Honkai: Star Rail

Honkai: Star Rail upholds miHoYo's strong reputation for compelling RPGs. Even with the gacha systems, it offers a fun free-to-play experience with fun story-telling, interesting companions and sleek gameplay.

Despite its gacha systems, Honkai: Star Rail is an impeccable turn-based RPG with a killer visual style.

Shines as brightly as any of the celestial bodies it tasks players with visiting. The quality of content at launch is, quite simply, incredible - it really looks, feels, and plays like a live service game that has already been out for years. Its turn-based combat might, tragically, not be for everyone, even in spite of its depth of tactics and highly customizable loadouts. That should be something everyone decides for themselves, however. Honkai: Star Rail is a must-play 2023 release that could very well become the next big thing in live service games, and will, if nothing else, become one of the better RPG releases in recent memory.

With Honkai Star Rail, Hoyoverse has shown that its luck is not simple and that the success of its productions is due to the ability of the teams to create experiences that are open to all, able to involve thanks to well-characterized characters and gameplay that keeps glued to the screen. Despite the unoriginal plot and maps with a very rigid structure, the free to play from the creators of Genshin Impact boasts a turn-based combat system that proved to be spot on and some endgame modes that convinced us. It is therefore an excellent starting point that we hope will be supported consistently through the publication of events, characters and missions that keep users interested in the long term.

From classic JRPG-style turn based action to the latest cartoon graphics, even the cross-platform. Honkai: Star Rail truly is a dream come true for the fans of the genre. Attractive characters are backing up the well-developed combat system which encourages deep-dive exploration. However, if you are not the fan of anime culture, the story maybe a bit hard to understand because of the excessive proper nouns and concepts.

Honkai Star Rail is yet another surprising small jewel, proving itself to be so much more than just a "Genshin Impact in space".

It's hard not to fall for the charms of Honkai: Star Rail. The storyline, even if it draws on Japanese anime clichés, is extremely rich, populated by sparkling characters and written with a great deal of humor. The gameplay is addictive and extremely clever, and the monetization knows how to take a back seat to the gameplay experience. A real success story.

Honkai: Star Rail is a stylish and engaging turn-based RPG that marries a quirky sci-fi tale with anime-style graphics.

Honkai: Star Rail does not deviate from the already popular model of HoYoverse's RPGs, but makes life easier for those who decide not to spend money on the game, which is a plus. With an intriguing new story, charismatic characters, and a friendlier system that respects both players' money and time, Honkai: Star Rail is a respectable RPG, and those who decide to venture out with the Astral Express will have content for years to come.

Honkai Star Rail is HoYoverse’s most confident showing yet. While its gameplay doesn’t really do anything new, it excels at the fundamentals. When matched with a memorable cast and enthralling story beats, it cements itself as one of the stronger releases of 2023 so far.

Honkai Star Rail is a highly polished turn-based RPG that builds off the Hoyoverse gacha machine, and while it certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, its colourful cast of characters and mercurial tone sets it on the right track.

Honkai: Star Rail is just that – a beautiful and highly appealing game to be played while waiting in line or while commuting. And there’s certainly something romantic about escaping your own boring train ride in exchange for the Astral Express, voyaging through the stars, planets and the great unknown.

There is so much in Honkai Star Rail to enjoy. There’s a heavy emphasis on story, puzzles, and turn-based strategy, with so much content that free players will likely have more than enough to do to last months on their way to Trailblazer Level 70. With nearly identical systems to Genshin Impact, gamers that have really taken to the Hoyoverse’s tried and true systems should feel right at home here. New players that have been scared away from Genshin due to the action-combat nature will have no problems investing some time in this free-to-play gem. If you can temper your impulsiveness and only spend what makes sense to you, and not dive into the dangerous gacha rabbit hole, Honkai Star Rail will be the ride you never want to stop.

All we can say for now is that Honkai: Star Rail is off to a very promising start. We don’t know where the journey of the Astral Express eventually leads us. Genshin Impact’s quality has only gone up in the years since it first launched, and if HoYoverse puts the same love and attention into Honkai: Star Rail, this is an adventure fans of the genre shouldn’t miss.

A great role playing game with turn based combat, free and fun. It does not reach the quality of Genshin Impact but it is close.

Its character designs and story are charming, and the game and its systems are highly polished. Still, one thing’s for sure: If Star Rail wants to stay for the long run, it will need to do much more to stand out in the sea of turn-based RPGs available on both PC and mobile. And only time will tell if that will happen.

Honkai: Star Rail is a Free2Play game that technically doesn't have to hide from AAA competitors and can offer you hours of enjoyment for free.

Honkai: Star Rail would easily be one of the greatest turn based RPGs of the past few years were it not for it's predatory monetization system.

Honkai: Star Rail feels like the consummation of all the knowledge that Hoyoverse amassed so far after the two juggernauts that preceded it. With a good amount of content to tackle at launch and such a compelling story being told, all that remains to be seen is where the Astral Express will take us next.

Honkai: Star Rail isn't a groundbreaking experience or a massive new open-world action game, but it's still full of promise and potential as a polished, pretty, and easy-to-master RPG experience.

Assessing the prospects of Honkai: Star Rail is quite difficult because it will be possible to compare only with the studio's previous games, or the most popular Genshin. Obviously, it will attract a sizable audience at launch due to miHoYo's general popularity and balanced style, the question is whether there will be enough content in the game to keep that audience, given the superficial combat system.