Stellar Blade’s World Sets The Stage for Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance

April 27, 2024

Highlights

Fans of post-apocalyptic games are in for a treat with the recent release of Stellar Blade, alongside the upcoming Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, since both titles share similar themes and aesthetics, priming players for an exciting post-apocalyptic gaming experience.
Stellar Blade draws inspiration from Nier: Automata and Soulslike games, offering a unique take on the post-apocalyptic genre as players follow protagonist Eve in her mission to liberate Earth from the Naytiba invaders.
While both Stellar Blade and Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance feature ruined city settings, the games differ in their gameplay styles, with Stellar Blade focusing on creative traversal and platforming elements, while Shin Megami Tensei 5 offers turn-based JRPG gameplay within a destroyed world.

Fans of the post-apocalyptic aesthetic are having a great 2024, as this year has already seen a renewed interest in the Fallout series and the recent release of Stellar Blade adds to the variety of post-apocalyptic games available. While Stellar Blade might be the latest title to join the post-apocalyptic genre, fans also have Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance to look forward to later this year. This release puts Stellar Blade in the perfect position to prime players for Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, as both feature similar themes and aesthetics.

The original release of Shin Megami Tensei 5 already showed players what to expect from its alternate, post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo, and Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance is ready to bring players back to that world. However, there are some clear similarities between Shin Megami Tensei 5′s setting and that of Stellar Blade, with both games capitalizing on the post-apocalyptic aesthetic to enhance their stories. As such, the release dates for Stellar Blade and Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance couldn’t have been more perfectly timed, as the two games should help support each other in generating interest from post-apocalyptic genre fans.

Stellar Blade takes clear inspiration from titles like Nier: Automata and the Soulslike genre but adapts their features in new and interesting ways.

Stellar Blade and Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance Herald a Great Year for Post-Apocalyptic Games

Stellar Blade has captured the attention of fans of games like Nier: Automata with its parallels in story and world design. The game follows protagonist Eve as she returns to an Earth overrun by creatures called Naytiba in an attempt to liberate the world from this threat. Along the way, Eve encounters the last bastion of humanity still remaining on Earth in the city of Xion, where she is seen as a savior and is able to develop relationships with these struggling survivors during her quest.

Shin Megami Tensei 5 follows a similar approach to the ways the player interacts with its post-apocalyptic world as Stellar Blade. As the Nahobino, players are seen as the savior of both angels and demons in their ongoing war in this alternate, destroyed version of the world they came from. The new story being added in Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance has the potential to further entrench players in its post-apocalyptic themes by setting them on a quest for revenge surrounding the new characters of Lilith and the Qadistu, bearing similar biblical parallels to Stellar Blade‘s characters of Eve and Adam.

How Stellar Blade’s World Design Compares to Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance

Post apocalytpic environment in Stellar Blade

The ruins of Tokyo in Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance‘s world of Da’at will feel similar to Stellar Blade players, as both games drop players within ruined city streets and crumbling ruins. Like the Naytiba of Stellar Blade, Shin Megami Tensei 5 players will find the streets littered with the demons who call Da’at their home. Unlike the Naytiba, not all of Da’at’s demons are hostile, with some seeking aid from the player, much like the citizens of Stellar Blade‘s city of Xion, and will give players quests that can influence their endgame alignment.

The primary difference between the worlds of Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance and Stellar Blade is influenced by the two games’ differing genres. As an action RPG with Soulslike elements, Stellar Blade‘s world design features a greater emphasis on creative traversal and platforming segments, giving levels an element of verticality and allowing players to directly climb the ruins that surround them. Conversely, as a turn-based JRPG, Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance doesn’t have as creative world traversal options as Stellar Blade, but still gives players some degree of freedom to explore the rubble of Da’at’s environments within the limits afforded by the game’s movement system.