Yoko Taro says Stellar Blade will be “much better” than NieR: Automata

Yoko Taro, the director behind NieR: Automata, has heaped significant praise on upcoming action RPG Stellar Blade, saying that it will be “much better” than his recent work.

NeiR: Automata made waves in 2017 thanks to its flashy action and ludicrous number of endings, pulling off the impressive feat of standing out in a year that was dominated by genre-defining releases, such as Breath of the Wild and Hollow Knight.

However, in an interview with IGN, Yoko Taro was quick to praise the team working on Stellar Blade, and said that the RPG, slated to release on 26th April 2024, would surpass the heights of his own work.

Speaking with IGN’s Esra Krabbe, Stellar Blade creative director Hyung-Tae Kim highlighted NieR Automata as one of the big inspirations for him. In the joint interview with Taro, he said that “I have been inspired by NieR: Automata in so many ways that it’s hard to point out one specific thing.”

In return, Taro said: “Stellar Blade is a really amazing game. I’d say that it’s much better than NieR: Automata.”

Taro is one of the more high-profile figures when it comes to games development, so the praise comes as a big compliment. Stellar Blade was first announced in 2021 as Project EVE, before its title was confirmed in 2022. It’ll be a PlayStation exclusive, and promises to take significant inspiration from Bayonetta and the Souls-like genre.