Summary
- While Stellar Blade's Nano Suits are purely cosmetic, Shift Up plans to release more outfits for Eve in the future.
- The similarities in themes and aesthetics between Horizon and Stellar Blade make a collaboration for new Nano Suits plausible.
- A Horizon crossover in Stellar Blade is feasible, considering Sony's history of collaborations with other video games.
Despite the fact that it can only be experienced in single-player, in-game cosmetics are a defining aspect of Shift Up's hit action-adventure title, Stellar Blade. In the game, players can collect a wide variety of Nano Suits, or costumes, for the character they play, a soldier named Eve. While these Nano Suits do come in a range of shapes and sizes, from teddy bear outfits and suits to casual clothes and elaborate dresses, their impact on Stellar Blade's gameplay is ultimately superfluous, as none of them actually affect Eve's statistics when it comes to defense taken, damage output, and the like. Even still, the game boasts over 74 obtainable outfits, none of which are locked behind a paywall of any sort.
As if those costumes weren't enough, Shift Up has recently confirmed that more Nano Suits for Eve are on the way. While it's currently unclear when exactly these outfits will be added to Stellar Blade, the game's developer anticipates that they'll be included in an update that will be released sometime after October 2024. It's anyone's guess what these new Nano Suits will end up looking like, but there are some potential inspirations that Shift Up might pull from. For instance, the Korean developer could take advantage of its publishing deal with Sony Interactive Entertainment to add an outfit based on the armor sets from one of PlayStation's biggest franchises, the Horizon series.
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Shift Up Should Add Horizon-Inspired Nano Suits to Stellar Blade
Stellar Blade and Horizon Share Some Similarities, Despite Surface-Level Differences
On the surface, Guerrilla Games' Horizon franchise doesn't seem to have much in common with Stellar Blade outside of its sci-fi setting. After all, the former follows the adventures of a huntress from a matriarchal tribe in a world overrun by robot dinosaurs, while the latter revolves around a squad of soldiers fighting to save what's left of humanity on a war-torn, futuristic Earth. However, the IPs do share some similarities, namely in terms of aesthetics and themes. Both Horizon and Stellar Blade dabble in topics like malicious AIs, apocalyptic events with ominous origins, and consequences of human hubris, among other things. Furthermore, the futuristic art directions of the two franchises don't outright clash with each other, despite Horizon opting for a more tribal take on the standard sci-fi setting.
Since the Horizon series and Stellar Blade have sort of similar aesthetics, it wouldn't be too crazy if Eve gets some costumes inspired by Aloy's tribal sci-fi outfit or armor!
Since many elements of the Horizon universe wouldn't feel too out of place in the world of Stellar Blade, some new costumes for Eve inspired by, say, Aloy's armor sets in Horizon: Forbidden West would make for a perfect fit. Some of the outfits Guerrilla Games created for its popular action-adventure franchise are fairly inventive compared to other sci-fi works, what with their traditional, rustic appearances and their technology-infused designs. As such, if Shift Up were to add Nano Suits inspired by the Horizon series to Stellar Blade, Eve would be given some pretty refreshing new skins.
A Horizon and Stellar Blade Collaboration Doesn't Seem Too Unlikely
The Horizon franchise has collaborated with a number of video games in the past, including Genshin Impact, Fortnite, Monster Hunter: World, Destiny 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and LittleBigPlanet 3. Based off of Horizon's extensive history of crossing over with other games, both first- and third-party, it's clear that Sony isn't reluctant to do collaborations involving Guerrilla Games' flagship IP. Because of this, a Stellar Blade and Horizon crossover isn't outside the realm of possibility, especially because both franchises are published by Sony.
That being said, it's hard to say if a Horizon collab will happen this year, if at all. While Shift Up did announce, as part of its Stellar Blade roadmap, that it plans to hold a large IP crossover event for its acclaimed action-adventure game by the end of 2024, it's unclear if this will have anything to do with any of Sony's own franchises, let alone Horizon. Currently, many gamers are speculating that this Stellar Blade collaboration will have something to do with Nier: Automata, though it remains to be seen if that ends up being the case.
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…
