Honkai: Star Rail is a role-playing gacha game for PC, Android and iOS, with a PlayStation version to come. Based around the adventures of the crew of the Astral Express, a train that travels through space. It's a spin-off from Honkai Impact 3rd, and also takes inspiration from Hoyoverse's other popular gacha game, Genshin Impact.
You'll explore different planets, as well as the Herta Space Station, in a storyline that is packed with lore. Along the way you'll encounter enemies that you'll have to defeat using a turn-based combat system. There are also side quests to discover, dailies to do, materials to grind, and of course a gacha system to beat in order to grow your party of characters. So, is Honkai: Star Rail worth your time and money?
Review
Honkai: Star Rail feels like a familiar experience for fans of Genshin Impact or Honkai Impact 3rd, yet also marks itself out as entirely different. It's a mix of features from these previous games combined with changes that help it feel like a new and engaging experience.
The two largest changes are the addition of a turn-based combat system, something which I am hugely in favour of, and the change from an open world to large but limited areas, a change praised by Evergreen Editor Santi Leguiza, who reviewed the game.
"Ditching the open world of Genshin Impact was an inspired choice, as the planets you will visit are far more fleshed out and immensely detailed than the sprawling regions of Mondstadt and Liyue."
The overall experience is enjoyable, but your progress is limited at times by the Trailblaze Level, an equivalent of Genshin's Adventure Rank. Certain aspects of the main storyline require you to hit a specific Trailblaze Level, due to the difficulty of the battles. While this isn't too difficult, it does mean that you'll need to engage with the side quests, domain runs, and dailies in order to progress.
Over time, it will be interesting to see where the story goes. For a new release, Star Rail contains a solid amount of content with lore that makes you want to continue playing. Thanks to the introduction of a regular update schedule, just as other Hoyoverse titles have, this will only increase.
Time Expenditure
Honkai: Star Rail is currently showing as 16 hours for the Main Story and 46 hours for the Main Story and Sides on How Long To Beat. This just includes the launch content. However, due to the gating of some main quest content, it's probably closer to around 20 hours to complete the primary narrative, if you include the amount of extra content you'll need in order to keep your Trailblaze Level up.
As with most games of this type though there are always things to do. Every day there are new daily tasks, although these are quite limited currently. Each area also has a range of side quests and there are several different types of domain to tackle in order to grind materials for leveling characters and items. Although it should be noted that most of these domains are limited by Trailblaze Powder, a regenerating currency traded for rewards.
Cost
The primary currency in Honkai: Star Rail is Stellar Jade. This is primarily earned through quests, events, and domains. It's used to trade for Warp Tickets that allow you to Warp (often referred to as rolling, pulling, or wishing) on banners for both limited-time and permanent characters and light cones, the equivalent of weapons in Star Rail.
Especially at the beginning of the game, there appears to be an abundance of ways to earn Stellar Jade. You will also receive a bonus five-star standard character once you've made 300 warps on the regular warp banner.
Of course, there is also the real money option - Oneiric Pouch, a currency that can be exchanged for different rewards.
Oneiric Shards convert to Stellar Jade at a 1:1 ratio and each Warp Ticket costs 160 Stellar Jade.
Express Supply Pass
Costs $4.99 / - Rewards 300 Oneiric Shards and 90 Stellar Jade each day for 30 days for a total of 2700 Stellar Jade, assuming you log in each day to claim it. Assuming you also convert the Shards, this equates to 18.75 wishes. The best value by far.
Oneiric Shard Bundles
|
Item |
Bonus Shards |
Total Shards |
Cost |
Warps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Oneiric Shards x 60 |
60 |
120 |
$0.99 |
0.70 |
|
Oneiric Shards x 300 |
300 |
600 |
$4.99 |
3.75 |
|
Oneiric Shards x 980 |
980 |
1960 |
$14.99 |
12.25 |
|
Oneiric Shards x 1980 |
1980 |
3960 |
$29.99 |
24.75 |
|
Oneiric Shards x 3280 |
3280 |
6560 |
$49.00 |
41 |
|
Oneiric Shards x 6480 |
6480 |
12960 |
$99.99 |
81 |
The double bonus is usually only available once and reduces after your first purchase.
Nameless Honor
There are two options to upgrade your battle pass. Here are the extra rewards upon leveling up fully:
Nameless Glory
Costs $9.99 and rewards:
- Treasure of the Starry Seas - Light Cone of your choice
- 680 Stellar Jade
- 4 Golden Warp Tickets (Limited Banner)
- 3 Rare Materials of your choice
- 4 Common Materials of your choice
Nameless Medal
Costs $19.99 and rewards:
- All Nameless Glory Rewards
- 10 Battle Pass Levels
- Himeko - Welcome Avatar
- Welt - Welcome Avatar
- 200 Stellar Jade
- 5 Fuel (Replenishes 60 Trailblaze Powder)
Pity System
The pity system means that you are guaranteed at least one four-star character or light cone every 10 warps on all banners.
When you first begin there is a Starter Warp, which awards a five-star character after a maximum of 50 warps. However, this is increased to almost double on the other banners.
The Character Event Warp only awards characters and has a pity level of 90. You will also have to contend with a 50 percent chance to get the featured five-star character.
The Light Cone Event Warp is slightly more merciful, with a pity rate of 80 and a 75 percent chance to get the featured five-star light cone.
The Regular Warp has a pity level of 90 for five-stars and is also the only banner that awards both five-star weapons and five-star characters.
To guarantee pulling the featured five-star character you'll need to make a whopping 180 warps, costing 28,800 Stellar Jade.
What Players Are Saying
Get Onboard The Astral Express Early - Helen Ashcroft
I was skeptical about Honkai: Star Rail, but it's lured me in hook, line, and sinker. The storyline is engaging, deep, and entertaining. There are also many different types of challenges to conquer, and some amusing side quests to explore. Turn-based combat is enjoyable, and the addition of auto-battle helps remove a lot of the grind.
As part of an initial push for the game, Stellar Jade also appears to be practically thrown at you. I've not even explored all the available planets and I have every four-star character and a couple of five-stars, making a team that's solid enough to tackle the current content, without spending a single cent. What more could you ask for?
Worth It In Every Single Way - Sanyam Jain
There was a lot of hype around Honkai: Star Rail's release and it lived up to all the expectations. The game is great for RPG, Gacha, open-world, and character design lovers all at the same time.
There's endgame content for both casual and hardcore players, and you'll easily sink many hours into it. It'll also pleasantly surprise you with the level of detail in the story and character lore.
A Must-Play For JRPG Fans - Seth Parmer
Honkai: Star Rail delivers a solid, quirky, and surprisingly deep turn-based JRPG experience from start to finish. Everything from its robust and unique character designs to its mysterious world and story will keep you engaged every second of your journey.
Whether you choose to spend money on its gacha-focused aspects or go purely free-to-play, the experience will always be rewarding and well worth your time investment, making it a must-play for those who love the genre or just want to collect their husbandos and waifus while going through a solid story.