructure. Even so, Stellar Blade could still afford to spice up its landscapes a bit, and it could accomplish that with a substantial DLC addition to the base game.
DLC Could Diversify Stellar Blade's Landscape
It might be a stretch for any potential DLC coming to Stellar Blade to introduce environments that don't complement the post-apocalyptic scene, but it's not entirely improbable. Lily's Secret Garden, a location players can visit near the end of the story after maxing out Lily's affinity, is a very small area that is filled with lush vegetation. As such, there could be a way for Stellar Blade DLC to introduce some greener environments to the game.
Furthermore, one of Stellar Blade's first explorable zones, Eidos 7, features rain as a weather pattern. This means it could potentially snow in some areas of Stellar Blade's world, depending on where it's at. A snow-covered landscape would even be reason enough to add some less-revealing outfits for EVE that would keep her warm while she explores in the cold.
If Stellar Blade were to add DLC that incorporated new environments into the game, arguably the only way it would be able to justify it is with a proper narrative to back it up. It might feel out of place for a new environment that didn't fit the post-apocalyptic bill to just randomly show up in the game's list of explorable locations, and a story addition would help rectify that. All of that being said, Shift Up has yet to confirm whether the additional DLC it mentioned would be anything short of new outfits for EVE to wear in Stellar Blade, so only time will tell.
Stellar Blade
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 81%
- Released
- April 26, 2024
- ESRB
- M for Mature
- Developer(s)
- Shift Up
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
RECLAIM EARTH FOR HUMANKIND The future of humanity hangs in the balance in Stellar Blade, an all-new story-driven action adventure. Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space. After travelling from the Colony, 7th Airborne Squad member EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it. But as EVE tackles the Naytiba one-by-one, piecing together the mysteries of the past in the ruins of human civilization, she realizes that her mission is far from straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is as it seems…
