Honkai: Star Rail review – more than Genshin Impact in space
It’s a sign of how popular Genshin Impact has become that Honkai: Star Rail is discussed more like its sequel than the fourth entry in the Honkai series. Along with a complete tonal 180 from the ‘Breath of the Wild clone’ derison Genshin Impact drew at launch, these constant comparisons can understandably irk some Honkai Impact 3rd players, but it’s really tough to separate the two due to how similar they are. Cut out all of the annoying grinding and open world from Genshin, then whack it in a blender with turn-based combat and a squeeze of Honkai lore, , you’ve made a Star Rail smoothie. Not exactly a healthy one, when considering your precious gaming time, but healthier than falling off another cliff because your stamina bar depleted again on your third day farming for character materials.
Honkai: Star Rail reviewDeveloper: miHoYo, Cognosphere PTEPublisher: miHoYo, Cognosphere PTEPlatform: Played on PC, MobileAvailability: Out 26th April on PC (Epic, Windows), Apple, Android, PlayStation (coming soon).
So is that it? Is it just a sci-fi Genshin that cuts out the more time consuming activities? A big part of me wants to say yes. You could put a screenshot of the two side-by-side and it’d be tough to tell them apart, from similar character models and environments, right down to the UI. However, that description feels like it’s doing a disservice to Star Rail’s delightfully goofy humour, charismatic voice cast, and truly magnificent combat.
It’s not a sci-fi take on the Genshin formula, but you’ll certainly have a helpful cheat sheet in understanding how the systems work if you’ve been playing Genshin Impact for a while. There’s not really a similar benefit from having played previous Honkai games as far as I could tell, as Star Rail is set in an alternate universe with different versions of some returning characters. I’m sure it’s fun for Impact 3rd fans to see Bronya and Seele reunite again, but I still enjoyed exploring their new story as a relative newcomer to the series.
I actually enjoyed a lot of the story, despite Star Rail’s best efforts to stop me. On the surface it’s typical video game nonsense involving a destructive force known as a Stellaron (lovingly referred to as the Cancer of All Worlds), placed inside your main character, the Trailblazer, who has a bad case of anime-amnesia. You soon join the Astral Express crew on their space train in an intergalactic mission to contain Stellaron disasters wherever they arise. The dedication to world-building is clear, and the personal stories of most characters actually managed to pull me in despite all the clichés, but the way that key story moments and concepts are told is often underwhelming. Why give one sentence explanations for important details, yet spend eight paragraphs overexplaining the simplest plot twist? Add the regular fade-to-black moments with ‘You do this thing’ or ‘You explained what happened’ text instead of a basic cutscene or dialogue prompt, and it can sometimes feel a little soulless. A space opera with all the drama, but none of the excitement.
