Honkai: Star Rail Review

Honkai: Star Rail reviewed on PC by Jess Reyes.
"Honkai: Star Rail is the best free-to-play game of the year so far. Its stellar storytelling and satisfying progression systems offer dozens of hours of content that a HoYo newcomer can enjoy, even without paying for gacha items or having played Honkai Impact 3rd or Genshin Impact. Combat boasts layers of strategy for those willing to dig into details without barring more casual players from enjoying it. Its worldbuilding also expands outside of the main story into the side missions and interactable objects, making an already captivating world even more lively. It surpasses even Genshin in my mind, and I can see myself playing even months from now."

[@vampiricalchemist]

"Gamers have not abandoned turn based games, developers have." Dunno who said it but its true. This game felt great and the story felt as great as some of the best jrpgs.

[@obihz2415]

The Falcom producer for Trail series said that in a double interview with honkai star rail producer

[@mega_ferret6359]

Turn based is definitely still my favorite style of games.

[@IO-hh3gw]

Im actually very surprised that their 4 stars are actually very much usable sometimes even better than 5 stars.

[@jlsangyahon9348]

Its the same in Genshin tho. The national team has been relevant since forever

[@kentho7093]

aren't Bennett, Xingqiu, Fischl, Xiangling, Sucrose better than some of the 5 stars?

[@fyz4919]

Genshin formula worked well so why would they change it? All their future game gonna use the same formula at being casual and F2P friendly

[@potatopcgamer739]

first time ?

[@overhaul8416]

Because they still can make money out of the 4 stars by making strong advancements or eidolons

[@Cloudiroth462]

Another thing to mention... all the free characters are actually OP. Sure, they may be power crept in the future, but their kits are built in a way that make them always viable. Also, MC is absolutely essential and is a godsend for end game.

[@joshuadavey650]

Don't underestimate March 7 her shield is very strong too

[@0maeWaMou]

@@joshuadavey650 Yeah but MC having the taunt ability is much more useful than March

[@Goosehelpful]

Mc March Danny Natasha is a mostly S-tier comp that I'm impressed is given as f2p, really happy with how mihoyo is managing the gacha aspect of this one

[@barghest8763]

except qingque, she's kinnda dogsht

[@yurikirii]

@@0maeWaMou actually March grants characters protected by her shield with an increase of 500% taunt so an M7 tactic is to actually have her shield herself and have most non-full aoe attacks sent her way instead while not consuming any skill points while the shield is up. Coupled with the fact that she can provide a pretty reliable and chunky shield + debuff cleanse to others makes me prefer M7 over Fire Trailblazer honestly Edit: she can also freeze enemies with ult as well with a solid 50%-65% base chance

[@0maeWaMou]

This dude really liked and grinded the game, bro is on lvl 42 lol

[@aleef133]

No joke, those who do not use fuel or recharge are probably just reaching level 40

[@hijisfriend9030]

Bro is addicted 😂

[@MasOc3k]

Me a Free to play player already level 43...

[@DanielFanzwicky]

@@MasOc3k same

[@jasonyang6150]

44

[@crisiscore2100]

Playing on PC till PS5 release. Great RPG. And definitely fills that turned based rpg void, ive been having

[@thirdstrike4]

Do you happen to know when it comes out for pS5?

[@evzenvarga9707]

​@@thirdstrike4 it's there already

[@thirdstrike4]

@@evzenvarga9707 downloading now thank you!! And happy new years brotha!

[@Evanz111]

Honkai Star Rail is an amazing case of adding complexity through limitation. Every character’s toolkit is literally one skill and one ultimate, but the synergies and effects make the combat really deep & nuanced. Refreshing in an age where every developer thinks more is better.

[@thelocalfortuneteller]

Turn on double speed and auto battle. Steamroll every encounter. Not much depth.

[@episode6691]

def hold the same opinion as you, always hated games which gave characters 1-2 abilities because it was always surface level but with star rail everything has a unique/specific function that can be used like you said to create synergies and more.

[@CristianoRonado...]

​@@thelocalfortuneteller depends on its player, like me that usually only use auto when farming materials.

[@NeoDyvium]

​@@thelocalfortuneteller that's not possible when you reach higher equilibrium level, AI auto battle is so unreliable that time and enemies are no longer easy to defeat

[@gcarsk]

@@thelocalfortuneteller LMAO yeah right. No way you are auto battling through Memory of Chaos.

[@TheRealIronMan]

Its basically Mass Effect but anime, the best part for me is the Roguelike Simulated Universe mode, its like Hades but with Turn Based team combat, hopefully they will release new Paths to keep things fresh.

[@brennanwn]

My thoughts exactly

[@meia1855]

Simulated universe is what genshin is lacking. Tanks and healers are gods in simulated universe.

[@lightning13clair29]

No it's not the weapons aren't futuristic and they don't transform like the weapons in mass effect

[@blob4559]

​@@meia1855the sad thing about genshin is that they have tried to implement a rouge like dungeon system before as a limited time event and everyone loved it but since its limited they just remove it 😢

[@daniwanicki]

If you're on the fence, at least play until the first world boss on Jarilo IV, one of the best battles I've ever done in a RPG!

