Shift Up’s upcoming PS5-exclusive action RPG Stellar Blade has been given an 18+ rating in Korea. This might not come as a surprise to many people, but it may render the game off limits for some players. In screenshots and trailers released so far, the game’s protagonist wears generally form-hugging outfits that don't leave much hidden, and the developer has even revealed that “special attention” was paid to Eve’s backside in Stellar Blade since players will spend most of their time looking at it.

Eve’s shape is based on Korean model Jae-eun, and in an interview with Push Square, developer Shift Up shared that it sought to create the “most attractive-looking body” for people to gaze at while playing. Stellar Blade will also feature about 30 different costumes to find during the game, some of which are assumed to be more risqué or revealing than others. But all of the attention hasn’t gone into only Eve’s physical attributes. Players will also collect accessories like glasses and earrings for Eve, as well as costumes for the other two main characters, Adam and Lily.

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Reasons for Stellar Blade's 18+ Rating in Korea

But it’s not just suggestive costumes that have earned Stellar Blade the most mature rating possible, 18+, in Korea. According to that country’s Game Management Committee, the title also features excessive violence, including red blood and mutilation. The rating decision, parsed using machine translation, also seems to suggest that some of Eve’s costumes are so scanty that they equate to nudity.

Europe and the US have not yet rated Stellar Blade, but it’s expected that the game will earn a PEGI 18 and M rating, respectively, if Korea’s decision is any indication. This may in fact give the game a boost in popularity, as many people on social media seem to view Stellar Blade’s 18+ rating as a positive thing. What counts as excessively vulgar, suggestive, or violent is also highly subjective. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League received an 18+ rating in Singapore due to its violence and language, which many people are unbothered by.

A lot of games are considered great not despite their M ratings, but because of them. Sometimes the mature themes and perhaps necessary violence allow the developers to tell a story as intended, without being watered down, and therefore evoke the emotions or visceral reactions that make a game memorable. Whether Stellar Blade has earned this rating for necessary storytelling and atmosphere or just to give gamers a nice backside to look at while playing remains to be seen.

Stellar Blade

Stellar Blade is an action-RPG developed by Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game follows protagonist Eve as she attempts to save a devastated Earth from invaders called Naytiba.

Platform(s)

PS5

Released

April 26, 2024

Developer(s)

Shift Up

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre(s)

Action RPG