Honkai: Star Rail, the sci-fi follow-up from the creators of Genshin Impact,is out now. While it’s not technically a sequel, it borrows so many features from the popular 2020 gacha game it feels like one. However, there’s a new cast of characters (with some returning from previous Honkai games), new gameplay mechanics, and of course, a space train. Choo choo, let’s get this hands-on rolling!
I recorded the above hands-on gameplay video on an Asus Rog 6 after playing through Honkai: Star Rail’s intro sequences. Genshin Impact has been a benchmark for testing mobile hardware for a while now, so I expected Honkai: Impact to have a similar result on my phone. However, unlike Genshin, I struggled to maintain a consistent 60FPS throughout gameplay. Battles saw minor drops, but cities and big landscapes dropped my framerate to around 40FPS or lower. So if you want the best graphics at max FPS, you won’t be able to settle for anything less than thebest gaming phone.
Honkai: Star Rail is one step away from being a Genshin Impact clone
Outside of the battles (which we’ll touch on later in this article), Honkai: Star Rail is basically Genshin Impact with a sci-fi coat of paint. The UI is almost identical, and despite having different names, the bewildering array of items, upgrades, and consumables will make any Genshin fan feel at home.
This isn’t to say there aren’t improvements. Cities are livelier, filled with NPCs that walk around and make idle comments as you pass. There’s also less grinding than Genshin, but it isn’t absent.
Honkai: Star Rail doesn’t offer controller support on Android. However, we’ll be watching for the upcoming console release, which will be adapted to support controllers.
Turn-based battles are just as exciting as real-time duels
One of my favorite parts of Genshin Impact was the dynamic real-time battles, so I was apprehensive about switching to turn-based combat. However, they are just as engaging and dynamic, although the auto-battle mechanic leaves much to be desired.
Combat is simple but has plenty of room for strategy. Identify your enemy’s weaknesses, pick the appropriate team member, and launch your attacks. Basic attacks charge special attacks, and everything will charge your ultimate abilities. It’s easy to pick up and learn, and while a few tooltips would be helpful, I can’t fault the game for letting players figure it out on their own.
Animations are stunning but fast; there are no long wait periods between turns, and the ability to interrupt the order of attacks with ultimate abilities helps keep things interesting.
There is an auto-battle mechanic, but I don’t recommend using it against anything stronger than the weakest enemies. It seems to select targets randomly, missing out on obvious strategies, so it is more for grinding than advancing.
Honkai: Star Rail’s gacha mechanics are just as tempting as Genshin’s
A common tactic in gacha games is to bombard you with so many numbers and effects that buying microtransactions feels just as fun as the reward. Genshin Impact nailed this technique, and Honkai: Star Rail is just as effective.
The gacha mechanics in Star Rail will reward you with characters or “Light Cones.” Light Cones are just another way to improve a character’s numbers, and their unnecessary nature means they exist to entice you to spend money.
The good news is you can complete the entire game without spending a penny, but it’s hard to ignore the corruption of Star Rail’s gambling mechanics. While you may be able to resist the urge, you might not be able to stop thinking about the temptation.
Honkai: Star Rail offers safe, sanitized gacha fun
While there are fun moments in Honkai: Star Rail, it’s hard to recommend. Even for Genshin: Impact fans, it’s hard to pick a reason to play Star Rail instead. There’s nothing innovative or exciting here, just a tried-and-tested formula executed with precision. Even turn-based battles become mindless after some time, especially if you let the auto-battle mechanic do its work.
So if Honkai: Star Rail doesn’t impress you, go ahead and give one of thebest gacha gamesa go. These offer similar fun but with a lot more innovation and variety.
