Stellar Blade Sets New All-Time Record for PlayStation Releases on PC with over 180,000 Concurrent Players

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Sony and Shift Up have reason to celebrate as the PC release for Stellar Blade has proven to be a huge success and is setting new records.

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[Grimlakin]

Anyone playing this. Impressions?

 

[MadMummy76]

I've tried the demo, it's a pretty generic hack and slash game. It really only stands out due to the whole waifu dressup angle. But it's clearly enough to impress tons of people. I personally would like a bit more depth gameplay and storytelling wise.

I didn't even finish the demo, because it has one of my dealbreaker "features". The worst kind of checkpoint based save system: Where if you fail to beat the boss, you have to do the whole part leading up to it again.

 

[DrezKill]

I played the demo as well. I finished the main part of the demo (took me about 80 minutes), but can't beat the first boss in the boss rush mode that unlocks when you beat the demo (though I only tried a few times). I was expecting this game be more like games like DMC, Bayonetta, and MGRR, but in the demo the combat and player movement felt stiff, limited, and restricted, and the input response wasn't the best. Based on the demo the game isn't really grabbing me. Games like DMC 3-5 and Bayonetta 2 set the bar very high, and I don't know if this game can match up to those. If it can't, then it's not for me. And I'm not the kind of guy to ogle fake women who are just polygonal 3D models with textures and shaders applied to them. So the appeal of that is quite limited, and isn't gonna be even remotely enough to bring me in and keep me focused on the game. A game like this lives or dies based on the combat, but so far for me the combat is "meh". Also parrying and dodging is kind of @ss.

 

[MadMummy76]

fake women who are just polygonal 3D models with textures and shaders applied to them.

The entire game world just 3d models with textures and shaders, IDK why would you draw the line at characters.

The combat is "meh". Also parrying and dodging is kind of @ss.

That's what I thought as well, the parry and dodge implementation is really underwhelming. I saw no difference animation wise between a successful parry and a failed one. Combat is not satisfying even when you are winning.

 

[Ditchinit]

The entire game world just 3d models with textures and shaders, IDK why would you draw the line at characters.

Would you agree there is a significant difference between gratuitous up-skirt crotch shots and viewing a landscape complete with a sunset? Yes, they both can be "just 3d models with textures" but they have directorial differences in why they're included.

 

[MadMummy76]

Would you agree there is a significant difference between gratuitous up-skirt crotch shots and viewing a landscape complete with a sunset? Yes, they both can be "just 3d models with textures" but they have directorial differences in why they're included.

I've never seen any gratuitous crotch shots in the game, you have to deliberately manipulate the camera in a very specific way to achieve that, I assume. Do you think better looking female characters have no purpose beyond seeking out awkward upskirt camera angles?

 

[Brian_B]

Do you think better looking female characters have no purpose beyond seeking out awkward upskirt camera angles?

I admit ... when you do kung fu in a skinsuit, yeah, I kinda do.

 

[Grimlakin]

Honestly I don't care about upskirt this or that. You can have hot even sexy protagonists in a game, or side quests or whatever. Fine do that. But the rest of the game has to be good otherwise it's just all the joy in playing of another story book dating sim with boobies... Each has their time and place.

A great game that also includes some 'sex' to sell the game I'm good with. Even appreciate in this day in time as so many people are making that the evil thing to have in games for some unknown reason.

But a game that's meh with a sexy protagonist... I might look at some screenshots but really... why would I buy the game as a whole unless it's 10 bucks and I'm bored.

 

[MadMummy76]

I admit ... when you do kung fu in a skinsuit, yeah, I kinda do.

I just don't get it why some people are acting weird about it. As if it is somehow against the rules for games to make their women sexy. When up till the 2010s, that was the norm. The only difference is the graphics fidelity. I don't remember anyone outside of activists complaining about Miranda having a skinsuit in ME2.

 

[Brian_B]

I just don't get it why some people are acting weird about it. As if it is somehow against the rules for games to make their women sexy. When up till the 2010s, that was the norm. The only difference is the graphics fidelity. I don't remember anyone outside of activists complaining about Miranda having a skinsuit in ME2.

I kinda miss triangle boobs

 

[DrezKill]

The entire game world just 3d models with textures and shaders, IDK why would you draw the line at characters.

I dunno, I guess for me it's a suspension of disbelief thing. I can do it far more easily for virtual worlds/environments and virtual objects like vehicles, but for virtual characters it doesn't really happen. Like if I see a Corvette C8 in a modern realistic racing game I can accept it as a Corvette cuz it looks exactly like the real thing, but when I see a 3D character model of a woman my brain knows that's not a real woman, she doesn't look 100% exactly like one, and there are things about the character model that give it away as a character model and video game-y. Even if the woman's design is based off of a real-life woman.

I'm just one of those guys who was never into fake, virtual women. Only real-life women get me going. Sure I can appreciate the designs of virtual characters, but to actually lust after them, naw they just don't do sh1t for me. And why bother looking at polygonal women when you can easily, and for free, look up pics and videos of real women online? I'm not playing video games to ogle women, especially fake women. If I want to do that I can go on the Internet and look up actual real women.

That's why when I play a video game with an ugly woman (like Aloy in HZD) it doesn't really affect my gaming experience. Sure it's nice if the women in a video game look good, but it has literally no bearing on my enjoyment of said game. An ugly woman doesn't make the experience worse, and a beautiful woman doesn't make the game better. The gameplay is what I am there for, and it's what needs to hold me. If Stellar Blade is full of beautiful women but the gameplay is @ss then I just plain don't give a f*ck about the game.

Combat is not satisfying even when you are winning.

Yeah that's the general vibe I get from the game so far.

