Free Stellar Blade update adds boss rush mode and eyebrow-raising outfits

By Carli Velocci Published May 25, 2024

Eve fighting a large boss, with sparks flying around them. She's in the new NeuroLink Suit, which has tight red pants and a white top. — Shift Up

A new Stellar Blade update has been released, bringing not only a new challenge mode but a number of outfits, including some surprises.

The first big change to patch 1.003, documented on the PlayStation Blog, is the Boss Challenge, which lets you fight the game’s 19 bosses by themselves. To begin the Boss Challenge, you had to have defeated bosses in the main game because the challenge uses your boss fight data. You can also choose from several preset gear kits or use your own. Combat was one of the highlights of Stellar Blade, so having more enemies to fight is very welcome.

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Stellar Blade has become known for its outfits, so of course the update adds three new suits for Eve. One is the Neurolink Suit, which you can get if you defeat all the bosses in the challenge on at least normal difficulty, along with two Nano Suits: White and Black Kunoichi.

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According to IGN and other outlets, the update also added two revealing outfits to the game: Midsummer Redhood and Midsummer Alice. They’re skimpier variants on the Bunny and Cybernetic Bondage suits, which were the subject of unsubstantiated claims that Shift Up was being forced by Sony to censor outfits. Their designs had been changed between pre-release promotional images and after the day one patch, with a bit of fabric added to Eve’s chest and hip areas.

In an interview with Shift Up director Kim Hyung Tae, changing the outfits was an intentional choice by the developers. “I can assure you that was our [final] product. We can’t promise you anything right now, but we are discussing the issue internally and hopefully we can make an official statement later,” he said during an interview at MiniMap.

Elsewhere, the update adds some quality-of-life improvements, including the ability to remain locked on an enemy despite changing your attack mode.

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Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

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