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Writer's pictureSam DeLong

Gaming Journalism and the Hypocrisy of The Stellar Blade Think Pieces

Updated: May 15

Just as in Comics, action movies, or any other kind of entertainment -- eye candy has always been prevalently featured in video games. Characters like Tifa, Lara Croft, and other examples of curvy heroines have become mainstays in games -- even characters like Metroid's Samrus Aran have been overtly sexualized in certain titles. Male characters are shown in all their shirtless glory -- but for some reason legacy media seems to moving the goal post as of late turned having boobs in games a political talking point -- especially in the wake of Stellar Blade.



Developed by Korean Developer Shift Up, this PS5 exclusive is a somewhat of a hybrid of Sekiro and Devil May Cry, with its busty and cake-a-licous protagonist even using her swords of vengeance to take down the populous in a post-apocalyptic future, with undertones of Nier Automata and Manga like Battle Angel Alita. Behind this slick and stylish action game beats the heart of a controversy -- with certain legacy media Journalist calling it everything from a conservative grift or a vehicle for the male gaze.


The voice of outcry really started with an IGN France Preview in which the author compared Eve to a literal sex doll -- and went onto to state that she was designed by someone who had never "seen a woman". An apology was eventually issued, stating that the content of those statements were inappropriate.

 

The statement in the original IGN France Preview is important because of the context. The assumption here is that if not only an attack of the developer itself, but in the implication that if you want to play Stellar Blade or even like it, then you are a pervert.

 

As it turns out, Shift Up CEO Hyung-Tae Kim has indeed seen a woman, as he is married to concept artist, Jyung Chae, who also works at Shift Up. Not only has she worked on Stellar Blade, but also on title NIKKE, which also features plenty of attractive and curvy characters.




The model playing Eve in Stellar Blade is also based on a real-life woman, Korean model, Shin-Jae Un as confirmed by Tae Kim himself. He also confirmed that her face was design in house, but the mo-cap for Eve's physical form was scanned from the aformentioned model. When asked about Eve's appearance he explained that when playing a game I look for chracters more attractive than him, and notes the special attention placed on Eve's backside when designing the character. It makes sense considering it's a third person action game and that's where players will ultimately be looking while playing.


That begs the question -- why does this seem to be an either or -- argument? By doubling down on such things -- it is exposing the hypocrisy of the argument itself. To that end, lets consider another "hot" character that has recently appeared in video games -- Baulder Gate 3's Shadowheart. In the game, you can romance her and even engage in sexy time with her -- yet I do not see countless articles and think pieces about Shadowheart's hotness. So while you may dress your Eve in countless skintight jumpsuits and space bikinis there seems to be a certain amount of hypocrisy on display here.


The voice of Kotaku's Alyssa McCante has been one of the louder voices here -- but is also a classic example of the kind of conditional outrage that seems to be part of the problem. A recent piece of on Hades 2's hot characters shows her complaining that Eve's hotness is not allowed because she is aware of her hotness.




Kotaku seems to think that the hotness in Hades 2 is allowed because Eve isn't aware of her hotness. Comparitively, the piece argues that Baluders Gate's sex appeal is in a category all of its even because there is a more of it. In the same article, she also states that sexiness is subjective -- So I am confused why am I a allowed to not like Stellar Blade again?


It is a stark reminder that outrage coming from the Twitter crowd -- doesn't necessarily mean that its the vocal majority. As much as Kotaku and other outlets like it doesnt want to admit -- there is a solid action game underneath its skin tight outer layer. When Playstation released its long-gestating demo for Stellar Blade, it would later go onto be downloaded by 690,000 players at its peak, according to a survey conducted by Amphere, nearly double that of the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo. Earlier this month it climbed the charts as the most pre-ordered game on the Playstation Store. Additionally, the full release snagged a 84 on Meta Critic, with mostly positive reviews in the 7-8 range. Looks like Eve is here to stay -- No matter how loudly Alyssa McCante screams about it.







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