Summary
TheStellar Bladecommunity recently expressed outrage over some fan art created by a Naughty Dog character designer. The artwork in question was an interpretation ofStellar Bladeprotagonist Eve and was shared online by developer Shift Up, only to face significant backlash.
Stellar Bladelaunched exclusively on PS5 in April 2024 and didn’t take long to become a success, with over one million copies sold as of June 2024. WhileStellar Blade’s fast-paced combat mechanicsand intriguing post-apocalyptic world are compelling in their own right, the game’s somewhat scantily-clad protagonist, Eve, was a big selling point for many of its fans. Much ofStellar Blade’s popularity comes from the adulation around Eve, and a recent incident shows that some fans are a bit too protective of the character.
Over on Twitter, Shift Up recently posted some Eve fan art created by Hyoung Taek Nam, a character concept designer at Naughty Dog. Nam’s illustration depicted Eve fighting a Gigas, one ofStellar Blade’s most challenging bosses. Unfortunately, theNaughty Dog designer’s fan art was met with a flood of criticism, as detractors labeled Nam’s rendition of Eve “ugly” and “hideous.” Some even accused Nam of portraying Eve as overtly masculine and advised Shift Up to “never let Naughty Dog make art” based on its games in the future.
Stellar Blade Fans Lash Out at Naughty Dog Artist’s Illustration of Eve
A few days after the initial backlash,Shift Up’s Twitter account shareda second piece of fan art by Nam. This artwork was a close-up portrait of Eve, focusing more on her facial features and seemingly addressing the criticisms levied at the original illustration. Alongside the new artwork, Shift Up defended Nam’s prior piece, stating that it always welcomes fan art in the “style of the previous one,” and that it isn’t uncommon for fan art to have “more of the artist’s style than the original.” The responses to Nam’s seconddepiction of Evewere more generous, but some commenters still maintain that Shift Up should “stay away” from Naughty Dog.
It goes without saying that Naughty Dog is no stranger to controversy. The major story decisions taken by the studio for 2020’sThe Last of Us Part 2drove many gamers to be skeptical of Naughty Dog’s future titles. Thevitriolic reaction to Naughty Dog’s newly-announcedIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophetis a good example of this, as the game’s YouTube trailer received an overwhelming amount of dislikes and the comments were eventually disabled. One can only hope that the creative harmony between Shift Up and Naughty Dog serves as a positive example to mediate games-related discourse going forward.
Stellar Blade
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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…
