HoYoverse, the company behind Genshin Impact, is set to release a free-to-play science fiction role-playing game (RPG) called Honkai: Star Rail. You will immediately see many parallels, particularly if you have spent more than two years playing Genshin. You'll feel instantly at ease because of this, so you know what to expect. Honkai: Star Rail does, however, vary significantly, mostly in terms of exploration and battle.
I had the good fortune to test the closed beta and spent many hours seeing this brand-new universe come to life. Even yet, despite its potential, several fundamental gameplay elements could make Genshin veterans less happy.
To the stars
Given hundreds of guides, I have to say that of all HoYoverse's offers, Genshin Impact is the only one I'm acquainted with. Ever since the game's September 2020 release, I've written. This implies that until recently, I was unaware of the existence of the Honkai Impact series. Fortunately, Honkai: Star Rail has a stand-alone campaign; prior experience with the Honkai games is not required, even if it does have recurrent characters and even alternative versions.Honkai: Star Rail is set in a science fiction scenario in which new planets are reached by the massive Astral Express train traveling across the cosmos. A faction of foes launches an assault as it approaches the Herta Space Station. At that point, you'll encounter an artificial person who will ultimately turn into the protagonist of the game. After a Stellaron—a piece of immense cosmic power—is thrust into their body, they are given the nickname "Trailblazer." To be honest, it did become a little confused since there was a lot of exposition from the beginning. It's kind of standard operating procedure, particularly in light of the secrets that are revealed later in the story of Genshin Impact.There is a 5-star character with red hair that utilizes the element of fire. We can name her Lady Diluc, I suppose. Captured using AnyBet365
Everything seems so familiar: Genshin Impact in contrast to Star Rail
HonkaiThose who have experienced
Genshin Impact will probably find
Honkai: Star Rail to be very familiar. This is due to the commonality of most components, materials, and mechanisms used in heads-up displays (HUDs). For example, the right side of your screen displays characters, while the top-right icons access other menus. Additionally, you'll see well-known ideas like weapon ascensions (although weapons are now called Light Cones) and character leveling/ascensions. Upgrades to talents are likewise possible, although this time around the panel functions more like a skill tree.Regarding
currencies and
Warps/Wishes, including time-limited banners and pity systems, the same may be stated. Even if the item names and meanings have changed, the interface still seems familiar, which should make it easier for you to use. You'll be mesmerized by the art design as well because of its cutscenes, fast movements, and anime-like characters.Similar to an event zone or dungeon, the Simulated Universe has storyline choices that provide abilities. Captured using AnyBet365Worlds of corridors
However, exploration is the primary distinction. The open-world adventure game
Genshin Impact takes you to places and scenery that stretch as far as the eye can see. In contrast,
Honkai: Star Rail makes use of the idea of corridor worlds. Every significant place you visit has a number of smaller, more intimate sections. You are mostly going about on foot since you are unable to glide or leap.The fact that places have checklists is crucial to the exploring process. These let you know whether there's a treasure box, mission from an NPC, collectibles, or anything similar there. As such, you're exploring these areas in an effort to cross off items on a list of things to see or do.The game still makes use of corridor environments, even in its larger sections. Picture sourced from HoYoverse
Turn-based issues
Combat is the other key difference. Geneshin Impact
fights in real time. After engaging an adversary, you switch between your characters' abilities or bursts, using each one while it is not on cooldown to try to defeat your opponents. On the other hand, turn-based fighting mechanisms are used in
Honkai: Star Rail. Attacking an opponent unit on the overworld map starts an encounter. Based on their respective speed stats, each party member and adversary will next take action one after the other. You have three different attacks: a burst that can be charged up, a skill move that depletes that resource, and a standard attack that replenishes skill points. It's important to remember that bursts are free actions that may be used even if the character's turn hasn't yet begun.Two more ideas,
character paths and
elemental weaknesses, complement this approach. Character pathways are similar to standard RPG classes in that they are specific roles that your party members play. While some have the ability to strike many targets at once, others choose to concentrate mostly on just one. In contrast, some play support roles and can deal opponent debuffs, defensive shielding, health restoration, or utility benefits.This boss has arms that vary in their vulnerabilities. To break through the shields, you would need to employ the right components. Captured using AnyBet365Every enemy unit in the game has the potential to have one or more elemental vulnerabilities. Your objective is to attack them with a character of an element that is their weakness since they are all shielded. In order to further reduce the barrier, doing so does additional harm. After then, depending on the element, the target will go into a break state and may experience further impacts. Characters of a different element, or those that are not weaknesses, will, nonetheless, be useless against that particular opponent.One of the most obvious flaws of
Honkai: Star Rail, in my opinion, is this. I discovered early on that if a foe's element did not match mine, even my greatest 5-star characters would not make an impact. Furthermore, as shields regenerate when an enemy's turn starts, you may find yourself repeatedly applying the same skills. It's also important to note that, as of now, I have not encountered any elemental reactions, indicating that the majority of character kits function apart from one another.The animations in the game are rather impressive, particularly when you trigger character bursts. Captured using AnyBet365I do believe that
Honkai: Star Rail has a good grasp of the fundamentals, and it would be more palatable to those who have just played
Genshin Impact or who aren't huge fans of the turn-based role-playing game genre. Nevertheless, I was hoping for more tactical nuance beyond the very cliched "use this character/element against this target" idea. But then again, I'm still working my way through the campaign and we're only in the closed beta phase. Towards launch, things could become better.
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