The first trailer for Stellar Blade: Blood Rain set a few alarm bells ringing when it was revealed during Summer Game Fest on June 5, and I’m not just talking about all of the suspicions surrounding its alleged use of GenAI. In fact, all anyone can seemingly talk about is the child-like appearance of Stellar Blade: Blood Rain’s new protagonist, Evie. The CEO of its developer, Shift Up, has recently brushed off these complaints in an interview, in which he states that the “physical looks” of Evie are secondary to how much of a “lovable character” she is.
Shift Up CEO Hyung-tae Kim, who also directed the original Stellar Blade in 2024, recently sat down with IGN to talk about all things Stellar Blade: Blood Rain. Naturally, the topic of Stellar Blade’s protagonist, Eve, and the internet’s reaction to the youthful appearance of the sequel’s new protagonist, Evie, popped up in conversation, but Kim shrugged off the complaints and stated that fans won’t feel the same once they “actually play the game.”
“Yes. She is younger. She’s smaller in size. She’s shorter than Eve,” Kim replied, “but she has a stronger personality and engages in much tougher battles. And she’s actually part of a special squad that chases after a group of terrorists who cause terror attacks here and there in the city.”
“If you actually play the game, you will not think that,” he continued. “I definitely like how Eve looked in the previous Stellar Blade. But this time, Evie, not just her physical looks, but her personality, the way she talks, the way she engages in battles, all that will combine together, and you’ll see that she’s a very lovable character.”
I’ve re-read these comments several times, and it just comes across as evasive nonsense to me. Kim’s response doesn’t really address Evie’s appearance, nor her overtly sexualized poses in the trailer, beyond stating that she is “younger” and “smaller in size.”
Kim did, however, talk about the new outfits that will be available for Evie in Stellar Blade: Blood Rain: “It will be even more appealing…That’s all we can say.” Good lord. I hope “more appealing” doesn’t mean what I think it means in this context. The jiggle physics present in the reveal trailer were disturbing enough, thank you very much.