Honkai: Star Rail Reviews
Honkai: Star Rail is a gem I didn’t see coming. While the Gacha system might put some players off, the new setting and tone of HoYo’s latest title is bound to appeal to both Genshin fans who are looking for a change of pace, and players like me who couldn’t get into the game’s predecessor.
Despite its gacha systems, Honkai: Star Rail is an impeccable turn-based RPG with a killer visual style
With stellar storytelling and satisfying progression that offer dozens of hours of content that newcomers and hardcore players can enjoy, Honkai: Star Rail is a free-to-play RPG that might hook you for months – without making you feel like you have to pay.
Honkai Star Rail offers a palpable universe full of possibilities on top of an accessible turn-based combat system that you can dig as deeply into as you want. There's a grind involved with any gacha game, and Honkai Star Rail is no exception. Strong writing, intriguing characters, and engrossing combat make Honkai Star Rail a must-play game that's also relatively friendly to free-to-play players.
Honkai Star Rail is already one of the most exciting RPGs in years even before its first major content update. While the grind may eventually chase you away, its excellent writing and original combat system make Honkai Star Rail well worth diving into, especially with no upfront cost.
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.
Those issues aren't directly related to the core of Star Rail, however, which 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.
Chalk another win for HoYoverse in making an easy-to-get-in JRPG with simple-yet-deep turn-based combat mechanics that enthrals and challenges you simultaneously, at least for the current version we've played. Honkai Star Rail has both style and substance, dishing out triple-A production values while also being backed up with fun turn-based gameplay and a modicum of events and activities to keep you busy on your PC and/or phones for months (or years) to come.
With Honkai Star Rail, Hoyoverse has shown that his is not simple luck and that the success of his productions is due to the ability of the teams to create experiences open to all, able to engage thanks to well-characterized characters and a gameplay that keeps glued to the screen.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Honkai Star Rail is yet another surprising small jewel, proving itself to be so much more than just a "Genshin Impact in space".
Review in Italian | Read full review
Not just great for a free-to-play game, Honkai: Star Rail is a genuinely fantastic RPG with slick combat and an engaging story loaded with content. The biggest caveat is, while generous, its gacha system may tempt some players into unwise purchases.
Honkai: Star Rail, already a tremendous success, transfers to PS5 flawlessly – and is almost guaranteed to become one of the most-played games on the platform. In some ways its bite-sized nature means it's more at home on mobile, but its beautiful anime art style and stunning animations deserve to be experienced on a big screen. While its narrative is occasionally overwritten, and it demands players invest a lot to experience it to its fullest, this is a live service executed impeccable. And the truly exciting thing is that the best is yet to come.
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’s captivating visuals, engaging combat, and expansive roster sets the stage for an extremely engaging new experience.
Honkai: Star Rail feels like the sum of Hoyoverse’s tenure. It has all the developer’s hallmarks of impressive voice acting, unique character designs and compelling gameplay loops, while also addressing many of the biggest criticisms concerning its previous games
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.
Honkai Star Rail highlights the issues that Genshin Impact had despite how many issues have been addressed. The game's barebones RPG mechanics will definitely improve over time, but it still will take a lot to convince any enthusiast to pick this game over other turn-based RPG gacha games.
Some subtle improvements to the grind and flexible turn-based tactics mean Honkai: Star Rail's off to a fine start.