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At the time of my Stellar Blade review, developer Shift Up's stylish action RPG didn't have the New Game+ mode recently added in a surprise day-one update. It wasn't even announced – we knew it was coming, but not so soon – and more than ever I now really wish I'd had access to New Game+ for the review, because it sounds like a much bigger and better game.
Director Kim Hyung Tae outlined the impressive scope of New Game+ in a new post on the PlayStation Blog. For starters, "there are a whopping 34 new outfits for Eve to earn in New Game Plus, including five accessories, and two cosmetics each for Adam, Lily, and the Drone."
From what I've seen after unlocking about two dozen outfits in my first run, but only a few options for everyone apart from Eve, this about doubles the game's cosmetic range, which is already substantial. It's such a massive add-on that I've got to wonder how many of the new outfits are variants of existing ones. That said, even recolored versions of the current better ones would be nice. The director singles out a "crew style" suit for Eve, and casual outfits for her companions Lily and Adam (pictured above).
Extra fashion is nice, but I'm much more interested in the sweeping gameplay changes New Game+ brings. Most of my issues with Stellar Blade were in the platforming, world, and quest design, but combat had some bugbears too, and these additions may address several complaints.
Eve's entire skill tree gets expanded in New Game+, with new Beta skills – which you use by spending blue energy generated mostly through normal attacks – and enhancements to eight more Beta and Burst skills. It looks like some enhancements are "Infinite" variants of the normal ones, like Infinite Slash, Infinite Pierce, and Infinite Breaker. They're as flashy as the names imply, with Eve landing many more hits in one go.
These appear to be tied to high-tier upgrades added to the skill tree, with Infinite Pierce costing a whopping six skill points. I was maxed out by the end of my run even without any grinding, so having new skills to chase in a New Game+ run – set to the hard difficulty I also wanted the first time through – is mighty tantalizing.
Stellar Blade's light RPG elements get a New Game+ tune-up as well. "Eve’s gears and Exospine will also receive new enhancements," the blog post reads. "These Mk2 enhancements to existing gear will allow players to personalize their approach to the game." I'm hoping this adds a little more depth, or at least more bespoke upgrades, to loadouts.
Standard upgrades like Eve's weapon and base HP will have a way higher ceiling, too. Some upgrades have been more than doubled. Here's the full list:
- Sword upgrades – from 15 to 40
- Body upgrades (HP bar) – from 6 to 9
- Beta upgrades (energy bar) – from 6 to 9
- Tumbler (healing item) – from 5 to 13
- Remaining cores can be sold at SP0-tt2r’s shop to acquire Vitcoin, which can be used to purchase new costume items. (Vitcoin is a free, readily available, in-game currency, not a premium currency. There are no microtransactions, to be clear.)
For a cherry on top, "enemies may also be repositioned in New Game Plus," so it won't be an identical playthrough. I'm mostly in for round two to re-experience boss battles on hard mode, but I won't turn down freshened levels either.
I wasn't expecting Stellar Blade to add New Game+ immediately, and I definitely wasn't expecting it to deliver such substantial changes. I was just hoping for a good way to blast through the game again now that I've acclimated to its occasional clunkiness, but this seems like way, way more than that.
Stellar Blade director "grew up too poor to afford" a PS1, but when he finally got one in college, Ridge Racer and Final Fantasy inspired him to make games
