Honkai: Star Rail
2023 role-playing video game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Honkai: Star Rail (HSR)[a] is a free-to-play role-playing gacha video game developed and published by miHoYo (with publishing outside mainland China under Cognosphere, d/b/a HoYoverse). It is the fourth installment in the Honkai series, utilizing some characters from Honkai Impact 3rd and some gameplay elements from Genshin Impact. The game features the main character, who is referred to as the Trailblazer, traveling across the universe through the Astral Express to help and connect the worlds while involved in resolving disasters caused by "Stellarons" and other third parties.
| Honkai: Star Rail | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | miHoYo |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Producer(s) | David Jiang[1] |
| Composer(s) |
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| Series | Honkai |
| Engine | Unity[2] |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The first closed beta test was launched on October 27, 2021. It was publicly released internationally on April 26, 2023[3] for Windows and mobile devices. Additionally, the PlayStation 5 port was released on October 11, 2023. The PlayStation 4 version is still yet to be announced, as revealed at the 2023 Summer Game Fest with a trailer.[4]
Partially due to the popularity of Genshin Impact, the game was widely anticipated before its launch. It was nominated for the Most Wanted Game Award at the Golden Joystick Awards in 2022,[5] won the Best Popularity Award of World Science Fiction Game Annual Awards in 2023,[6] and Best Mobile Game Award in the Game Awards 2023.
Gameplay
Summarize
Perspective
Honkai: Star Rail follows the gameplay style of classic Japanese role-playing games where players build up a lineup of characters and control a team of up to four in turn-based combat.[7][8] In addition to various stats that affect characters' strength, each character has a combat type that affects the kind of damage dealt to targets, a character class referred to as a Path (see Story and Setting § Setting) that defines their combat role, and a set of unique abilities called Traces used in combat.[9][10] Each character can equip a weapon known as a Light Cone, that has various effects that activate if the Paths of both the character and Light Cone match. Characters can also equip various Relics, similar to Artifacts in Genshin Impact.
Elements of open-world and dungeon exploration are present, with multiple mechanics including the gacha system, carried over (with slight differences) from Genshin Impact.[7] Instead of exploring one large map, players explore smaller, self-contained areas on each world, which contain treasure chests, puzzles, and other interactable elements.[11] Both games have mechanics of gacha games, in which players spend in-game currency that can be earned in-game or purchased with real money through microtransactions to receive new characters and weapons. Additional gameplay features include an auto-battle system, fast-forward options during combat, and cross-save support between platforms.[11]
The game's premium currency, Stellar Jade, is primarily used to purchase Star Rail Passes to obtain characters and Light Cones through a mechanic called "warping", and can be earned through gameplay progression, events, and achievements.[11]
Story
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Perspective
Setting and characters
The game is set in a science-fantasy universe in which humanity and sapient non-human beings are aligned with specific universal concepts known as Paths. Each Path is associated with an Aeons, a celestial higher-dimensional deity that governs aspects of existence across the universe. Those who follow Paths are known as Pathstriders which align closely with a respective Path based on their wills, while those who are directly blessed with divine powers by the Aeons are known as Emanators. They are typically enforcers of Aeons' wills often incomparably more powerful than mere mortals, but this is not always the case.
