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Stellar Blade - Review Thread
- Thread starter --R
- Start date
I don't have an inherent problem with fan service, I am a big fan of NieR and a lot of media that can be pretty egregious with it. Something about this game just feels extra in a way I find unpleasant. I can't really explain why this bothers me more than other cases (besides the devs sucking that is).
Not an accident but they're a lot more exaggerated in that one instance people were spreading around. It's definitely there to titillate but it isn't as crazy as people are making it out to be, in my opinion. I think the skin suit is the main thing bothering people and I can agree I wish it just didn't exist.
If it ain't a big deal then where are my dick bulge physics
Adam should wear a suit as tight as a condom 💪
yeah this is going to be another xenoblade 2 for me. Timestamped:
View: https://youtu.be/JDuiRFC965Q?t=867
that shit just makes me go
There shall be a lot of eye rolling with this game :(
Look at that timestamp, that is just what happens when you turn the character or walk..
The issue isn't that the character is attractive, it's more that she literally looks like a sex doll. It's obvious that the entire ethos behind her character design was "what makes male nerds pee-pee's hard" regardless of whatever other content the game has so she sticks out like a sore thumb.
It's very aggressively pandering to the idea that male gamers need their female characters to be wank bait or they will be unable to engage with them.
Sexualization isn't inherently wrong, but but it still has to fit in with the themes of the media it's part of imo.
Dude you got multiple women telling you otherwise, maybe just listen?
Exactly, let's be equal opportunity if it's no big deal.
The turn to aim with her chest moving all over the place is a strong tell who this is for.
It looks like a Nier knockoff made for our times. Maybe the story is great? I don't have much interest in finding out though.
Do we have to rope DOA into this honestly? Can we not have a moment where we get "Yes, what DOA did was terrible" and then have a "Yes, what Stellar Blade also did is terrible"?
Both things are terrible and one does not outweigh or make better the existence of the other. The jiggle physics in both games are terrible.
Both things are terrible and one does not outweigh or make better the existence of the other. The jiggle physics in both games are terrible.
The story and characters are the main criticisms of this game, so ... no.
Thanks to Kyuuji for pointing out this quote from the RollingStone review because I'm going to keep using it.
It's clearly a thing that the jiggle physics have issues when it's being called out in a review.
It's clearly a thing that the jiggle physics have issues when it's being called out in a review.
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they got a genuine lol out of me in the demo, totally undermine what's meant to be a serious moment in the story
lol yeah exactly^ the main game is probably full of moments like this
As someone who hasn't been paying much attention since I don't have a PS5 anyways it's been odd scrolling by, doing a double-take on the outfits, and then reading "is it really that overt?" or "boycotting over a body type" posts.
Like I'm not really against sexualization in some games but we can at least recognize it when something's made this blatantly titillating, right?
Like I'm not really against sexualization in some games but we can at least recognize it when something's made this blatantly titillating, right?
I swear this stuff always makes me think of shit like "what's wrong with x. my best friend is x so maybe I don't get it". As if that's the issue with people having concerns or outright being dismissive of this game's infantile use of oversexualisation and objectification of women. People are just sexually inhibited. Nothing to do with the ridiculous emphasis on cartoonishly sexualising the main character at any moment.
From the Rolling Stones article posted in this thread. One of the very few who've extensively touched on this subject and could probably elucidate some of your more ardent questions on why people might find this game's shit trite and embarrassing. This has nothing to do with sex or sexuality as much as how it implements its accent and unashamed male gaze centric art and gameplay design. People wouldn't be so bewildered by some of this criticism if they were talking about watching Dune or A Quiet Place and having every 5 seconds crotch cams, arsecheeks and boobs jiggling as centre pieces for the camera.
Apparently not. Either you are supposed to love it to 100% or you are hater.
We all point out that the game has some quality elements to it and that we understand if people enjoy those, but let us please be honest with the problematic stuff too. No one is hurt by this, or should be hurt by this.
