HoYoverse, the developer of the breakout hit Genshin Impact, will soon transport players from a familiar, well-loved fantasy world to a new sci-fi adventure. The company’s next big title, Honkai: Star Rail, is coming to PC, iOS, and Android on 26 April, with pre-download available from 23 April. PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions are also in development, but there’s currently no word on a release date for either just yet.
While the date has been listed on the App Store and Play Store for a while now, it wasn’t made official until a special presentation stream on 24 March, which revealed its first two character banners. The upcoming game is set after the after the events of Honkai Impact 3rd, HoYoverse’s other action role-playing game, on an interstellar space train called the Astral Express, and introduces a protagonist known as the Trailblazer, who’s planted with the Stellaron — a foreign, destructive seed that will eventually bring disaster.
Similar to Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail is a free-to-play gacha title that requires players to invest time and money to unlock a growing roster of characters. Some of them are only available through time-limited banners, with the first two five-star characters being Seele and Jing Yuan. Unlike both of its previous titles, however, HoYoverse’s latest features turn-based combat rather than real-time action.
The other draws of Honkai: Star Rail, apart from its characters, are likely going to be world exploration and narrative development. The game is touted to have “large maps with maze exploration, puzzle-solving gameplay, and immersive storylines,” which the preview build teased plenty of.
From the looks of it, Honkai: Star Rail is trailblazing to a good start. Since pre-registration kicked off in February, the game has reached the eight-million milestone, surpassing the maximum rewards for players, including 50,000 in-game credits, a total of 18 Star Rail Pass (used to pull for the characters), a Welcome Avatar for the Trailblazer, and a free four-star character called Serval.
For those who want to catch up with the details, the full presentation can be viewed here:
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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