Each Path espouses an ideal: for example, the Abundance is based on the view that immortality is a blessing and that healing and altruism should be valued as a top priority.[12] The Destruction believes that civilization is cancerous to the universe, and seeks to eradicate all of civilization through the spreading of various disasters, such as the Stellaron, an object known as the Cancer of All Worlds, which brings destruction to any planet it is placed on.[13][12]
Some Paths were led by Aeons who are now deceased, but continue to exist without the influence of their Aeons. The main character of the game known as the Trailblazer, a mysterious amnesiac possessing a Stellaron, follows the Path of Trailblaze, a Path created by the missing Akivili. Pathstriders of Trailblaze, also known as the "Nameless", seek to "explore, establish, and connect" among different worlds.[13]
Different Paths are portrayed as antagonistic, protagonistic, or neutral. The primary antagonist of the game is Nanook, who controls the Path of Destruction, along with Antimatter Legion led by Lord Ravagers, the Emanators of Destruction.[12][13] Other Paths, such as the Path of Abundance, are not necessarily seen as antagonistic, but are involved in rivalries with the Hunt and other Paths, who view the immortality granted by the Path of Abundance as a curse.[12]
Aside from the Path of Destruction, the Stellaron Hunters are a somewhat antagonistic antihero group throughout the game, who search for and collect Stellarons across the universe and claim to be able to see the future.[13] The main characters are often in conflict with the Stellaron Hunters, though they more or less end up aiding each other on their journeys.[13]
Plot
The following table only includes the central storyline of the Astral Express crew's cosmic journey and does not include interlude stories from the worlds previously visited during the crew's journey. The titles are arranged according to the chronological order of the crew's visits.[14]
| World | Title(s) | Release Date(s) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herta Space Station | Today Is Yesterday's Tomorrow | April 26, 2023[15] | |||||||||||||
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The Herta Space Station is attacked by members of the Antimatter Legion, followers of the Path of Destruction. Amidst the chaos, two Stellaron Hunters, Kafka and Silver Wolf, infiltrate the station and steal the Stellaron that was being safely held within it. Kafka takes hold of the Stellaron and inserts it into the body of an empty vessel generated by Silver Wolf (whose gender and name are chosen by the player). The vessel (known as the Trailblazer in English and various other names in other translations of the game) awakens, after which Kafka erases their memory, informs them of the future that lies ahead and leaves. They then fall unconscious. A now-amnesiac Trailblazer wakes up and meets March 7th and Dan Heng. Both are traveling on the Astral Express, a large interstellar train that travels across the universe along the eponymous "Star Rail". After eliminating the remaining threats from the Antimatter Legion, the Trailblazer meets Himeko, the navigator and "owner" of the Astral Express, and Welt Yang, an interstellar traveler originating from the world of Honkai Impact 3rd. In an attempt to discover their origins and eliminate the threats of the remaining Stellarons, the Trailblazer departs with the Astral Express crew, becoming a member of the Nameless. | |||||||||||||||
| Jarilo-VI | In the Withering Wintry Night | April 26, 2023[16] | |||||||||||||
| In the Sweltering Morning Sun | |||||||||||||||
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The Trailblazer, March 7th, and Dan Heng arrive at Jarilo-VI, a planet that has been mostly ravaged by the Eternal Freeze, an uninhabitable winter caused by the power of a Stellaron disaster and the invading Fragmentum, powerful monsters that work to injure or kill humans and destroy human-made creations. The three arrive at the city of Belobog and speak with Supreme Guardian Cocolia, hoping to resolve the Stellaron affair; however, Cocolia brands them as fugitives and orders them arrested. They escape from the Belobog's Silvermane Guards and move to the Underworld below the planet's surface, where they learn of the peacekeeping organization Wildfire led by Seele and their ongoing conflict with Svarog, the leader of Automatons, who has repeatedly rejected peace talks and refuses to