The game begins in media res with two mysterious characters arriving on a space station that’s under attack. I think it’s important to preserve that feeling because reviews often gloss over those frustrating sections or assume that we’re all familiar with the deeply idiosyncratic aspects of JRPGs. So I apologise if this post reads as more disjointed than usual there are so many systems in this game and they take so long to get explained that I kept changing my mind as I played. The last time I felt this way was reading the novel The Three-Body Problem which, like Honkai: Star Rail, is Chinese sci-fi that’s similar to western sci-fi but also very different. My opinion swung from exasperated confusion to begrudging respect to amused enjoyment. I’ve found it surprisingly hard to write about this game because it changes more in its first seven hours than anything else I’ve played lately. Your character(s) cannot be heavily customised and often have specific, detailed backstories The story is highly linear with few, if any, meaningful choices JRPGs are usually distinguished from “western” RPGs by these broad characteristics:Įxploration takes place across multiple linked environments rather than a single massive open worldīattles take place in a turn-based arena where characters can’t move freely, or at all This is standard for RPGs, but Honkai: Star Rail is what many would consider to be a “Japanese” role playing game (JRPG). Repeat across more waypoints until you complete the quest and get some rewards. On the way there’ll be some treasure to collect or letters or posters to read. Walk to the first quest waypoint and, usually, fight enemies, but sometimes talk to people, take a photo, press a button on a console, or solve a puzzle so simple a five year old would be insulted, etc. If it’s a sidequest, the dialogue will be in text if it’s an important quest, it’ll be voice-acted and if it’s really important, it’ll have custom animation.

Teleport to the quest-giver, who’ll tell you what to do. Here’s a typical 30 minute slice of Honkai: Star Rail:

It’s uncommonly polished for a mobile/tablet-first game, combining some of the genre’s worst impulses (confusing and frequently meaningless battles) with surprisingly good writing and an absolutely gargantuan amount of content, all of which is theoretically available for free. I cannot get along with these kinds of battles

Honkai star rail wanted posters