Personally, would love to see more games with sexy characters, male and female, and I do think most games suck at portraying sex/sexiness right. However, this game ain't what I'm looking for, it's less "sexy" and more "hentai male-gazey" with her being a doll with ridiculous jiggle. And this sucks when the game appears to be a fun action game, not that I think there's something morally wrong with playing the game.
I think you're right, in a vacuum. The ethics really come into play when you consider the broad efforts of the industry to become more inclusive and welcoming to women in a typically male dominated space. This type of objectification was the norm in visual media not too long ago, so the character designs and camera focus of Stellar Blade could be seen as "too soon" or "setting us back".
I don't personally see this one game doing any lasting damage to the industry when it comes to respectful representation, so I'm having fun laughing at just how absurd and in your face it is. I see some reviewers downplaying the fanservice, but I have to imagine it's only because they're so focused on the actual gameplay that it just becomes white noise. As a viewer, it's so noticeable that it feels like parody.
Dude... Surely you're aware of a lot of the harassment drama in both gaming, and hell, the sex work industry. Maybe you're somehow lucky, but I'm kinda shocked to read this (I guess depending one what work you do exactly). A lot of women have been used and abused in both industries. The fact that normal women have been face scanned for games and receive threats of violence because gamers thought they were "ugly" is shockingly real. Recently men were mad that Warhammer 40k adding female warriors to the roster, or Mark Kern leading a bridage made that more pocs/children aren't more fuckable in games.
And if you really want to hear more common issues, just read the Girl Gamers subreddit for a lot of venting.
No no, you have it all wrong. The poster you are responding to "enjoys seeing sexuality". We lowly sexuality non-enjoyers obviously have no experience with, well...enjoying sex 🤐...so we couldn't possibly understand or speak to their ascended perspective on these matters.
It's kind of nice to see so many people genuinely trying to engage, but I'll be very surprised if an "aha! moment" will be forthcoming anytime soon.
Dante's Inferno (the game, not the book!) was a trailblazer in this department. And remains the absolute unchallenged king.
Stellar Blade im Test: Spektakuläre Action und eine spannende Geschichte – für mich ein perfektes Actionspiel!
Stellar Blade im Test: Spektakuläre Action und eine spannende Geschichte – für mich ein perfektes Actionspiel!
www.eurogamer.de
5/5
This is what is interesting to me. Bayo had plenty of "fan service" camera angles and she's only clothing she has is her hair which unravels when doing moves and poses or what not. However, she has ace personality and charm which I think gives her a "pass".
If you can deal with Bayo and liked action adventure like that….then Stellar Blade should be considered
I think we have to have that example, and absolutely bring it up. For all of its shameless sexualization, there were no attempts to derail the conversation about how great the games were without it. They are one in the same. You can not extract that element and decidedly say, oh - there's a SOLID game underneath here. Sure, there might be. But it's at the core essence, it is the identity of the game and the legacy of it. Veering into misogyny (GASP), who would've thought, but we can't say those things because you're trying to get games canceled (woke mob always ruining things...)
Here, and I think I said this in another thread some time ago, it's such a wild scenario. Like you have full on Sony partnership, insane marketing, a huge development to the Korean console gaming space. But it's also worth acknowledging that this game has a huge focus on sexualization. I think a lot of people are trying to disguise it, in terms of gameplay, or new things the game accomplishes with this level of fidelity even in a post Sony censorship policy world. But in my mind, its like why? It's absolutely its legacy, and for it to be successful, popular, viral - the game can be solid, have great combat mechanics, but that emphasis on sexuality was a real focus. In addition to all the monster designs, world aesthetics, beautiful music, all of the elements.
Like I get it, I think some were hoping for some philosophical Yoko Taro approach where you offset the insane sexualized character designs to say something about humanity, or whatever. And that's not to be dismissive of what this game will say or won't when everyone plays it. But like some of y'all are giving me life - like what did you think this was about?
