Stellar Blade is Better than Nier: Automata, Yoko Taro Says

Nier: Automata remains one of the most beloved RPGs of the past decade. Released by PlatinumGames in 2017, Yoko Taro’s masterpiece has been adapted into everything from novels to stage plays. Despite its staying power and influence, however, the series creator has even higher praise for the upcoming PlayStation 5 title Stellar Blade.

In a new interview with IGN Japan, Taro sat down with Stellar Blade director Kim Hyung-tae to chat about their creations.

“Stellar Blade is such an amazing game,” Taro said. “I think it’s much better than Nier: Automata. [Graphics] have reached a completely new generation of quality.” Addressing Kim directly, Taro also noted his jealousy stemming from the fact that the upcoming game “shows that you have your own company and are working with like-minded people.”

Unsurprisingly, this level of praise shocked Kim, who responded in the negative. “The more we talk about it, the more I feel like Stellar Blade can’t compete,” he said. “I consider myself a visualist, not a storyteller. I’ve been creating visuals all my life, so I can’t quite match Yoko Taro when it comes to storytelling. I try to make up for this with gameplay.”

Last week, the dev team at SHIFT UP released the first chapter in a new series of developer diaries for the game.

Stellar Blade will be released on PlayStation 5 on April 26. A demo is currently available to download and many players have gone just a little too far with it, with some fans already racking up over 50 hours of playtime.