let anyone return to the surface. After battling Svarog, they convince him to allow the Astral Express crew to return to the surface and confront Cocolia, whom they learn has been corrupted by the Stellaron. Intending to use its power to destroy Belobog and rebuild Jarilo-VI anew, Cocolia merges with the Stellaron and severely injures the Trailblazer, but the Trailblazer's willingness to protect Belobog attracts not only the spirits of previous Supreme Guardians but also the gaze of the Aeon, Qlipoth, who grant the Trailblazer the power of Preservation. The Nameless defeat Cocolia, and her adopted daughter Bronya take her place as the new Supreme Guardian while announcing plans to bridge the Underworld and Belobog together. | |||||||||||||||
| The Xianzhou Luofu | Windswept Wanderlust | April 26, 2023[17] | |||||||||||||
| Topclouded Towerthrust | July 9, 2023[18] | ||||||||||||||
| Karmic Clouds Faded, War Banners Folded | August 30, 2023[19] | ||||||||||||||
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The Astral Express crew receives a signal from Kafka, who wants the Nameless to settle a Stellaron incident on the Xianzhou Luofu, a massive planet-sized starship following the Path of the Hunt. When the Nameless arrive, they are not permitted to assist in Stellaron affairs but are instead tasked by Jing Yuan, the general of the Xianzhou Luofu army, to weed out Kafka and her Stellaron Hunter cohort Blade, as the presence of the Stellaron Hunters on the ship is deemed a threat. The crew finds and defeats Kafka in battle, after which she reveals she was sent to lure the Nameless to the Luofu to fulfill the prophecy laid out by the Stellaron Hunters' leader, Elio. After Blade and Kafka are found and interrogated, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, a faction following the Path of Abundance, a rival to the Path of the Hunt, attack the Luofu in a conflict manipulated by Lord Ravager Phantylia, a leader in the Antimatter Legion. During this conflict, Dan Heng reveals that he is the reincarnation of a powerful exiled Vidyadhara criminal named Dan Feng during a battle with Blade, and assists the rest of the Astral Express and the Xianzhou Luofu army in fighting the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and defeat Phantylia, forcing the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and Antimatter Legion to retreat from the Luofu. After the battle, Jing Yuan formally creates an alliance between the Xianzhou and Astral Express and annuls the exile of Dan Heng's previous incarnation, granting him freedom onboard the Xianzhou Luofu. As a symbol of their alliance, Jing Yuan gifts the Nameless a Jade Abacus that can be used to summon Xianzhou reinforcements in a time of need. After the Trailblazer and March 7th return to the Express, Himeko tells the Trailblazer that their next stop is Penacony, the Planet of Festivities. Formerly a prison planet used by the IPC to exile criminals, it had fallen under the influence of Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony, some time ago, transforming the planet into a renowned, luxurious cosmic resort through the Dreamscape, a system that harnesses memoria to power a massive collective dream. Himeko explains that the Family at Penacony organized the Charmony Festival to issue formal invitations to many galactic factions for the first time in history, and among the invited factions were the IPC and the Astral Express. Meanwhile, Luocha, a traveling merchant visiting the Xianzhou Luofu, and Jingliu, Jing Yuan's former master and a criminal wanted by the Xianzhou alliance, meet Jing Yuan at the Shackling Prison, proclaiming that they will put the Abundance in their grave. | |||||||||||||||
| Penacony | The Sound and the Fury | February 6, 2024[20] | |||||||||||||
| Cat Among Pigeons | March 27, 2024[21] | ||||||||||||||
| In Our Time | May 8, 2024[22] | ||||||||||||||
| Farewell, Penacony | June 19, 2024[23] | ||||||||||||||
| A New Venture on the Eighth Dawn | December 4, 2024[citation needed] | ||||||||||||||
