Achieving the perfect conclusion in Stellar Blade requires more than just combat skill; it demands a deep understanding of hidden affinity systems and a critical choice made in the game’s final moments. There are three distinct endings to Eve’s journey: Return to the Colony, Cost of Lost Memories, and the secret "True" ending, Making New Memories. Each is tied to a combination of side-content completion and a final decision involving Adam.

The Three Pillars of Ending Logic

To manipulate the narrative outcome, you must monitor three variables. First is the decision to accept or refuse Adam's hand at the Nest. Second is Lily’s affinity meter, a hidden progress bar that tracks your exploration and side-quest completion. Third is the exploration of Eidos 9, a secret sub-area that only becomes accessible if Lily’s bar is maximized before a specific story threshold.

Understanding these mechanics is essential because once you cross the "Point of No Return"—traveling to Spire 4—certain options become locked. Managing these variables determines which final boss you face and which cinematic plays after the dust settles.

Deciphering Lily’s Affinity Bar

Lily’s affinity is the most nuanced mechanic in the game. It is represented by a small icon in the top-right corner of the screen that flashes when you pick up specific documents, memory sticks, or complete certain side missions.

How to Maximize Affinity

To reach 100% affinity and unlock the secret ending path, focus on:

  • Collecting Data Bank Entries: Specifically those related to the history of Mother Sphere and the Naytiba. Not every collectible grants affinity, but most lore-heavy documents do.
  • Completing Character Quests: Missions involving Enya, Su, and Kaya are high-value affinity boosters. These characters represent the humanity Eve is sent to save, and helping them deepens Lily’s trust in your mission.
  • Environmental Interactions: Finding posters and specific interactive points in Xion contributes to the bar.

When the bar hits 100%, a unique notification appears. This triggers a mandatory detour to Eidos 9 before heading to the final orbital elevator mission. This detour is the prerequisite for the "True" ending.

How to Keep Affinity Low

If you are aiming for the specific "bad" ending (Cost of Lost Memories), you must intentionally avoid side content. Stick strictly to the golden path of main story missions. Do not talk to NPCs in Xion unless required, and avoid picking up optional memory sticks. If you skip Eidos 9, you are on track for the non-secret versions of the ending.

Ending 1: Return to the Colony

This ending is often considered the most straightforward and perhaps the most tragic in terms of the mission’s original intent.

The Requirement: During the final confrontation at the Nest, Adam will explain the truth behind the Naytiba and humanity’s evolution. He will offer his hand to Eve, suggesting a fusion to create a new species. To get this ending, you must Refuse Adam’s Hand.

The Outcome: Choosing to refuse leads to a direct confrontation with the Elder Naytiba (Adam’s ultimate form). This is arguably the most challenging boss fight in the game, requiring mastery of parrying and burst skills. Upon his defeat, Eve fulfills her original mission parameters. Mother Sphere intervenes, and Eve is extracted back to the Colony. While the mission is a success on paper, the cost to Earth’s future is absolute, as the potential for human evolution is extinguished.

This ending is available regardless of Lily’s affinity level. Whether you completed 100% of the game or 0%, refusing Adam always leads here.

Ending 2: Cost of Lost Memories

This is the ending most players reach if they play the game naturally but skip a significant portion of the optional exploration.

The Requirement:

  1. Keep Lily’s affinity bar below 100% (Skip Eidos 9).
  2. Accept Adam’s Hand at the final choice.

The Outcome: Eve and Adam fuse, creating a new being. However, because Lily’s understanding of the situation is incomplete (due to the lack of evidence found in Eidos 9), the protocol goes awry. Mother Sphere’s influence remains dominant. Lily’s exosuit is remotely hijacked by Mother Sphere, forcing Eve to fight her own companion in the form of the Providence boss. After the battle, Lily does not survive the stress of the link. Eve remains as the new evolution of humanity, but she is alone and under the watchful, cold eye of Mother Sphere. It is a hollow victory where the biological evolution succeeds but the emotional heart of the team is destroyed.

Ending 3: Making New Memories (The True Ending)

This is the most complete narrative conclusion, offering a post-credits scene and a sense of hope for Earth’s restoration.

The Requirement:

  1. Fill Lily’s affinity bar to 100% before finishing the Abyss Levoire.
  2. Complete the Eidos 9 secret area when prompted.
  3. Accept Adam’s Hand at the final choice.

