The main character concept designer from Naughty Dog recently shared artwork on Stellar Blade's official X account, sparking a significant reaction from fans. Many fans felt that Hyun-taek's portrayal of Eva was unattractive, with comments criticizing the concept art for giving her a masculine appearance. The majority of the feedback described this version of the Stellar Blade protagonist as "ugly" and "terrible." Several comments even went as far as to label the artwork as "repulsive" and accused the Naughty Dog designer of making Eve "awakened."
This backlash seems to reflect a broader trend, as Naughty Dog faced similar criticism recently for incorporating explicit DEI content in the trailer for their new sci-fi adventure, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. This trailer broke the record set by Concord earlier this year for the most disliked video game trailer, highlighting ongoing tensions around character design and representation in gaming.
Stellar Blade, developed by Shift Up, became a massive hit upon its release earlier this year, largely due to its protagonist, Eve. Eve's objective beauty resonated widely with the gaming community, contributing significantly to the game's success. In stark contrast, the new design of Stellar Blade's protagonist by the Shift Up studio was warmly received, underscoring the importance of character design in player engagement and game popularity.
