Honkai: Star Rail, the next game by Genshin Impact creator Hoyoverse, finally received a definitive release date. This was alongside some other new information, in a brand-new developer livestream. Hoyoverse held the special program on the official Honkai: Star Rail Twitch and YouTube accounts.
The livestream gave us a deeper look at many different aspects of the Star Rail world, including a better look at the playable character, the Trailblazer, and some of the characters who will join you on your journey aboard the Astral Express. You’ll travel alongside characters such as March 7th, a peppy girl with no past who was thawed from an icy comet, and Dan Heng, a stoic and elusive man who appears to be on the run from someone. There are many other characters who the player will meet (and potentially recruit) on their adventure across the stars.
March 7th and Dan Heng
Honkai: Star Rail is a bit different compared to the other titles that Hoyoverse is known for. While it remains an RPG with gacha game elements it’s actually a turn-based RPG. Gameplay is split up between exploration segments and combat segments. In exploration, Trailblazers can roam the sandboxes of various planets looking for chests, quests and other goodies. The turn-based combat of Honkai: Star Rail starts upon encountering an enemy, where you will be transported to a separate instance to do battle.
Each character has a Basic Attack, a Skill and an Ultimate. You will use a character’s Basic Attack to build up Skill Points. These can then be spent on special Skills unique to each character. These range from healing to massive damage or some other special features. Then, once you’re ready, you can activate a character’s Ultimate, powerful moves that each come with spectacular pieces of animation. All characters also belong to a Path, which effectively serves as a role. For example, the Path of Erudition focuses on AoE damage and the Path of Harmony focuses on buffs.
Turn-Based Gameplay
There’s a lot to learn to sink your teeth into when it comes to combat. This includes exploiting enemy weaknesses depending on what Element they are, attacking first to gain the advantage in terms of turn order, preparing your characters before battle and more. There’ll be plenty of content and battles for players to complete, including the tough Halls of Memory and even a roguelike mode called the Simulated Universe.
Another aspect of the game that was revealed was how the gacha system will work. Trailblazers will use Star Rail Passes to pull on certain banners and obtain specific characters. During Version 1.0 of the game, Seele will be available as a 5-Star during the first half with Jing Yuan heading up the second half. Furthermore, we were introduced to the Light Cores. These function as Honkai: Star Rail’s version of weapons that will enhance each character and can also be summoned with Star Rail Passes.
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- Phase 1 Banners
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- Phase 2 Banners
Finally, we got confirmation of the official release date. Honkai: Star Rail will release on April 26th, with pre-installation beginning on April 23rd. Alongside the official release date, they also announced that a PlayStation version of Honkai: Star Rail will be available sometime after launch.
SOURCE: Honkai: Star Rail “Boarding Preparation Special Program”
