Stellar Blade is a clumsy imitation of NieR: Automata and that’s why I like it
This week saw the launch of NieR: Automata DLC for Star blade. It delivers new outfita new side quest and even some music to Star blade. However, it also highlights the extent NieR: Automata has been in the game since the beginning.
We all know the plot NieR: Automata at this time. The film stars 2B and 9S, two robots from a space station called Bunker, where an elite military force called YoRHa operates. They are fighting a war against alien machines on behalf of humanity, seeking to revive Earth so that it can be repopulated with humans living on a space colony.
Anyone familiar with this might recognize something similar in the plot of Star blade. You play as Eve, a soldier from a space station called Colony, where an elite military force called the Airborne operates. They are fighting on behalf of humanity against alien monsters called Naytibas, seeking to revive Earth.
You got it, it’s actually the same setup. Both games depict an emotionless, highly skilled female soldier following her orders and overcoming a series of threats on a ruined Earth. What I find interesting about Stellar Blade taking such obvious inspiration, however, is how clumsily it handles it.
Before I begin, I should make it clear Star blade is one of my favorite games of the year. This is a great action game that I would recommend to anyone who wants something that falls somewhere between Soulslike and Soulslike. Devils can cry. Still, it’s hard to ignore its numerous plot problems. The problems make the game feel like a cheap knockoff of the game NieR: Automata. Allow me to explain and note that I will be discussing spoilers for both games extensively.
While the two games share a central premise and similar major twists, there are notable differences in how they are presented. To start, you may note that I never referred to Eve as a robot above. This is because Stellar Blade tried to emphasize that Eve is human and not a robot. A living, breathing human being, serving only one role for his fellow humans on the Colony. Any suggestion that she might be a robot is absurd.
Until the game reveals that Eve is actually a robot. It’s supposed to be an existential shock to Eve’s entire being, something that makes her (and the player) question everything they thought they knew. It would have been interesting if the game hadn’t made that so obvious from the moment she mentioned her “body frame” and was examined by a mechanic rather than a doctor. Also anyone who has played Automatic will find similarities in the plot and assume that this is the case anyway. After all, 2B and 9S were clearly identified as androids from the beginning. That’s not a turning point there.
That wasn’t the only big twist Star blade managed to spoil. Like NieR: AutomataIt turned out that the war was useless, a lie by powerful forces in the colony. However, while Yoko Taro used this as a way to emphasize the futility of war and the dangers of blindly following propaganda, Star blade less clear about what its message is.
Eve’s orders come from a rogue AI called Mother Sphere, who considers humanity inferior to the robots it has created and wages war. Humanity, in turn, accelerated its evolution and became Naytibas to fight the android army. The futility of the war message seems a little more out of place in many of the revelations. Instead, it becomes a story about divergent evolution, although I’m not 100% sure what exactly it says about this concept.
While Star bladecompliance of NieR: Automata telegraph revealed this, even those who didn’t know that game’s story could see it coming. There are countless notes from fallen soldiers whose dying diary entries curse the Mother Sphere as the true enemy, branding it a treacherous machine. I don’t know if these notes were subtle foreshadowing in the original Korean, but in English, they’re giant sledgehammers hitting you over the head with the truth before you know the truth.
Star blade there is a conspiracy rife with problems like this. Your companion, Lily, is rescued from the space capsule at the beginning of the game as if she had just arrived on Earth like Eve but is later shown to have a permanent hideout in which she has lived for many years. year. The city of Xion is supposed to be humanity’s last refuge against both the robots and the Neyiba, but the people there are so obviously mechanical that I’m not sure who the population would be. Characters speak to Eve as if they have known her for years even though the entire game takes place over the course of a few days, including Eve meeting these characters for the first time.
Star blade However, there’s one more twist thrown at us and this forces us through some blatant symbolism while still trying to come up with a theme. Eve’s other companion, Adam, turns out to be a Naytiba that has evolved back into a standard human. I think so. And now, in an attempt to rebuild humanity, he wants to merge with Eve, combining the robot’s knowledge with Naytiba’s biology to give birth to a new humanity. And yes, I rolled my eyes when I realized this was the whole reason they had names on their noses.
Then again, I’m not entirely sure what the message is – technology is bad because it has destroyed humanity, but has technology also preserved humanity’s memories? Is the monster really human (since the human has literally turned himself into a monster)? Besides, Adam, you witnessed me slaughtering your kind with impunity, what exactly is your plan here?
It’s all incredibly clumsy, especially when compared to its inspiration. Yet despite that, I still find something oddly endearing about it all. There’s a lot of discussion these days about the appeal of the middleweight game. The games have some great ideas buried in a ton of mayhem but are still incredibly engaging. It has the same appeal as a b-movie in the cinema, where a poorly made film can become a cultural phenomenon for unintended reasons. A well-intentioned work that runs into problems along the way is much more interesting than a bland but highly polished work.
Star blade Exactly one of these games. The combat and presentation are both excellent so the messy story ends up being an enjoyable part. I was fascinated by what it was trying to do and wanted to continue to see where it took its concepts. Quite often it goes nowhere but the ride is still enjoyable. You can see Kim Hyung-tae is passionate about Yoko Taro’s work and wants to honor it in his own way. Although he may not succeed in imitating what has been created NieR: Automata great, the enthusiasm still comes. And it even has Yoko Taro’s approval.
Which brings us back to the new DLC. Admittedly, it’s a lovingly crafted collaboration that primarily exists to give Eve more outfits. But there is a reverence for NieR: Automata from Shift Up and a nod of approval from Star blade from Square Enix (and some money for Yoko Taro). There is mutual respect, which I fully support as a fan of both. Star blade may be a clumsy attempt at imitation NieR: Automata but that clumsiness turns it into something strangely attractive in its own way.
Star blade now available for PS5.
