You’re standing at the edge of the world, staring at Adam, and he reaches out a hand. It’s a moment that defines everything Eve has fought for, but the reality is that your fate was sealed hours ago. Long before you reached the Nest. Stellar Blade endings aren't just about a binary choice at the finish line; they are tied to a hidden mechanic involving a young engineer and a literal bar of data progress.
If you're looking to see every possible cinematic conclusion for Eve’s journey through Xion and the wasteland, you need to understand that the game is tracking your curiosity. It rewards—or punishes—how much you care about the world's lore.
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Honestly, it’s kinda stressful. You can play for 40 hours, make the "right" choice at the end, and still miss the secret ending because you didn't pick up enough discarded memory sticks or read enough dusty posters on the walls of Xion.
The Three Paths to the End
There are three distinct endings in Stellar Blade. They are titled Return to the Colony, Cost of Lost Memories, and Making New Memories.
The weird thing? You can’t get all three in one playthrough without some serious save-game manipulation or a dedicated New Game Plus run. The branching path depends entirely on two factors: whether you max out Lily’s affinity meter and whether you take Adam’s hand when he offers it.
Understanding Lily’s Affinity Meter
This is the big one. In the top right corner of your screen, you’ll occasionally see a small icon of Lily’s face with a percentage bar whenever you pick up a document or complete a side quest. That’s your compass.
If that bar hits 100% before you head to the Space Center (the point of no return), Lily asks to visit Eidos 9. This is a secret area. You can't skip it if the bar is full. If you haven't filled that bar, you skip Eidos 9 entirely and head straight to the end of the game. This tiny detail is what separates the "bad" ending from the "true" ending.
Returning to the Colony: The "Bad" Ending
This is the most straightforward path. To get this, you simply refuse Adam’s proposal.
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It doesn't matter if Lily loves you. It doesn't matter if you found every secret in the Great Desert. If you decide that the mission is more important than the man standing in front of you, Eve chooses to follow her original protocol.
The fight that follows is brutal. You face off against the Elder Naytiba in a multi-stage boss fight that tests every parry and dodge you’ve learned. Once the dust settles, Eve is basically alone. She has completed her mission for Mother Sphere, but at a staggering cost. The screen fades, and you’re left with the feeling that you might have just been a puppet the whole time.
Many players find this ending hollow. That’s intentional. It’s the "soldier" ending. You did what you were told. You didn't ask questions. You destroyed the "threat," but you didn't save humanity. You just maintained the status quo for an AI that might not have your best interests at heart.
Cost of Lost Memories: Taking the Hand (With Low Affinity)
This is where the Stellar Blade endings guide gets a bit technical. To see this version of the story, you have to intentionally ignore the side content.
Basically, you need to rush the main story. Don't go hunting for every memory stick. Don't help every citizen in Xion. Keep Lily’s bar below 100%.
When you reach the Nest and Adam offers his hand, Accept it. Eve and Adam merge. They create a new form of life—a bridge between the Andro-Eidos and the Naytiba. But because your bond with Lily wasn't strong enough, she doesn't have the hacking tools or the emotional "safety net" to survive the fallout properly. The ending feels bittersweet, leaning heavily into the "bitter" side. You’ve evolved, sure, but you’ve lost the human element that made the journey worth it.
Making New Memories: The True Ending
This is the ending most people want. It’s the most cinematic, the longest, and the most hopeful.
Here is the checklist:
- Max out Lily’s affinity bar (100%) before the Spire 4 mission.
- Go to Eidos 9 (the game forces this if the bar is full).
- Reach the Nest.
- Accept Adam’s hand.
By visiting Eidos 9, Lily finds a specific piece of data—essentially a logic upgrade. When Eve and Adam merge to become the "new" humanity, Mother Sphere isn't happy. She sends a massive, mechanized suit (the Providence) to wipe you out.
Because Lily has that extra data from Eidos 9, she manages to survive the suit's destruction and stays by Eve's side. You end the game as a literal goddess of a new era, standing on a ruined Earth, but with your friend alive and a future that isn't dictated by an AI in space.
It’s visually stunning. The boss fight against Providence is arguably the best-looking encounter in the entire game. The music swells, the wings come out, and you finally feel like the "Stellar Blade" the titles promised.
Can You Save-Scum the Endings?
Kinda. But it's tricky.
If you want to get two endings in one go, you need to have Lily’s bar at 100%. Reach the final campfire outside the Nest. Upload your save to the PS5 cloud (and turn off auto-sync!).
First, refuse Adam. Beat the boss. Get the "Return to the Colony" trophy.
Then, download your save. This time, accept Adam’s hand.
Since you already have 100% affinity, you’ll get the "Making New Memories" ending.
The problem? You can't get the "Cost of Lost Memories" ending this way if you've already maxed out Lily. If she likes you, she likes you. You can’t make her "un-learn" what she found in Eidos 9. To get that third ending, you almost certainly have to start a fresh playthrough or a New Game Plus run where you ignore all the collectibles.
Why Eidos 9 Matters So Much
A lot of people think Eidos 9 is just an extra level for loot. It’s not. It’s the narrative soul of the game.
It’s a submerged city, beautiful and haunting. It contains the backstory of the Atelier and the researchers who were trying to figure out what went wrong with the world before everything collapsed. Without this context, Eve’s decision to merge with Adam feels a bit impulsive. With it, it feels like the only logical way to break the cycle of violence.
The collectibles there aren't just fluff. They provide the "why" behind the "how." If you’re skipping the side quests, you’re skipping the reason Eve cares about Earth in the first place.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you are currently playing and worried about which path you're on, follow these steps immediately.
- Check Lily’s Icon: If you see her face in the top right while picking up items, you are still building affinity. If it’s gone, you might be maxed out or you've passed the point of no return.
- The Point of No Return: When you talk to Adam to head to the "Orbit Elevator" (Spire 4), the game will warn you. This is your last chance to finish Lily's bar.
- Collect Every Data Bank: Don't just look for bodies. Look for the glowing terminals in Xion. Every bit of information counts toward that percentage.
- The Final Choice: Remember that "Accepting" or "Refusing" isn't a moral test. It's a choice between two different philosophies. One is obedience; the other is evolution.
To truly see everything the developers at Shift Up intended, you have to be thorough. The game rewards the "completionist" mindset with the most narratively satisfying conclusion. If you rush, you get the hollow victory. If you explore, you get the rebirth of a world.
The most efficient way to see it all is to do a 100% "True Ending" run first, then do a lightning-fast New Game Plus run for the "Return to the Colony" and "Cost of Lost Memories" endings. Since NG+ lets you keep your gear, you can sprint through the boss fights in a fraction of the time.
Final thought: Watch the credits. There’s a bit of extra flavor in the post-credits scenes that changes depending on your survival status. It’s not a Marvel movie, but it’s worth the wait.