Three years after HoYoverse’s (previously called miHoYo) hit game Genshin Impact was released, the company has finally returned with another new game much to fan’s anticipation. Honkai Star Rail is HoYoverse’s new baby - maintaining the same gacha-style system as before, this game instead features turn-based gameplay compared to Genshin Impact’s open-world action combat. With so many HoYo fans patiently waiting for Honkai Star Rail’s release over the past couple of years, it’s time to see whether or not their patience was rewarded. Will Honkai Star Rail become as big as Genshin Impact in the gaming world?

Photo by Soumil Kumar on Pexels

Well, it seems like the game has received a heavy hit of mixed reviews. While some fans are appreciating the more laid-back, play-at-your-own-pace style of gaming, many players have come online to criticize Honkai Star Rail’s underwhelming release. seem to be the same all around: terrible gacha rates, bland combat and mechanics, non-skippable storylines, and lack of content. For fans who have greatly enjoyed and praised the open-world exploration and intense combat of Genshin Impact, Honkai’s vastly different approach has been deemed disappointing. 

But that’s not to say Honkai doesn’t have its share of plus sides and positives. For gamers who specifically enjoy turn-based combat, it’s exciting to see a game of this caliber enter the market. With a combat system much more approachable than Genshin Impact’s, newcomers will also find it much easier to learn and adapt to the turn-based gameplay and mechanics of Honkai. And with the same stunning art and animation in place that Genshin Impact players have known and love, Honkai is a visual masterpiece. While there isn’t as much open-world exploration to be done, there are still a lot of quests to complete that will take you all over the different towns and cities. With each new world taking on a unique atmosphere and look, there’s no doubt players will grow more excited as each universe gets slowly released. Because what’s more fun than traveling in a floating train through space? 

Photo by John Petalcurin on Pexels

But HoYoverse, if you happen to be reading this, there’s one major change that needs to happen for you to increase fan interest and engagement - lower the gacha rates. While the criticism towards Honkai has targeted different aspects of the game overall, one major complaint has been the insanely expensive costs. If you’re unfamiliar with gacha games, think of a toy vending machine; you put money in, but what comes out might not be the toy you wanted. So you keep putting money in until you get the toy that you wanted in the first place. Gacha games encourage players to spend money to obtain in-game items such as characters or special items. With Honkai Star Rail, you pay money to receive “pulls” which are essentially lottery tickets that will get you a random item. To get the character or item that they want, players will have to repeatedly spend money until they get lucky enough. 

For Honkai Star Rail, many players were disappointed to see the same gacha rates in-game as Genshin Impact. With its turn-based gameplay requiring a wider roster of characters to succeed in battle, many have complained that the game is simply too expensive. For just one basic ten pull, players have to spend a whopping $29.99 USD for a chance to get what they want. While the game itself offers opportunities and rewards for free pulls, fans are saying it’s not enough. It’s possible to play completely free-to-play, but players will likely miss out on all the characters they desperately want.

Photo by Designecologist on Pexels

So here’s the final verdict - while there’s certainly a player base out there that is currently enjoying the game (there’s been a whopping 12 million+ downloads on mobile alone!), there are changes that can be made so Honkai can appeal to a larger audience. Whether it’s adding more interesting in-game events, increasing reward outputs, or lowering the gacha rates, it seems like fans want some updates to be made before they’re willing to give the game a fair shot. But with the game just released earlier this year and amassing millions of players worldwide, there’s no way we can question HoYoverse’s impact on the gaming community. Stay tuned for more news on Honkai in the future!