Stellar Blade dev talks about “fetishistic elements” in the game 

Shift Up’s Stellar Blade releases on April 26 for the PS5, and one of the upcoming title’s most discussed points are its provocative character and costume designs. While many are as excited for Stellar Blade’s fanservice as they are for its sleek battles, there has been criticism of the overt sexuality as well. In a recent interview with Famitsu, the game’s director Hyung-Tae Kim talked about his approach to designing the heroines Eve and Lily, also giving his take on “fetishistic elements” in video game character designs. 

Voluptuous body proportions, tight, revealing clothes and exaggerated jiggle physics – Stellar Blade’s developers have poured a lot of work into making Eve sexy, and Kim has even commented that his pursuit to “come up with the most attractive looking body for the user” led him to work with a real-life South Korean model famous for her attractive physique. Kim has previously worked on designs for Magna Carta, Destiny’s Child, and Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, which all reveal a taste for exaggerated sexiness, but the developer recently spilled some details about how he approached Stellar Blade’s designs. 

Addressing the pronounced “glossiness” of many of Eve’s outfits, Kim explains that the Earth seen by Eve is dominated by destruction and drought that does not cease even when rain falls. On the other hand, the off-world colony where Eve and her companions live has a developed civilization. Thus, Kim strived to express the contrast between the dry Earth and the civilized colony through the character designs. He also mentions that it is not just glossiness that he emphasized – players will be able unlock new costumes for Eve that have various textures. 

On the other hand, Kim admits that many of his creative decisions also come from his personal preferences, rather than from Stellar Blade’s lore. One such element is Eve’s extremely long hair, which she wears in a ponytail. Kim reveals that a year could have been chopped off Stellar Blade’s development period if Eve had been short-haired. Likewise, Lily’s ginger hair and freckles are also physical features the developer decided to incorporate based on his personal partiality.  

When asked about some of the “fetishy” elements of Stellar Blade’s costume design, Hyung-Tae Kim responds, “I think that careful utilization of fetishistic elements can bear very good results in terms of costume design.” He explains that this is why he likes to “spice things up” with elements that will draw users in as soon as they spot them and appeal to specific subcultures. By subcultures, Kim likely means things like anime fans’ love of zettai ryōiki and similar. “This is an important element for video games,” he concludes. 

Whether it’s to express an aspect of lore, satisfy personal preferences or appeal to different subcultures, Stellar Blade’s developers have put a lot of work into the game’s visuals – which is apparent from all the previews we’ve seen so far. We look forward to seeing how this attention to detail will be reflected in the full game. 

Stellar Blade is scheduled to launch on April 26 for the PS5. Pre-orders are currently open, and the demo releases on the PlayStation Store on March 29

Read about how Stellar Blade’s director is already teasing a sequel.