Summary
Even just a few minutes into Shift Up’sStellar Blade, it’s easy to spot its many influences. It certainly isn’t ashamed to openly admit what other games inspired it. From the parry-focused combat ofSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceto the delayed sprint mechanics ofFinal Fantasy 16,Stellar Bladehas been influenced by a wide variety of popular games, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The influences of another franchiseStellar Bladeappears to wear on its sleeve come from EA and Respawn Entertainment’sStar Wars Jedigames, which have been deemed some of the bestStar Warsgames ever made.
Stellar Blade’sStar Wars Jediinfluence runs deep, but it’s also quick to expose itself on numerous occasions. Everything from some of its traversal mechanics to EVE’s skills are clear reflections of itsStar Wars Jediinspiration. However, asStar Wars Jediis such an acclaimed series,Stellar Bladerightly should imitate it in ways that make sense. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery.
How Stellar Blade Incorporates Elements of Star Wars Jedi Into Its Gameplay
Stellar Blade Borrows Star Wars Jedi’s Open-World Mechanics
One of the most noticeable ways in whichStellar BladeimitatesStar Wars Jediis in its open world. First and foremost,Stellar Bladerelies pretty heavily onMetroidvania mechanics, just asStar Wars Jedidoes. As players progress throughStellar Blade’s story, they’ll not only unlock new traversal skills but also new quests that will allow them to access areas they may have not had access to before. It’s common to backtrack inStar Wars Jediin search of valuable items, andStellar Bladehas done its best to ensure players will do plenty of backtracking in it as well.
Another element ofStar Wars Jedi’s open world that can be found inStellar Bladeis its Meditation Points, whichStellar Bladecalls “Camps.” InStar Wars Jedi, players canrest at Meditation Points to save their game, recover Cal’s health and Force, unlock new skills, and change weapon stances. Unfortunately, this all comes at the cost of respawning any enemies players defeat before resting.
Stellar Blade’s Camps and Supply Camps function similarly, in that players can rest there to save their game, recover EVE’s health, unlock new skills, purchase items, and craft and upgrade equipment.
Stellar Blade’s open-world areas also include plenty of collectibles to find — among them, Robots, which drop plenty of materials when defeated. LikeStar Wars Jedi’s Scavenger Droids,Stellar Blade’s Robots will attempt to run away when they’re spotted. However, thankfully, they are much easier to catch than Scavenger Droids.
Some of Star Wars Jedi’s Combat and Traversal Skills Can Be Found in Stellar Blade
Star Wars Jedi’s open-world mechanics aren’t the only thingStellar Bladeimitates, as some ofStar Wars Jedi’s combat and traversal skills can be found inStellar Bladeas well. When it comes to whichStar Wars Jedicombat skillsStellar Bladeincorporates, it sticks to those Cal is capable of doing in his single-bladed stance, as EVE only has one blade. One ofEVE’s Beta skills, Triplet, is almost a direct copy-and-paste version of Cal’s Lunging Strike fromStar Wars Jedi: Survivor. Just as Cal’s Lunging Strike causes Cal to lunge forward with a series of pointed lightsaber attacks, EVE’s Triplet ability is almost identical.
Some ofStar Wars Jedi’s traversal skills have made their way over toStellar Blade— most notably,Cal’s wall-running ability. Though players won’t pick up the ability to wall-run inStellar Bladeuntil they’ve progressed through the game a bit, EVE’s wall-running animation is nearly indistinguishable from Cal’s inStar Wars Jedi.
It makes sense thatStellar Bladewould imitateStar Wars Jedion so many levels, given the success of Respawn’s popular franchise. ThoughStar Wars Jedihas undoubtedly also been inspired by other games,Stellar Blade’sStar Wars Jediinfluences are clear.
Stellar Blade
WHERE TO PLAY
RECLAIM EARTH FOR HUMANKIND The future of humanity hangs in the balance in Stellar Blade, an all-new story-driven action adventure. Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space. After travelling from the Colony, 7th Airborne Squad member EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it. But as EVE tackles the Naytiba one-by-one, piecing together the mysteries of the past in the ruins of human civilization, she realizes that her mission is far from straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is as it seems…
