STACK #265 November 2026

GAMING FEATURE

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COMPLETE! The Switch 2 physical edition includes a full game cartridge, the Stellar Blade x NieR: Automata and Stellar Blade x Goddess of Victory: Nikke expansions, a vast collection of cosmetics, and 5000 gold in-game currency.

Blade was composed by legendary Japanese game and anime composer Keiichi Okabe’s MONACA production team. How did you get them involved? I'm a huge fan of Okabe-san's work. From the Tekken series to the sophisticated and powerful music of Ridge Racer to the emotional impact of the NieR series, I've always loved his work, so I reached out to him directly and was ecstatic to hear that while it's difficult to work with him due to scheduling conflicts, he was willing to support me through the excellent people at MONACA. Your studio has evolved from a very successful mobile game background.Were there any challenges that you faced in creating your first console experience? As you might already know, Korea has a lot of talented developers, but very few of them have worked on console games, so we had to build everything from scratch. Mobile requires a completely different approach, so we worked with people who had collaborated on previous MMORPGs, and it felt like we were completing challenges one by one. The most challenging part was developing multiple facial techniques to convey the narrative and high quality graphics at 60fps.

GENRE: Action adventure MULTIPLAYER: No

FORMAT:

Action blast Stellar Blade hits the Nintendo Switch 2 in a “Complete Edition” this month.We chatted with the game’s director/art director HyungTae Kim at Shift Up about how they crafted this action gem. Words Amy Flower SHE’S A STAR!

There’s a rich history of strong female lead characters in video games. How does it feel adding to this impressive list of heroines? Of course, we're very honoured, and while we still need the players’ permission for such a title, we've done our best to develop Eve into a strong and compelling female character. How did you go about developing the story at the heart of Stellar Blade ? The story was a collaborative effort between myself and our

Other than Eve, who is your all time favourite video game heroine, and why? Oh, this is a very difficult question because there are so many... Michelle and Nina from Tekken 2 , Tifa from

during the GameCube era, had a lot of influence on the protagonist's movements and physical features.

scenario team. We were heavily influenced by the compelling dystopian and post-apocalyptic tropes that existed in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and we tried to put a modern spin on those stories and tropes. However, we tried to make sure that the story itself was compatible with the gameplay, rather than trying to make it look good, so that the story would unfold naturally as you play. Did any existing games serve as inspiration for you in creating Stellar Blade ? I'm a heavy console gamer, so there are a lot of games that have inspired me. I'm particularly influenced by NieR: Automata, Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, God of War, Sekiro, Jedi: Fallen Order ... Also, Capcom's P.N.03 , which came out

How much fun was it developing the baddies of the piece, the Naytiba?

Final Fantasy XII , 2B from NieR: Automata , and so many more for different reasons. I think I like

Creating the native creatures was no easy task. I actually even think they're the main characters. We deliberately tried to design them to feel as weird and unpleasant as possible in relation to the scenario, and, in the process, we made three-dimensional models directly out of clay and scanned them, trying to make them feel natural and not patterned. It was a big challenge, and I'm glad it turned out well, although the artists' fingers were working quite hard!

the idea of having an independent and strong side to them without hiding their own charms. What do you most wish for players to gain from their time with Stellar Blade ? If you can return to the real world holding on to the same excitement and fun you had in the game, we can't ask for much more.

• Stellar Blade: Complete Edition is out Nov 6

Some of the amazing music in Stellar

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Bayonetta 3, Devil May Cry 5: Hunter Edition, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

10 NOVEMBER 2026

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