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The Astral Express arrives on Penacony for the Charmony Festival, overseen by Sunday and his sister Robin, answering the invitation given to them while also intending to investigate the fate of Mikhail, a past Astral Express crewmember who disappeared on Penacony along with his companions. While exploring the Dreamscape, the Trailblazer encounters Acheron, who claims to be a Galaxy Ranger, and Aventurine, an Interastral Peace Corporation representative and member of the "Ten Stonehearts", a group of high-ranking IPC executives. The Trailblazer also befriends Firefly, a Stellaron Hunter who snuck into the Dreamscape to look for a cure for her illness. In the lead-up to the festival, the Trailblazer and Firefly encounter Sparkle, a member of a group of fanatic followers of the Elation known as the "Masked Fools", who knocks the two unconscious. When they awaken, they find themselves in the dark reality of the Dreamscape, which is hidden from the public and is attacked by a monster called "Death," only to be rescued by the Memokeeper Black Swan. Sensing that something in the Dreamscape is being covered up by the Family, the Trailblazer and Firefly investigate further, but "Death" reappears and kills Firefly, shortly before another Stellaron Hunter named SAM attacks Acheron, forcing the Trailblazer to intervene. Black Swan separates the Trailblazer away from SAM and takes them to Aventurine back in reality, who tells the Trailblazer that there are darker conspiracies involving the Stellaron and the Family's control over the Dreamscape and that Acheron is not what she seems before he reveals that Robin was also apparently murdered by "Death." Later, when confronted by Sunday, Aventurine is caught concealing his Cornerstone (his source of power), and, in retaliation, Sunday uses his power to number Aventurine's hours, forcing him under a geas to investigate Robin's murder. Plagued by visions of his past and future, Aventurine recalls his plan to get caught to lure Acheron and the Trailblazer into a public confrontation with him. He reveals the Cornerstone belongs to his superior, Jade, and that he destroyed his own before arriving on Penacony in order to provoke a large-scale response from the IPC. During the battle at the Clock Studios Theme Park, Aventurine threatens to detonate the Stellaron within the Trailblazer, forcing Acheron to "kill" him, revealing her true identity as an Emanator of Nihility. With written encouragement from Dr. Ratio of the Intelligentsia Guild, Aventurine escapes from the Border of Nihility and leaves the Dreamscape. After rescuing them from the confrontation between Acheron and Aventurine, SAM, revealed to be a surviving Firefly, explains to the Trailblazer and the Astral Express crew that the creature called "Death" does not kill its victims but rather transports them to Dreamflux Reef in the Land of the Exiles, a memory zone outside of the Family's jurisdiction and guarded by Penacony's Head of Security, Gallagher. Gallagher also "kills" Sunday, who reunites with Robin in Dreamflux Reef and reveals that Dreamscape is a Stellaron disaster controlled by the Family. Sunday realizes the Stellaron is at the Penacony Grand Theater and that the Dreammaster is involved. The Nameless also learn about Mikhail's discovery of the Land of the Exiles and their past counterparts' roles in liberating Penacony; to oppose the Dreammaster's plans, Mikhail remained in Penacony to become the Watchmaker, and it was he who sent the invitation to the Astral Express, though he passed away from old age before the Nameless arrived. The Trailblazer, in turn, inherits the Watchmaker's legacy, connecting with and receiving the powers of Harmony. However, Sunday betrays Welt and Robin, allying himself with the Dreammaster and revealing they are followers of Ena, the Aeon of Order. He retreats to the Grand Theater, intending to use the Penacony Stellaron's power and Harmony's song to brainwash Penacony's inhabitants and allow Order to take over the planet. The Nameless confront Sunday, seemingly defeating him with Dan Heng and Jing Yuan's help, but Black Swan reveals it was an illusion. With help from Acheron, Black Swan, Robin, and the Galaxy Ranger Boothill, the Astral Express crew escapes the illusion and truly defeats Sunday, restoring the Dreamscape and reality to its prosperous state. To cover up the incident, the Charmony Festival is rebranded as a smaller event on the airship Radiant Feldspar. Oti Alfalfa, the new leader of the Family, initially plans an IPO for Penacony but changes his mind after Jade threatens to reveal that true death is now possible in the Dreamscape. The IPC becomes a significant shareholder with 30% equity, gifting 5% to the Nameless. During the festivities, Sparkle announces a bomb threat, but it turns out to be a fireworks display to mark the end of the Charmony Festival. The Astral Express honors