The visual style of this game definitely turned me off so I just ignored it, but it seems like there might be a good game here? I guess the reviews have encouraged me to try the demo, especially since the ones I've read didn't really touch on what I care about most, the combat. Guess I'll see for myself.
Digital Foundry specifically brings up comparisons to Ninja Gaiden on Xbox. Give it a look.
Pretty much. I'm not sure how anyone can look at the video that's been posted of aiming the gun, seeing what people are criticising and being like 'oh so they have to be rock solid now' 🥴. I suppose we should be grateful we didn't get 'boobs do move you know' lol.
Exactly, you are the most important critic when it comes to what you'll enjoy or not enjoy.
What personally grates me about it, is that below the sexualization and boob tech... I feel there is a great game burdened by juvenile misoginy.
I legit feel they have something going with the combat system, the graphics, general monster and tech art design, music, many of the more covering clothing designs, etc.
But then, it's impossible to ignore, between the bouncing boobs and poses designed to give looks at butt cracks, that the game is also meant to oogle a sexy doll doing acrobatics.
If the game was just plain bad, or something built from the ground up to be fan service like DOA, I don't think it would bother me as much tbh. And because the tone is completely diferent from a Bayonetta, it also doesn't have the benefit of self awareness/ breaking the 4th wall with a certain brand of humor that made it probably less grating (thoughI find Bayo nearly equally offensive).
If the demo is anything to go by this game is nothing like NGB lol.
The first sentences really doesn't follow well into the last once for me. The fact that Bayo has a vibrant personally is absolutely a huge difference in how I'm experiencing their sexuality as a player. One's a cool character that owns her sexuality, the other by all accounts I've been reading in this thread, even by people giving the game high marks, is little more than a target to ogle that you either enjoy the titillation or roll your eyes (maybe a mix of both on a per-case basis).
Any time I watch something with jiggle physics for boobs, it just makes me more intuitively aware of how painful it is for my cat to walk across my chest in the mornings, and seeing Eve shooting a gun with them going all over the place would just be the utter death of me.
Since I've become the devil's advocate, can someone explain what exactly is so misogynistic about this game? Keep in mind we don't know how Eve develops over the course of the game. It's highly likely she becomes more assertive or what have you just like 2B does. Even if she doesn't, because story and themes aren't as big a priority in this compared to Automata, does it make a difference?
Preach. If pointing at something made them wobble like a slapped jelly I'd spend my life with one arm strapped across my chest.
It was explained countless times in multiple thread by now, I think reading a few pages of this thread could help with your question.
Thanks, I'll check out their review and the demo a bit later and see where I stand. It seems several people here disagree with the comparison so it's nice to be able to see for myself.
In Sekiro if I wanna play on Hard Mode I give Kuro his charm back and ring the Demon Bell.
In Stellar Blade if you wanna play on Hard Mode you get Eve naked.
People have explained this to you already.
Plenty of reviews have also said she doesn't have any kind of arc and that by the end of the game they felt like her character was just as thin as it was at the start.
Sometimes women like to be naked I'll have you know! /s
Fighting naked with jello-boobs is the best thing, you wouldn't believe it!
Gamechanging. ...Kinda serious, what a courtesy! haha
(And slightly sad I couldnt have singled this out myself since BG3's been on my wishlist for a while. Will LTTP one day!)
So aside from the blatant male gaze and sexism of the game itself...
Are we all just going to ignore that the devs themselves are outright anti-feminist and reportedly have a history of sexism in the work place?
Genuinely blows my mind how much people are just ignoring the amount of problematic shit here. Like, this case (both the game itself and the dev in particular), seems to go much further than the, unfortunately, still all too common sexism elsewhere in the industry.
Are we all just going to ignore that the devs themselves are outright anti-feminist and reportedly have a history of sexism in the work place?
Genuinely blows my mind how much people are just ignoring the amount of problematic shit here. Like, this case (both the game itself and the dev in particular), seems to go much further than the, unfortunately, still all too common sexism elsewhere in the industry.