Honkai was and remains one of the most beloved franchises of both HoYoverse and fans of their work. And the direction the game developed in version 3.0 since the beginning of last year was frankly disappointing.
Amphoreus started as, in a sense, a self-repetition of the developers, and ended in an incoherent absurdity. Many players who used to try to follow the plot have abandoned this endeavor, as tying the narrative vinaigrette in Honkai Star Rail 3.x into a single whole was simply impossible. While the general outline of the plot could still be felt, the specific details simply drowned in the stream of consciousness of the scriptwriters and translators.
In general, script failures in other games — Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero — before the release of Star Rail 4.0 were alarming:
- Will the new region ruin the game's lore, as is happening in GI and ZZZ?
- What will happen with the power creep — the growth of characters' strength and their opponents' in the new version — which in version 3.x made one recall the original meaning of the word "imba"?
- How interesting will the mechanics of the new Path of Joy be?
- In what direction will Honkai Star Rail develop?
But in version 4.0, the narrative has become dense with events. No trace of the former looseness remains. Hints and half-hints, which were supposed to intrigue before, have almost disappeared. The scriptwriters couldn't resist secrets, but so far it's possible to follow the plot. The intrigue, by the way, is well-spun. At the same time, the narrative itself is currently multi-layered.
A fun and bright confrontation with Sparkle — the alter ego of Sparkle, one of the heroines of Penacony — is unfolding right before our eyes. On the second layer, a darker, detective story begins, in noir shades and, judging by the setup, not at all cheerful. I won't go into details to avoid spoilers. But overall, the plot setup looks very good. If the scriptwriters manage not to slip into another round of hints for the sake of hints from update to update, we can get an atmospheric noir thriller.
At the same time, noir doesn't kill the signature irony of HSR, which was present at the time of release and which was completely lost. Noir is no reason to abandon a sense of humor. For example, the private detective we interact with throughout the story is accompanied by a monkey narrator who comments on all his actions in the spirit of detective novels. In addition, humor has returned when studying small details on the streets, so expect unexpected discoveries.
All of this unfolds in a new region — Two-dimensional, the homeland of the navigator of the Astral Express, Himeko, and the domain of the Aeon of Joy Ahha. The Game is about to begin here, and the winner will be able to communicate with Aha himself and, possibly, fulfill their wishes.
Two-dimensional is a name with meaning. In this world, works of art created by artists gain reason and life. And their lives are filled with the love of connoisseurs. And the scriptwriters didn't pretend that the world would necessarily be populated by Monas Lisas. No. This world is inhabited by emojis, comic book heroes, virtual streamers, and other "idols". The latter term comes from Japanese pop culture and was popularized in South Korea in the 90s. So maybe we're in Seoul.
Usually, new regions — both in Genshin Impact and in Honkai Star Rail — are inspired by some specific earthly region and time.
- Belobog is similar to St. Petersburg at the end of the 19th century,
- Xianzhou Luofu is a futuristic port Chinese city,
- Penacony is Hollywood in the 30s of the last century.
But Two-dimensional, perhaps, has no clear geographical reference. It is a typical modern city that can be externally compared to Seoul, New York, or Tokyo. But the time of action is clearly defined. The characters repeatedly state it — 1999, but some technologies are ahead of earthly achievements at the end of the millennium. Stylistically, we are indeed transported to the end of the 90s.
Overall, the world has become denser. The flip side of this approach is that there turned out to be surprisingly little content in the new "big" update. The main storyline can be completed in 15 hours, and side quests will add a few more hours to the playthrough. By the way, about them: the quality of the narrative in the side quests, although it doesn't quite reach the main storyline, doesn't cause rejection when reading. And some stories are quite comparable to those that were on Penacony.
When the player completely completes the main quest, the question arises in their head: "How? Is that all?". But then comes the realization — it's good that this is all for now. That the scriptwriters didn't start spreading their thoughts on the tree. Concentrated enjoyment is better than endless chewing gum.
But the new region is not only a new storyline. It's also new game mechanics. Moreover, they are also well integrated into time and space. The end of the 90s is the era of the heyday and the beginning of the decline of classic two-dimensional arcades in the spirit of SNES and SEGA Mega Drive. And Two-dimensional allows you to immerse yourself in that atmosphere headfirst.
Both in the story mode and in the endgame, we have to go through platforming sections that refer to Super Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog. Moreover, these are just references, not blind copying. The way the game designers play with space is truly admirable. The last time there was such a wow effect was in Penacony with its puzzle levels. The platforming levels, of course, are not as big, but, again, they are rich in events.
Definitely, platforming levels are one of the most interesting and exciting innovations that will not appeal to everyone. Their difficulty does not reach the level of hardcore platformers of the mid-90s, but these challenges are clearly not for everyone. In the story mode, of course, they didn't start tormenting players with high difficulty, but in the endgame, complex puzzle levels may require you to level up your skill.
Another novelty is the card game "Cosmic Gang", a kind of CCG "on minimal settings". The fact is that only one card from your collectible deck participates in the party, and the balance of attack and defense is decided by rolling dice. The game turned out to be moderately exciting, but it won't drag on for long. It's definitely not a full-fledged CCG.
The combat system has hardly changed. In order for veteran characters not to get completely lost against the background of Amphoreus heroes, some have had their stats boosted again: Sparkle and Black Swan have received a boost in characteristics.
The new Path of Joy, which some characters now follow, cannot yet be fully revealed. Only one character is presented in version 4.0 — Yao Guang, and this is clearly a support character, not a damager. In the battles of Two-dimensional on the scale, an icon of the Aeon Aha appears, and when it's Joy's turn, enemies take damage proportional to the accumulated number of smiles. Yao Guang allows you to accumulate the new resource more efficiently.
The new boss, Sparkle, will not cause difficulties for those who have completed Amphoreus, and, most likely, even Penacony characters will be enough. Naturally, a new set of relics and resources for grinding has appeared for the new heroes. But this is typical for major updates to HoYoverse games.
At the start of update 4.0, players are generously given in-game currency and "pulls", but the basic principle of gacha has not changed. After 90 pulls, a banner character is guaranteed to drop with a probability of 50% or 100%, depending on whether you had a guarantee last time. In general, the HoYoverse gacha system cannot be called completely greedy, considering the gifts, battle pass, daily grind, but it cannot be considered completely harmless either.
As always, we warn: If you are a gambling person and prone to getting carried away, you should not install Honkai Star Rail. Gacha is an extremely manipulative mechanic, and you may leave more money in the game than you would allow yourself in a normal situation.
And in conclusion — a few words about the technical condition of HoYoverse games. At the time of release, they are usually, if not perfect, then close to it. HSR 4.0 was no exception. Minor flaws are quickly fixed with patches. The new region looks beautiful, it maintains the style and, most importantly, you can feel the atmosphere of the 90s — both visual and musical.
Verdict
The concerns about the new region in Honkai Star Rail turned out to be unfounded. It's not to say that Two-dimensional world is a breath of fresh air, but it's not a self-repetition! You can feel the mood of Penacony here: the atmosphere is pleasant and it plays easily.
It's too early to praise the plot, and I don't want to jinx it. But there is no stuffiness that was in the previous year in HSR now - and that's great! The plot has become more concentrated. There is less unnecessary running around, empty dialogues and annoying battles with ordinary opponents while exploring the world.
And I'll probably get the courage and advise you to return to Honkai Star Rail to those players who abandoned it in the times of 3.0. Perhaps the changes that the new version has brought are what we all needed.
The main thing is that they don't spoil it in the future.