Mikhail, Gallagher, and the former Nameless, and the Trailblazer bids farewell to Acheron. As the Express prepares to depart, Welt explains that their fuel, drawn from the Star Rail, is running low; to resolve this, Black Swan suggests heading to Amphoreus, the Eternal Land, to lay a new stretch of Star Rails to replenish the Express' fuel. Meanwhile, Jade offers Sunday a deal to fulfill his and Robin's promise to create a true haven of peace and release him from the Family's custody, where he encounters the Nameless. Deciding that he must start afresh to atone for his misdeeds, Sunday resolves traces of disharmony in the Dreamscape while secretly bidding Robin goodbye and facing his projection of the Grand Theater to banish his inner doubts before leaving Penacony behind and boarding the Astral Express to continue his journey to find paradise. | |||||||||||||||
| Amphoreus | Heroic Saga of Flame-Chase | January 14, 2025[citation needed] | |||||||||||||
| Light Slips the Gate, Shadow Greets the Throne | February 26, 2025[citation needed] | ||||||||||||||
| Through the Petals in the Land of Repose | April 9, 2025[citation needed] | ||||||||||||||
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The Astral Express arrives over Amphoreus, learning from Black Swan that the world was concealed from the rest of the universe by an unknown power. March 7th suddenly becomes ill, forcing her to remain behind as Trailblazer and Dan Heng venture into Amphoreus using one of the Astral Express' detached coaches. However, during descent, the coach is attacked and crashes, cutting them off from the rest of the Express. They are rescued by the high priestess triplets Tribios - split into Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon - and swordbearer Phainon, who bring them to the holy city of Okhema. The city's leader Aglaea explains that Amphoreus is on the brink of extinction by a malevolent force known as the black tide and the only way to reverse the planet's prosperous state is to fulfill a prophecy of having a set of heroes - known as Chrysos Heirs - slay the world's twelve divine embodiment beings known as Titans and offer up their Coreflames to the Vortex of Genesis which allows it to remake the world, with only six having been defeated so far. The Trailblazer and Dan Heng agree to help her, though she orders them not to reveal that they come from beyond the sky from Amorpheus' citizens. Tribios tracks Nikador, the Strife Titan, and the Trailblazer is sent alongside Phainon - who is expected to kill Nikador to become a demigod - and Mydei - whose people worshipped Nikador until their homeland was destroyed. The trio finds that Nikador was the one who shot down the Express coach, stranding the Trailblazer and Dan Heng on Amphoreus, and has gone insane and thrown away his identity; as a result, he cannot be killed. In a desperate attempt, Tribios and the malefic Castorice contact Oronyx, the Time Titan, to reverse Nikador's immortality. Oronyx initially vehemently refuses until they recognize the Trailblazer as having captured the gaze of Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, and agree to grant their aid. Mem, Oronyx's "kin," also introduces itself to the group and becomes the Traiblazer's familiar. With their help, the Trailblazer and Castorice return to the waning days of Mydei's homeland, Castrum Kremnos, and restore Nikador to his true form, enabling Phainon to kill him. The Heirs, alongside the Trailblazer and Dan Heng, offer up the Coreflame to the Vortex, but it forces Phainon to undergo a trial before making him a demigod. Phainon accepts this but fails when the masked shadow assassin who destroyed his hometown - nicknamed the Flame Reaver - overpowers him, forcing Mydei and the Trailblazer to intervene and pull him out. Aglaea sends the Trailblazer, Trianne, and Castorice to the Grove of Epiphany, a sanctum of Cerces, the Reason Titan, to negotiate for their Coreflame, but they find it overrun by the black tide and besieged by the Flame Reaver. Cerces hides part of the Coreflame in the Chrysos Heir Anaxa to protect it. The group is nearly defeated by the Flame Reaver until Trianne uses much of her energy to allow them to escape. The ensuing exhaustion provokes visions of Tribios' past within the triplets; they seek Oronyx's assistance at their hometown Janusopolis, only to be ambushed by the Flame Reaver stealing Oronyx's Coreflame, forcing Trianne to sacrifice herself to save them. The Heirs plan to