How Stellar Blade’s Camps Compare To Elden Ring’s Sites of Grace

While Stellar Blade isn’t a true Soulslike game, given it doesn’t feature the same level of punishment for failure the genre is known for, it still includes many mechanics commonly found in Soulslike games. A key part of the gameplay loop in Stellar Blade is the camps that players will come across that act as checkpoints along the players’ journey through the ruins of a Naytiba-infested Earth. Veteran Soulslike players might notice that these camps share a lot in common with Elden Ring‘s Sites of Grace, but there are some distinct differences as well.

Soulslike games have a history of including these types of checkpoints throughout their worlds as a way of giving players a moment of respite from the dangers lurking throughout the game. Dark Souls‘ iconic Bonfire system has given way to Elden Ring‘s Sites of Grace, which now Stellar Blade has adopted and iterated upon to fit the game’s specific design. As such, there are clear parallels to Elden Ring‘s system that Stellar Blade mirrors, but the nature of Stellar Blade‘s design allows its camps to deviate from Elden Ring.

Stellar Blade’s Camps Share Several Similarities with Elden Ring’s Sites of Grace

Aside from serving as checkpoints and places of rest, both Elden Ring‘s Sites of Grace and Stellar Blade‘s camps act as places where players can perform several different types of upgrades to improve their stats and certain types of equipment. Sites of Grace are the main location where Elden Ring players can invest in upgrades for their stats, and Stellar Blade similarly allows players to invest in new abilities on their skill tree at camp. Resting at these places in both games also comes with the downside of respawning enemies that players may have defeated on their way to these checkpoints.

Another important role both Sites of Grace and camps play in their respective games is being points of fast travel, allowing players to quickly revisit areas they’ve been to previously once they’ve unlocked access to that Site of Grace or camp. In an open-world game like Elden Ring, fast travel points are vital for exploring the game’s vast world, but fast-traveling in Stellar Blade can also be useful for backtracking during specific quests. However, Stellar Blade‘s more forgiving Souslike elements allow its camps to include functions that go beyond what Elden Ring‘s Sites of Grace allow players to do.

How Stellar Blade’s Camps Go Beyond Sites of Grace

The primary way Stellar Blade‘s camps build upon Elden Ring‘s Sites of Grace is by allowing players to upgrade equipment like their weapons, Potion Inventory Limit, and Gear Sockets while at camp. Elden Ring players typically have to visit one of the NPCs located in Roundtable Hold if they wish to enhance their gear, likely due to the vast number of weapons and armor pieces available throughout the game. Since Stellar Blade doesn’t feature the same diversity of equipment as Elden Ring, it makes sense that players would be able to improve their gear at the same place they acquire new skills.

Stellar Blade‘s camps also act as shops where players can purchase useful items like potions and grenades to aid them in battle. While Elden Ring does feature merchants who sell similar items, they are not always available at Sites of Grace, giving Stellar Blade another example of how it’s streamlined certain Soulslike mechanics to make the game more forgiving. Stellar Blade‘s camps also contain a nice bonus detail in the form of the music player that allows players to change the song that plays while they’re in camp, giving these camps a more charming atmosphere than Elden Ring‘s Sites of Grace.

Stellar Blade

Released

April 26, 2024

Developer(s)

Shift Up

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre(s)

Action RPG