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Honkai: Star Rail

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Honkai: Star Rail
Developer(s)HoYoVerse
Publisher(s)
  • WW: HoYoverse
  • CHN: miHoYo
Producer(s)David Jiang[1]
Composer(s)
  • Lin Yifan
  • Gong Qi
  • Wang Kexin
  • Wen Chi
SeriesHonkai
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows, iOS, Android
  • WW: April 26, 2023
PS4, PS5
  • WW: TBA
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Honkai: Star Rail (Chinese: 崩坏: 星穹铁道; pinyin: Bēnghuài: Xīngqióng Tiědào; lit. 'Honkai: Star Dome Railway') is a role-playing gacha video game developed by miHoYo, published by miHoYo in China and by its subsidiary HoYoverse worldwide. It was released on April 26, 2023, for Windows and mobile devices; ports for PlayStation 4 and 5 are planned.[2] It is the fourth installment in the Honkai series, drawing on characters from Honkai Impact 3rd and gameplay elements from Genshin Impact.

Gameplay

Honkai: Star Rail follows the gameplay style of classic Japanese role-playing games: players build up a lineup of characters, and control a team of four in turn-based combat.[3][4] Elements of open-world and dungeon exploration are present, with multiple mechanics, including the gacha system, carried over from HoYoverse's action RPG Genshin Impact.[3]

Story and setting

The game is set in a science fantasy universe in which humanity follows certain paths of beings called Aeons. The player character, the Trailblazer, whose name and gender is chosen by the player, awakens without their memory aboard a space station and discovers that they are imbued with a Stellaron, a disruptive cosmic entity. They join a band of adventurers, the Trailblazers, traveling from world to world aboard the Astral Express, their space train.

The Trailblazer wakes up and meets two members of the crew, March 7th and Dan Heng. Both are traveling on the Astral Express, a large cosmic train that travels the universe along the eponymous "Star Rail". After eliminating the remaining threats, the Trailblazer meets Himeko, the Astral Express's engineer, and Welt, an interdimensional traveler from the Honkai Impact 3rd universe. In an attempt to discover their origins and eliminate the threats of the remaining Stellarons, the Trailblazer departs with the Astral Express crew.

Their first destination is Jarilo VI, a planet that has been mostly ravaged by an uninhabitable winter due to the power of a Stellaron. As the crew nears, the Astral Express is revealed to be unable to leave until the Stellaron is handled.

Development

Honkai: Star Rail 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.[5]

The game entered its first closed beta testing later that month.[6] A second closed beta test was held between May and June 2022.[7] A final closed beta test was held in February 2023 and prior to the release of the game.[8] In April 2023, HoYoverse announced having 10 million pre-registered users.[9]

Reception

Honkai: Star Rail received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[10]

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 overexplaining the simplest plot twist".[11] 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.[12] 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."[13]

References

  1. ^ 崩壊：スターレイル [@houkaistarrail] (March 24, 2023). "【プロデューサー対談 近日公開！】 『崩壊：スターレイル』プロデューサー David Jiang とあの名作 RPG のプロデューサーによる対談が実現！ ゲーム開発の裏話と想いを開拓者の皆さまにシェアします！お楽しみに！" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Romano, Sal (March 24, 2023). "Honkai: Star Rail launches April 26 for PC, iOS, and Android, later for PS5 and PS4". Gematsu. Retrieved March 24, 2023. Followed by PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 at a later date.
  3. ^ a b Diaz, Ana (March 24, 2023). "Genshin Impact developer's new game will be released in April". Polygon. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  4. ^ "Honkai Star Rail". Honkai Star Rail. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  5. ^ Shinha, Ravi (October 8, 2021). "Honkai: Star Rail Announced – New Strategy RPG Coming to PC, iOS, and Android". GamingBolt. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  6. ^ Agossah, Iyane (October 27, 2021). "Honkai Star Rail Beta Characters, Voice Actors, First Hours of Gameplay". DualShockers. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Lada, Jenni (June 9, 2022). "Honkai: Star Rail Second Closed Beta Ends Next Week". Siliconera. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  8. ^ "Honkai Star Rail beta release time, dates, and how to access the final closed beta". Eurogamer. February 10, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  9. ^ Blake, Vikki (April 15, 2023). "Honkai Star Rail isn't out yet but already has 10 million users". GamesRadar. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Honkai: Star Rail for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  11. ^ Orr, Jessica (April 26, 2023). "Honkai: Star Rail review - more than Genshin Impact in space". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  12. ^ Coles, Jason (April 26, 2023). "Honkai: Star Rail review: a slick, anime-infused RPG bursting with potential". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  13. ^ Colp, Tyler (April 26, 2023). "Honkai: Star Rail review". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
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