use Mem's connection to Oronyx to trap the Flame Reaver in the past. While this fails, Mydei - having completed the trial of Strife in Phainon's place - uses his newfound power as a demigod to defeat the Flame Reaver and recover Oronyx's Coreflame. Mydei renounces his title as King of Kremnos and leaves Okhema to defend Amphoreus from the black tide while Tribbie and Trinnon come to terms with Trianne's passing and their responsibilities to pursue her destiny as a Heir. At Aglaea's suggestion, the Trailblazer completes Oronyx's trial, discovering they were killed in Nikador's attack on the Express Coach, but their soul temporarily persists as a "living memory" due to Fuli's gaze. Anaxa, who is dying after fusing with Cerces, allies himself with Castorice to unravel the truth about the Flame-Chase prophecy and learns she had a twin sister, Polyxia, a Chrysos Heir from millennia ago. This leads them to Styxia, a destroyed port island teetering between the mortal and nether realms, and Aglaea arranges for the renegade Heir Cipher to escort her and the Trailblazer there. Accompanied by the souls of Trianne and Mydei - the latter of which had died fighting the Black Tide but was in the process of returning to his body - the pair confront the Death Titan Thanatos, who turns out to be Polyxia. After calming her, they reunite, revealing that Polyxia became a Titan by sacrificing Castorice. Castorice then takes her place as Thanatos to allow Polyxia's soul to pass and returns the Trailblazer's soul to the mortal realm. Upon learning of this, Anaxa uses Castorice's ascension to publicly confirm the prophecy's legitimacy, sinking Aglaea's political opposition, but then reveals that Amphoreus' history is cyclic; the Chrysos Heirs of the past were destined to become the Titans themselves, to be slain and overtaken by a new generation of Chrysos Heirs. Despite sowing doubt about the Flame Chase to the Chrysos Heirs, he gives them his approval and sacrifices himself to hand over Cerces' coreflame. Meanwhile, on the Express, March 7th's condition has deteriorated, rendering her comatose and encased in ice, prompting Welt and Sunday to seek out Herta's help while Himeko and Black Swan remain on the Express to watch over her. Black Swan reveals to Himeko that March's illness is a result of her memories being "hijacked" by an unknown faction and explains that her recommendation of Amphoreus was intended to prevent the Garden of Recollection - an organization dedicated to Fuli gathering memories across different worlds - from discovering and learning about the secrets behind the source of Amphoreus' isolation and spreading it across the cosmos. Upon hearing about Amphoreus' location from Welt and Sunday, Herta agrees to investigate and projects herself to Amphoreus but is confronted by Lygus, a fellow Emanator of Nous who watches over Amphoreus, who warns that her intervention will unleash a Lord Ravager to bring chaos and destruction upon the planet. | |||||||||||||||
Development
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Perspective
...we felt that the turn-based combat system was something we have not done before in the company yet, in all our previous games. It's still a viable genre to base the game on, and we felt that it's something that we would like to give a try; our players are feeling for it, and that's why we developed something like that.
And for sci-fi, in reality, our developers felt that it's something that provides hope, and it's very inspiring for younger generations to look forward to. Sci-fi represents something classic, and sci-fi plus turn-based RPG is something that we would like to give a try. Yeah, that's how the game came to be.
Michael Lin, HoYoverse Global Business Development team member[24]
Honkai: Star Rail began development in 2019 with the goal of "exploring new directions for the Honkai series". The production team has about 500 people, most of whom are fans of science fiction works and turn-based role-playing games.[24] This project is HoYoverse's first attempt at a turn-based combat mechanism game. The team has stated that this genre is very popular in the game market and can lower the difficulty threshold for players to get started. In previous surveys conducted by HoYoverse, many players expressed that they enjoy this type of game. There were concerns about whether this type of game is too retro, but the production team believes that as long as the quality of the game is enjoyable, it can attract players.