Even appreciate in this day in time as so many people are making that the evil thing to have in games for some unknown reason.

Yeah, same here. I give the Stellar Blade devs props for sticking to their guns and being like "f*ck the rest of the woke world, we're gonna make the kind of game we want to make, with the kind of women we like to see".

 

[MadMummy76]

I dunno, I guess for me it's a suspension of disbelief thing. I can do it far more easily for virtual worlds/environments and virtual objects like vehicles, but for virtual characters it doesn't really happen. Like if I see a Corvette C8 in a modern realistic racing game I can accept it as a Corvette cuz it looks exactly like the real thing, but when I see a 3D character model of a woman my brain knows that's not a real woman, she doesn't look 100% exactly like one, and there are things about the character model that give it away as a character model and video game-y. Even if the woman's design is based off of a real-life woman.

I kind of get it, but I don't. Because by the same definition even the characters in live action movies are fake. So does that mean you can't empathize with any fictional characters? My conscious brain knows it's fake but still I can suspend my disbelief if the story is compelling regardless of the art style. Well, can is not the right word, because it is not a conscious decision to suspend my disbelief it either happens or it doesn't. Heck a video game is often more immersive than even the best movie because it is interactive, I'm not a passive observer, my choices and actions has an effect on the fictional characters.

I'm just one of those guys who was never into fake, virtual women. Only real-life women get me going. Sure I can appreciate the designs of virtual characters, but to actually lust after them, naw they just don't do sh1t for me. And why bother looking at polygonal women when you can easily, and for free, look up pics and videos of real women online? I'm not playing video games to ogle women, especially fake women. If I want to do that I can go on the Internet and look up actual real women.

That assumes the only purpose of attractive women is as sex objects. Games are an interactive fantasy, and to be fully on board with the story I have to care, either about the protagonist or their goals. And I the easiest and most straightforward way to make me care about a female character is by making them attractive. That doesn't mean lusting after them, or rubbing one out. That's only the strawman used by those who are against attractive women in games, and who will actually say things like "go watch porn instead, chud"

That's why when I play a video game with an ugly woman (like Aloy in HZD) it doesn't really affect my gaming experience. Sure it's nice if the women in a video game look good, but it has literally no bearing on my enjoyment of said game.

If it doesn't affect the experience why is it nice when they look good? Shouldn't it be a neutral at best then? Also, I wouldn't call Aloy ugly in HZD, maybe in HFW but even that is arguable, most of the pictures floating around the net to demonstrate her ugliness have been manipulated.

An ugly woman doesn't make the experience worse, and a beautiful woman doesn't make the game better.

I'm instantly more excited about a game if the female protagonist aligns with my preferences.

I prefer the word attractive instead of beautiful. Because I don't want to play as a supermodel in an action game. If Stellar Blade had a tough looking woman, who looks like she can kick some *** in suggestive, but not outright slutty outfits. Plus an attractive but not the perfect doll face like we got, then the game would be 10 times more appealing to me than it is now.

This is why I always advocate for flexible fully featured character creators, just let everyone play as whatever they want cosmetically.

The gameplay is what I am there for, and it's what needs to hold me. If Stellar Blade is full of beautiful women but the gameplay is @ss then I just plain don't give a f*ck about the game.

The difference for me is that I'm there for the story, the gameplay is only to service the story, it is not the end. This doesn't mean I'm indifferent to the gameplay, but it weighs less for me in the overall experience than the characters and story.

Simply put:

Perfect gameplay + weak story < serviceable gameplay + great story

Of course the best is when both align but that is so rare it only happens once every 5 years, if that. Sadly it seems to me that Stellar Blade has neither. It's a weak story with serviceable gameplay, and I don't want to waste time on that.

 

[DrezKill]

Because by the same definition even the characters in live action movies are fake.

Yeah but the actresses playing those women are still real. The women are not made out of polygons or are drawn sprites.

So does that mean you can't empathize with any fictional characters?

Dude I'm just talking about physical attraction. Of course I can empathize with characters and get into their personalities and character development and stuff. All of that is fine. But strictly speaking in terms of "does my dick get hard when I look at them" the answer is no. It's not just video games. It's cartoons/anime, comics/manga, anywhere where real-life women aren't being used. They don't look real so there's no physical response.

Heck a video game is often more immersive than even the best movie because it is interactive, I'm not a passive observer, my choices and actions has an effect on the fictional characters.

Video games are indeed a vastly superior form of entertainment over everything else. Passive entertainment like books, movies/shows, and music are nice, but they don't hold a candle to video games.

That assumes the only purpose of attractive women is as sex objects.

I think you're reading too deep into this. I agree with pretty much everything you said about caring about the protagonists and their goals, the character development, the story, the empathy, all of that. I'm just saying purely from a physical attraction standpoint, I don't look at a video game woman and say "I wanna bang that". There's no physical response from my body or brain. So I don't get people who wanna play video games specifically for that purpose. Like the people buying Stellar Blade just to look at tits and @ss. If that's your goal you can do that better elsewhere.

If it doesn't affect the experience why is it nice when they look good? Shouldn't it be a neutral at best then?

I mean for the most part it is neutral. I say it's nice in the same way that it's nice having a ray-traced reflection on a surface versus a screen-space reflection, or it's nicer to have more accurate shadows or higher-resolution textures, and stuff like that. RT reflections vs SSR is not gonna affect the gameplay. It can make the game world look nicer, more physically accurate, more believable, more immersive, more atmospheric. But the gameplay won't change.

Also, I wouldn't call Aloy ugly in HZD, maybe in HFW

I haven't gotten around to HFW yet so can't comment there. Still waiting on a good sale.

I prefer the word attractive instead of beautiful.

Yeah that makes sense.