The Outcome: Like the previous ending, Eve and Adam fuse. However, because you visited Eidos 9 and Lily retrieved a specific hacking tool/data, she is able to resist Mother Sphere’s override command during the Providence boss fight. After defeating Providence, Lily survives. The game concludes with a powerful cinematic where Eve, now a literal god-like fusion of human, Naytiba, and Android, begins the process of actually restoring Xion. The post-credits scene confirms that the "Eve Protocol" has evolved into something Mother Sphere did not anticipate: a free-willed successor to humanity.

The Point of No Return: Strategic Saving

To see all endings in a single playthrough, you must be tactical with your saves. The game utilizes an auto-save system, which makes this tricky.

The Save-Scum Method (PS5 Cloud)

  1. Play the game normally until you are about to head to the Orbit Elevator (Spire 4). Ensure you have not filled Lily's bar to 100% if you want to get all three in one go (this is difficult, as most players naturally hit 100%).
  2. A more efficient way is to do two playthroughs, but if you want to minimize time, follow this: At the Nest (the final camp before Adam), quit the game.
  3. Upload your save file to the PS+ Cloud and disable auto-sync for Stellar Blade.
  4. Go for Ending 1 (Refuse Hand). After the credits, download your save from the cloud.
  5. Go for the remaining endings based on your Lily affinity level.

Note: You cannot "undo" Lily's 100% affinity. If you have already filled the bar and visited Eidos 9, you are locked out of the "Cost of Lost Memories" ending for that playthrough. You will need to start a New Game+ and intentionally avoid collectibles to see that specific conclusion.

Boss Analysis: Elder Naytiba vs. Providence

The choice you make determines your final challenge. These bosses require vastly different strategies.

Elder Naytiba (The "Refuse" Path)

The Elder Naytiba is a test of pure mechanical skill. His attacks are fast, involving multi-hit combos that require perfect parry chains. In his second phase, he uses massive area-of-effect (AoE) wings that can trap Eve in high-damage loops.

  • Strategy: Focus on Beta energy regeneration. Use the L1+Circle (Shield Breaker) to keep his guard down. Don't be greedy with combos; two hits and a parry is the rhythm here.

Providence (The "Accept" Path)

Providence is a mechanical powerhouse. Since it is Lily’s hijacked exosuit, it utilizes heavy ordnance, lasers, and sweeping physical strikes. This fight is more about positioning and dodging than the Elder Naytiba fight.

  • Strategy: Stay close to the legs to avoid the long-range laser sweeps. When Providence jumps back to charge its railgun, use your ranged weapon (Stinger missiles) to interrupt the charge. The shockwave attacks must be double-jumped.

New Game+ and Final Completion

Stellar Blade offers a robust New Game+ mode. It is highly recommended to leave at least one ending for your NG+ run. In NG+, Eve gains access to even more powerful skills and upgraded outfits (including the red versions of existing suits).

Moreover, some documents and collectibles only appear or become relevant during the second pass. If you are chasing the Platinum trophy, you must see all three endings. The most efficient path is:

  1. Playthrough 1: Focus on 100% affinity, Eidos 9, and the "Making New Memories" ending. Enjoy the side quests and world-building.
  2. Playthrough 2 (NG+): Speedrun the main story. Ignore all side quests and collectibles to ensure Lily’s bar stays low. At the end, use the cloud save trick to get both "Return to the Colony" and "Cost of Lost Memories."

The Lore Implications

Beyond the trophies, the endings of Stellar Blade settle the debate on Eve's nature. Is she a puppet of Mother Sphere, or is she the savior of the human race?

The Return to the Colony ending suggests that Eve remains a soldier, unable to break her conditioning. She chooses the status quo over the uncertainty of evolution.

The Merge endings (Cost of Lost Memories and Making New Memories) suggest that Eve recognizes the obsolescence of both the current Androids and the feral Naytiba. By fusing with Adam, she becomes a bridge. The presence of Lily in the final scene of the True Ending acts as the moral anchor, ensuring that this new "God-Eve" maintains her connection to the humanity she fought to protect.

Selecting your ending is not just about the final boss; it is about deciding what kind of future Earth deserves after centuries of stagnation. Whether you choose the cold perfection of space or the messy, mutated hope of the surface, your journey through Stellar Blade is defined by the memories you choose to make—or lose.