Like other works in the Honkai series, it is in no way "too hard-core science fiction". The setting of Honkai Impact 3rd is Earth, but the plot mentions other planets in this worldview. Therefore, the production team of Honkai: Star Rail decided to expand on this concept of "a universe". The narrative structure of road movies with the protagonist and similarly aged companions traveling across a variety of planets in the universe, while the setting revolves around taking a train which draws inspiration from the idea of a steam train running through the stars in the novel Night on the Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa and Leiji Matsumoto's famous manga, Galaxy Express 999. The production sequence of each planet in the game takes around one year to first determine the worldview and theme of the planet, then create the characters and detailed setting information, and then finally write the plot.[24]
The overall artistic vision of each planet is based on elements from real-world cultures and aesthetics:[citation needed]
- Belobog, which was named after eponymous Slavic deity, is the name of the blizzard-stricken town in the first planet, Jarilo-VI, which was designed inspired by German architecture.
- The design of the space-faring fleet "Xianzhou Luofu" is based on Chinese culture and East Asian fantasy, which has been described as "silkpunk".
- Penacony's design was inspired by a blend of Jazz Age, Classical Hollywood, and Roaring Twenties, which re-imagines through luxurious dream-like fantasy, forming twelve dream worlds that provide different forms of entertainment.
- The concept of "Amphoreus" takes inspiration from Greco-Roman mythology with some influences of Renaissance and Neo-Classical aesthetic.
In terms of combat mechanisms, producer David Jiang said that this game adopts "command-based combat." He said that Honkai Impact 3rd and Genshin Impact were heavy on the role-playing aspect, but they did not include command-based and turn-based combat. In addition, some players reported that Honkai Impact 3rd was too action-oriented and too difficult to operate. Therefore, Honkai: Star Rail pays more attention to strategy than the player's operational skills. Persona 5 was the team's inspiration when deciding to develop a turn-based role-playing game.[citation needed]
Producer David Jiang hopes that Honkai: Star Rail can achieve the immersive feeling of "as if you are in the world of the work", and create a "playable animated series".[25] In order to enhance player immersion, the production team integrated artificial intelligence technology into the behavioral patterns of non-player characters. This approach aimed to make traditionally scripted NPC behavior appear more natural, thereby providing players with a stronger sense of being part of the game world.[26]
Distribution and promotion
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Perspective
The game was revealed in October 2021 at the end of the Honkai Impact 3rd online concert, Starfire Sonorant, then later on the game's official YouTube channel.[27] On October 27, the game launched its first closed test[28] and its second closed beta test on May 25, 2022.[29] On August 15 of the same year, the game received support from the "Special Fund for Cultural Development" issued by the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Xuhui District, Shanghai, where the developer is located.[30] On August 23, 2022, a game story trailer was unveiled on the opening night of Gamescom 2022.[31]
On January 17, 2023, the mobile version of the game received the game version number approved by the National Press and Publication Administration, and the game was approved for distribution in mainland China[32][33] On February 10, 2023, the game conducted its third closed test[34] On the same day, the Apple App Store page revealed that the official launch date of the game was April 26.[35] In the international market, miHoYo launched more than 2,000 sets of ads on Google Play one month before the public beta of the game. The main advertising channel was Google AdMob[36] and the main advertising areas were Japan, Hong Kong, the United States, Vietnam, and Thailand.[37]
On April 25, 2023, miHoYo released the game's opening theme animation "Star Travel".[38] The game was officially launched globally the following day on April 26.[3] On April 28, miHoYo held its first theme exhibition "Galaxy Gathering" in Xujiahui.[39] From April 29 to May 13, miHoYo undertook train advertisements on Xiamen Rail Transit Line 1 and jointly issued NFTs to promote the game.[40] On mid-May, HoYoverse began to put up ads for the game in Japan, which are prominently displayed in Akihabara in Tokyo, as well as collaborating with Chichibu Railway in Saitama Prefecture to launch a special steam train service, which ran for a month. [41] On July 13, miHoYo launched a high-speed train named "Star Dome Railway High-speed Railway Brand Special Train" with an uncertain route, used to promote the game.[42]
