Excitement for the upcoming PS5-exclusive Stellar Blade has been building following the game’s well-received, and refreshingly technically sound, demo dropped, but some folks may still have some questions about the stylish action game. Thankfully, Stellar Blade general director Kim Hyeong-tae and technical director Lee Dong-gi have been doing interviews for various Asian gaming publications that may clear up some of those queries.
On the subject of the game’s length, it seems like the main questline will be around 25 hours. Meanwhile, those who opt to clean up the sidequests and collectibles, could get anywhere from 30 to 50 hours out of the game. Once you do finish the game, you will unlock a hard mode, but there won’t be a New Game+, at least at launch. The game’s makers are hinting NG+ will be added post-launch.
As for monetization, that game won’t have any additional in-game purchases, except for potential crossover content with other series. It hasn’t been determined yet if there will be major DLC, although the usual free updates and new costumes you expect from most Sony-published games will be coming…
“The release of DLC has not been determined, but free updates such as additional costumes are being prepared. We would like to make it clear here that ‘Stella Blade’ does not require any additional expenses that gamers are not aware of other than the cost of purchasing the package. The only exception is if you create a collaboration costume with another company’s IP, that amount can be sold for a fee.”
The hint about collaborations with other IP is an interesting one, particularly given a number of top Japanese creators seem to be interested in Stellar Blade. It seems NieR creator Yoko Taro has been following Stellar Blade, and even Hideo Kojima himself recently met with the game’s director. At the very least, you’ve gotta think a 2B skin is basically a shoo-in (after all, she makes cameos in basically every other game).
Stellar Blade launches on PS5 on April 26.
