Shift Up Adds New Costumes Based On Original Designs Of Censored Outfits To ‘Stellar Blade’
A new update for Stellar Blade has added new costumes to Eve’s warddrobe that appear to be based on the original designs of the game’s previously censored costumes.
For those unfamiliar, The PlayStation-published title was shaping up to be the people’s champion against not only the general, ongoing censorship of fan-service and sex appeal in East Asian-developed video games, but specifically Sony’s infamous “global standards”
Director Hyung-Tae Kim even boasted he didn’t want protagonist Eve to look normal, but “something more than ideal.”
But sadly, despite a promise from Shift Up that the game would be released uncensored, Stellar Blade would ultimately find its way into players’ hands with pearl-clutching edits made to a piece of in-game grafitti – which was changed after IGN accused it of being a reference to a racial slur – and a pair of costumes.
Thanks to a Day One patch, the “Holiday Rabbit” leotard was changed to lower the cut on the outfit’s hips and reduce the amount of cleavage it showed, while the already racy “Cybernetic Bondage” suit (as well as its recolors) had its ‘boob window’ covered with a strap.
Despite the original, uncensored versions of the outfits being included in both the game’s demo and on the official disc release of the game, Kim defended the decision during a launch event, insisting the patch 1.002 costumes were their intended final versions.
Unsurprisingly, given Sony’s previous history of censorship, fans doubted the veracity of Kim’s statement. World of Warcraft team-lead-turned-consumer-advocate Mark Kern even launched a petition aimed at getting Shift Up to reverse the censorship.
And with the launch of the game’s patch 1.003, it seems Shift Up has in fact moved to oblige players’ requests for the uncensored outfits – albeit in a roundabout sort of way.
Launched on May 23rd, this latest update for Stellar Blade unlocks a new Boss Challenge mode, fixes a number of gameplay issues, and adds a bevy of new outfits for Eve to choose from, including a Neurolink Suit and two new looks from the ‘Kunoichi’ series.
In addition to the above noted costumes, the patch also ‘stealth added’ two more outfits to the game – these being the ‘mystery’ addition referenced by Shift Up’s tease at the end of their above tweet.
The first costume, Midsummer Alice, evokes the initial design of the Cybernetic Bondage suit – no boob-covering strap, and an additional choker, bow, exposed “underboob,” and a front zipepr that runs all the way to her crotch.
Meanwhile, its sister Midsummer Redhood suit puts Eve in a costume reminiscent of the original Holiday Rabbit suit, albeit in red instead of black.
Both costumes’ design patterns can be bought from Roxanne at the appropriate time, and then crafted during New Game+.
Speaking as the founder of the Free Stellar Blade petition, the aforementioned Kern excitedly responded to the new Midsummer outfits, “We DID It! YOU did it! #FreeStellarBlade celebrates as Shift Up and @StellarBlade
uncensor outfits!”
“Thank you everyone who participated in the 8 step plan and the petition!” he added. “Thank you @jamm3rd
for listening to gamers. Please sign the petition, which will now be sent as a GIFT to Shift UP! So many have helped to make this possible. Everyone worked so very hard. Gamer voices are small but growing. Our wins will be bigger and bigger over time!”
However, despite being ecstatic about this particular win, Kern also acknowledged that he would not be “backing off” from the Free Stellar Blade campaign.
“Petition asks for more,” said Kern. “Also not blackpilling. This is a long battle for all of gaming. We celebrate the victories we get and keep pushing.”
Notably, a few hours after the patch was released, users began to notice some potentially censorious discrepancies between the 1.0 and 1.003 versions of the aforementioned Kunoichi costumes, specifically in how the the material of the midriff-exposing, ninja-inspired tabard appears to be less translucent in 1.003.
While some were quick to accuse Shift Up of once again deceiving customers, it should be noted that these changes were not an instance of censorship, but rather a design not being fully ready for public release.
As detailed by the aforementioned Kern, “It was not available to unlock in original (patch) version, and nobody knew about it until today. You would have to unlock it today, then downpatch it to see the version on the left. This wasn’t promised and then censored. Nobody knew about it until today. The new unlock (today’s patch) looks like the one on the right.”
At this time of writing, the Free Stellar Blade petition has over 91,200 signatures out of the required 150,000 for its next “goal,” with one day left to sign.
If you have a renewed interest in Stellar Blade, the game is now available for the PlayStation 5.
NEXT: ‘Stellar Blade’ Director Responds After Patch Censors Holiday Rabbit Outfit, Claims Updated Design Was Always Intended As Final Version
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