The Game collaborated with restaurants and cafes around the world with game merch and a specialized meal available for players to obtain in 2023. In Europe, the game collaborated with Domino’s and Miss Millie’s in the UK from October 14th to November 14th. In other countries of Asia, except for mainland China, there were collaborations in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In Japan, the game collaborated with Wendy’s First Kitchen from October 11th to November 8th. From October 11th to November 14th, the collaboration in Indonesia with Convivium, La Juiceria Superfoods in Malaysia, Mann Hann in the Philippines, Kith in Singapore, Kogoro Katsu & Chicken Club in Thailand, and Piko Coffee in Vietnam. For Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, there were collaborations with Cheogajip from October 18th to November 18th, and with KFC from November 9th to November 22nd in Hong Kong. In America, the game collaborated with Pelicana from December 1st to December 31st. For specifically mainland China, there were countless collaborations with cafes, restaurants, drink shops, and many more.[31]
Reception
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Perspective
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 80/100[43] PS5: 82/100[44] |
| OpenCritic | 90%[45] |
Reception
Honkai: Star Rail received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[43]
Eurogamer recommended the game for its "delightfully goofy humour, charismatic voice cast, and truly magnificent combat," despite the writers' tendency to "give one sentence explanations for important details, yet spend eight paragraphs over explaining the simplest plot twist."[52] Rock Paper Shotgun called the game "still in its early stages but (...) incredibly good fun to play," comparing it to "Star Ocean, but if everyone was hotter and you could gamble". The reviewer praised the combat system for being deep yet approachable and noted that, like in Genshin, spending money was not necessary to progress, as all content in the game could be cleared with the characters players receive for free.[53] PC Gamer appreciated Star Rail's "impeccable visual style and strategic depth" and its "elastic tone, which fluctuates from the heroic optimism of a space opera, to the dark comedy of a Nier game, with a lot of Final Fantasy 14's soap opera, storytelling mixed in". To the reviewer, the game's main draw was its "sheer creativity" and that it "distills what's most satisfying about turn-based RPGs: tactical, team-based decisions."[54]
However, some people have criticized the character designs saying that they lack creativity, especially those of female characters, and that the outfits worn by female characters in Genshin Impact had more variety.[55]
Popularity
Before the game's official release, the number of pre-registered players in mainland China reached 22.98 million, with an additional 10 million players outside of mainland China.[56] On April 23, 2023, the day of pre-download, the game topped the free charts on the App Store in over 113 countries and regions,[57] and ranked first overall in mainland China, the United States, Japan, and South Korea.[58] After the game's global launch on April 26, it reached the top spot on the App Store's bestseller list in mainland China within five hours, and ranked within the top 10 on the bestseller lists in 42 countries and regions. On April 28, miHoYo announced that the game had exceeded 20 million downloads.[59]
GameLook estimated that, on the day of its launch, the game's global revenue across all platforms would likely exceed 100 million RMB.[60] According to data from Sensor Tower, within the first 10 days of launch, the mobile version of the game generated over $100 million globally, with 44% of the revenue coming from China, 22% from Japan, and 12% from the United States.[61][62][63] Data from DataEye indicated that within 15 days of launch, the iOS version and the Android version downloaded through Google Play had generated at least $65 million, with Japan contributing a total of 120 million RMB.[64] On February 6, 2024, with the launch of version 2.0, the game's download count exceeded 100 million.[65]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Golden Joystick Awards | Most Wanted Award | Nominated | [5] |
| 2023 | World Science Fiction Game Annual Awards | Best Popularity Award | Won | [6] |
| Google Play Awards | Best Game | Won | [66][67] | |
| Best Story | Won | |||
| Best for Tablets | Won | |||
| App Store Awards | iPhone Game of the Year | Won | [68] | |
| The Game Awards 2023 | Best Mobile Game | Won | [69] | |
| UCG Game Awards | Mobile Game of the Year | Won | [70] | |
| 2024 | 13th New York Game Awards | A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game | Won | [71] |
| 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Mobile Game of the Year | Nominated | [72][73] | |
| Google Play Awards | Best Ongoing Game | Won | ||
| Golden Joystick Awards | Still Playing Award (Mobile) | Won |
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
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