Falling Star – Stellar Blade Day-One Patch Breakdown
Stellar Blade from Shift-Up and PlayStation is out today on PlayStation 5. But leading up to the launch, a large day-one patch has released. Quality of Life additions and more are now added to the critical praised experience.
Fast as Lightning – Input Delay Addressed
One complaint some had with the demo that released earlier in May, was input-delay. It made nailing those perfect blocks and counters more difficult. Even if the game isn’t directly a Souls-like, it does have the difficulty of one and making it harder to engage with the combat was a problem.
Thankfully, Shift-Up addressed these issues with the Day-One Patch.
The Day One patch fixed the input time for basic attacks, as well as the timing of blocking and parrying to be more responsive.
Also, the chromatic aberration and grain noise effects can now be toggled on/off.😍#StellarBlade #PS5 #Dayone pic.twitter.com/sISg5Q1WmZ
— StellarBlade (@StellarBlade) April 25, 2024
Expect impressions on how much of a fix this is when I release my first impressions piece on the early hours of Stellar Blade in the future.
Ready for Round Two? – New Game Plus, Outfits and Combat Skills
In addition to a major fix to the input-delay, Stellar Blade also received New Game Plus support. Shift-Up broke this down via PlayStation Blog post;
Today we at Shift Up are excited to reveal that New Game Plus will be coming to Stellar Blade at launch on April 26, so players can continue their journey across Xion after the credits roll. The new mode included expanded gear levels, new costumes to wear, and a suite of new skills.
The new outfits will be composed of 34 options for Eve and her companions. They even provided a ‘sample’ of one set of them, seen below.
In addition, players will be able to upgrade gear collected in their first play through and use new combat skills. The combat skills make the combat faster, helping with the additional challenge these threats will provide.
Closing Thoughts
My time with the demo was quite positive, being impressed by the powerful score and beautiful world on offer. And Eve herself reminds me a lot of the beauty seen in games like Dead of Alive or Ninja Gaiden, being refreshing to see in a game release from PlayStation.
The company has shifted away from their Japanese roots over the course of the PlayStation 5 generation, with only remnants of it remaining internally.
Stellar Blade feels like a bold statement, telling their base and the industry at large they care about the Japanese and Asian developed video games. It’s one thing to have exclusivity for Final Fantasy. It’s another thing to fund, publish and support a Korean developer so they can accomplish their vision.
Expect a first impressions piece from me in the coming week or so, alongside a proper review, in the future for Stellar Blade. Will you join Eve and Adam on their adventure? Let us know in the comments below!
