Before launch, if someone had told you that Honkai: Star Rail would turn out to be one of the funniest games to date, you wouldn't be blamed for having a healthy dose of skepticism. Gacha games aren't generally the first games that come to mind when you think of good writing, after all.
Hoyoverse wants you to take that notion and throw it out into the cosmos because they brought their A game in the writing department. The story is good, but where the game's writing truly shines are the funny moments and memes practically bursting at the seams of the game. It's safe to say they've knocked it out of the park with this title.
10 Finding Your Wanted Photos In Belobog
After being marked as criminals who have committed "serious but vague" crimes, you and your Astral Express crewmates are wanted by all of Belobog’s forces. The leader, Gepard, expects the general populace to join in the search. What better way to get the word out than post flyers all around the city with your faces on them?
The idea is good, but the execution? It leaves a lot to be desired, No disrespect to the artist or anything, but you could probably get a better match using caricatures over these. They are fun to take selfies with in the background though, if you’re into that.
9 Texting And Group Chats
Texting and group chatting with your phone is the predominant way people talk these days, and according to Star Rail, that’s going to continue in the long future, as you can chat with the friends you make along the way. You’ll also be added to group chats from time to time by people you don’t know.
The side quest You Already Know Me draws you into a mystery where gossip is causing discord around the Herta Space Station. Well, not so drawn in, as much as you are thrown into an anonymous group chat that consists of rumors and the typical trolling you see in real life. The funniest part is when everyone in the chat crawls away once the culprit has been found. You’ve never seen a chat clear out so fast.
8 Your Hotel Room Closet
As you play the game, you'll quickly come to realize that the Trailblazer not only has an amazingly dry sense of humor but also has a wild imagination to boot. From their engagement with trashcans and streetlamps to the troll option you're able to give in most conversations, it's easy to see that they don't take their new job too seriously.
The peak example of the Trailblazer's shenanigans? When you first arrive at Jarilo-6, you and your party are treated to hotel rooms complete with room service and a closet fit for a king/queen. Quite literally, as the Trailblazer decides they should climb in and enjoy the cabinets' various smells. Kind of ick, but the Trailblazer seems to enjoy it.
7 Peak’s Napping Performance
Around the underworld are miners who dig for Geomarrow, a mineral that conducts heat for both levels of Belobog. Most of the miners you run into are hardworking and kind of stressed about their lives. However, there is a god among man who has cracked the code. His name? It's Peak, naturally.
You'll see Peak multiple times and in several places around the underworld doing what he does best: napping. Hell, the first time you meet him he's out catching some ZZZs on mine cart tracks! His dedication to napping is something to be admired. Peak has refined a system that maximizes his sleep while minimizing the amount of work he has to do to survive while also renting his tools. A true sigma.
6 Teleporting Toilets
The bathroom is considered a semi-private safe space to do whatever you need to do. You don't expect anything out of the ordinary when you go in one, and for the bathrooms aboard the Herta Space Station, it should relatively be the same, right? Nothing on this space station is what it first appears.
As your exploration leads you to various places on the station, you'll find an innocuous toilet outside of its natural habitat at the highest point of the supply room. If the Trailblazer lets their impulsive thoughts win and ignores the very clear warning not to use them, they end up appearing out of thin air, terrifying a scientist in the process with no explanation. Rumor on the station has it that this isn't the only one, either.
5 The Shining Of The Goethe Hotel
Honkai: Star Rail is packed to the brim with references and memes, much more than a single list could cover. You’ll have a good time simply roaming around the world and discovering new secrets. While stuffing yourself inside a closet and jumping out to defeat the hotel ghost is excellent, there is another fun Easter egg inside the Goathe Hotel.
If you are brave enough to meet them, you'll have to perform some…less than savory eavesdropping on several doors within the hotel and hear various scenes from The Shining play out. Once you do, the twins will appear in your dreams to serve a little jumpscare karma for being that nosy guest.
4 You Break The One Rule About Fight Club
When it comes to Fight Club, the first rule that everyone remembers off the top of their collective heads is simple: do not talk about fight club. Naturally needing entertainment, the underworld has its fighting ring for those who wish to see two people (or robots) throw down.
Doesn't matter if you are an outsider on a faraway planet, you should know to never break the cardinal rule, even if you are talking to yourself out loud. There is no excuse for breaking the rules of fight club unless it's for a laugh.
3 88 Degrees Bedrock, Freestyle Rapper
Out of the many things you would expect to see in Honkai: Star Rail, a 'famous' Freestyle Rapper wouldn't be one of them. Yet 88 Degrees Bedrock, better known as Eunice, is known by both humans and robots throughout the Vagrant and miner settlements. Once you find her, you're easily able to convince her to spit some bars.
Don't write her off as a simple one-off joke though! That would be underestimating her skills and those who participate in the (literal) underground scene wouldn't take too kindly to that. Sure, you could take it for the joke it is, but if you let Eunice cook, you'll find that she's got some serious Bara about life in the underworld.
2 Your Inner Voice
As mentioned earlier, the Trailblazer has a… creative sense of humor, but their inner voice is arguably the bigger joker of the two. You'd think that the Trailblazer's Inner Voice and outer voice would be the same person, but if you look closer, it seems as if they are two different entities.
For example, your inner voice will shush you or tell you not to do something with a judgemental tone to its words. Take one too many looks at a street lamp, and your inner voice will grow exasperated. Most of the time, it seems as though it's talking more to you the player than Trailblazer, mostly to roast their (and thereby your) choices you make in the game.
1 The Trailblazer And Trash Cans
Finally, we come to the greatest catalyst for memes that this game graciously gave us: the unrequited admiration of all trash cans. Searching all receptacles for items in JRPGs is a very common thing to do. Honkai: Star Rail knows this and takes it as an opportunity to roast you for it.
Your Canon party members will try their best not to judge you too harshly (to your face), but they struggle to hide their disgust as you enthusiastically dumpster dive for anything usable. Eventually, you draw the attention of the 'famed' Garbage King as he calls your out for crossing his territory of digging in the cans. Sadly, the star-crossed rivals have yet to meet, but maybe soon a showdown of who is the true Garbage King will grace the streets of Belobog. Just cover your nose first.