HoYoverse's Honkai: Star Rail gets official launch date for 26 April
All aboard the stellar hype train as the game gets ready for its 'March 7th' release
Honkai: Star Rail, the new space fantasy RPG title from Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse, finally has a release date. Trailblazers will finally take to the stars on 26 April, with the game also opening for pre-installation on 23 April.
The game's release date as well as a trainload of information were revealed by HoYoverse during the Boarding Preparation Special Program on Friday (24 March).
Since its announcement and first closed Beta testing back in October 2021, Honkai: Star Rail has been in the radar of fans waiting with bated breath for its release.
Lucky for us, Star Rail’s voyage is soon to begin! We’re excited to finally join our favourite crew members in our journey through the universe.
Trailblaze through the stars
Honkai: Star Rail takes players on a fun yet perilous journey through the universe aboard the titular Astral Express alongside a colourful cast of characters.
Players will take the role of an amnesiac young man or woman, depending on the choice, who is embedded with a mysterious power known as the Stellaron.
Taken in by the Astral Express, a group of trailblazers who seek to travel the universe, you will form bonds with the Astral Express crew, namely March 7th, a similarly amnesiac young woman who was found frozen in ice, Dan Heng, a mysterious man known as “Cold Dragon Young”, Welt Yang, senior member and “former animator”, Himeko, the navigator, and finally, Pompom, who is the conductor and mascot of the Astral Express.
With this newfound family, players will explore different worlds like the icy planet Belobog, or the Sci-Fi paradise Xinzhou Luofu, in pursuit of Stellarons, or the “Cancer of All Worlds”, while currying favour with the Aeons, who hold dominion over The Paths.
Players will also fight against the “Stellaron Hunters”, a group of mercenaries who have questionable goals that might not match their own.
As Trailblazers, it is the player's duty to collect the Stellarons, which inflict disasters on the worlds they visit, and along the way, aid the people we meet into a brighter future.
How to play
Honkai: Star Rail is a role-playing game where Trailblazers will explore and unearth secrets from various sandbox maps. Exploring and interacting can yield rich rewards and easter egg interactions, so make sure to interact with various objects and people in the game!
Besides interactables, certain maps will also have threat looming in every corner in the guise of the enemies who will have no second thoughts in attacking you.
That being said, here’s how the battle system works!
Characters will have affinities to certain “elements” and “Paths” which will determine their fighting style. For example, those who walk the path of “Destruction” will be proficient in causing massive damage upfront, the “Hunt” will work best on single targets, and “Erudition” will be the best choice to inflict devastating area-of-effect damage.
Employing a turn-based system, players will have the chance to strategise their rotations without having to worry too much about fast-paced gameplay.
Enemies will have certain elemental weaknesses, so choosing a character whose Path coincides with the opponent’s weakness will give you a massive advantage, as well as easily whittling away the endurance bar to inflict weakness breaks, which will stun the enemy. When that happens, it’s all a matter of strategising your attacks to quickly end the fight!
That being said, you will have an indicator on Skill Points, which you can spend to use the skills of your characters. You can refill the Skill Points by attacking your enemy with Normal Attacks. Using your skill will allow you to refill your energy, which you can then use to unleash your burst!
Casual players can also employ the “Auto-Battle” feature, which will allow the game’s AI to fight your battle for you. Be warned though, this feature isn’t available in boss battles!
Get your ticket ready!
It's not too late to board the hype train for Honkai: Star RailI! The game is still accepting pre-registrations here.
Those who pre-register will receive tons of rewards, including the 4-star character Serval and 20 Star Rail Passes, 50,000, credits, and the 'Trailblazer — Welcome' Avatar.
A little fun fact, in the Lunar Calendar, this April is the third lunar month, while 26 April is 7th day of that month.
Looks like we’re getting that March 7th release, a great homage to fan-favourite character March 7!
Honkai: Star Rail will be made available in Android, iOS, as well as PC and Playstation.
Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.
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