[@ricodontworryboutit3296]

No lie and its free so no money wasted

[@chocobojam8776]

Definitely another banger from hoyoverse after the huge success of genshin. Only time will tell if this game will be as popular as genshin or not, but it defintely has potential.

[@caseyimiller]

Well I’m sure it’d do as well for its audience, it’s the most fun I’ve had with a turn based game in awhile but I’d imagine open world games hit a larger audience

[@Commievn]

Nothing will beat Genshin at this point. Genshin literally made 2 billions USD in its first year, and continue to rack up hundred of millions every quarter. HSR will be popular but it will only be a sidepiece for Hoyoverse.

[@hiddendrifts]

funnily enough, according to sensor tower, star rail is making more than genshin as of june 2023

[@KeN-wq5pu]

the bgm during supreme guardian Boss fight Was pure Art and the fight itself was soooo Can't describe in words

[@expat8460]

What can you do after the final boss?

[@SparkShadow212]

​@@expat8460 Uhh, go to another planet and start a new story? And there's endgame content?

[@XxPARTYBEARxX]

As a free-to-play gacha game, and the shared amount of content Honkai: Star Rail gives you to play for free is beyond your Triple-A $100 Deluxe Edition game, which requires months of patches to run properly.

[@shanjida8353]

The free to play monetization is there for a reason.

[@nethermir2169]

Deserved rating. The game is really fun.

[@jlsangyahon9348]

When a f2p mobile gacha game offers more quality compared to a lot of modern AAA developers, it truly is sad.

[@darron13]

Now that you mention it, I've been playing it for 30+ hours and not a single glitch 🙃

[@AlexPerez-tt9ru]

​@@darron13 I'm using a fire tablet at the lowest setting. It runs fine lol

[@darron13]

@@AlexPerez-tt9ru did you mean to respond to another comment? 😅

[@comancostin4623]

The sheer quality of it absolutely floored me.

[@qwerty6789x]

its part of the industry's plan to funnel all players on gacha games

[@lechungus1832]

This is probably a weird comparison but the story of Star rail and how we travel from one planet to another feels like One Piece. It's like one piece but in space.

[@innocenceo0o]

its star ocean wanted to be but cant

[@Sora7d7]

This is a combination of everything. It a reference galore!!!

[@Ndoelicious]

It is definitely Star Ocean

[@PixelleHearts]

Star Trek without the imperative/need to stick to rules (RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN)

[@thedarklordx]

There's an anime that's one piece in space, Eden Zero

[@amazing_nature-n9b]

Really enjoyed this game

[@harissh5194]

Is this a story mode game or an online type rpg bro

[@Barro1]

@@harissh5194 it’s pretty much Genshin, just without the big open world thing (locations instead) and turn-based. So there are some online elements here and there, but it’s mostly a single player game.

[@harissh5194]

@@Barro1 ok thanks

[@liaujingcheng8937]

​@@Barro1does it have a online ranking system ?

[@Barro1]

@@liaujingcheng8937 nah.

[@Johnny-ln1ih]

Amazing Hokai impact Genshing impact Star rail This devs knows how to do amazing F2P games

[@TheCraftingBulbasaur]

free to play but not mobile phone storage friendly, mobile players are crying cuz of how heavy these games are on their mobile versions

[@yeetsu227]

​@@TheCraftingBulbasaurDude it's 2023 what do you expect.

[@HayashiShirou]

you missed Houkai Gakuen 2. the mobile game this dev made nearly 10 years ago. and, honkai star rail has many things coming from Houkai Gakuen 2 including the Trailblazer picking bat for weapon similar to Houkai Gakuen 2's Kiana picking bat at start of story.

[@blogps3experts]

Genshin and Star Rail.... two of my favorite games till now! Bangers!!!

[@Gomilend]

Really great game. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, especially for a free-to-play, turn-based game

[@ms3862]

This gameplay is a certified seizure inducing banger.

[@innocenceo0o]

you can speed it up to lessen seizure LoL

[@honguyenhoaibao3676]

​@@innocenceo0o yeah, more SPS (seizire per minute)

[@MillionZillion]

weak

[@joshuadavey650]

Amazing review amazing game. Having a blast with this game on my pc.

[@CH-vr2dl]

havent played that much due to work but this game can easily make me play for about 5 to 6 hours to grind and try out team builds.

[@adiosluan]

i'm totally addicted to it

[@murtadhaabbasabd5854]

Is it a free game

[@blaze8308]

​@@murtadhaabbasabd5854 yes

[@DaveHumphreyCalling]

Rerolling is addicting👍

[@_Cetarial]

That’s the point of a gacha.

[@super_dude00]

As someone who has never liked Genshin, and REALLY likes RPGs, this was right up my alley and I’m LOVING it

[@TK-867]

Interesting. Is it because of the turn base system?

[@TheCurlytop67]

THIS GAME HAS OFFICIALLY ACHIEVED GAME OF THE YEAR FOR MOBILE GAME !!!!!

[@IVANGUARDI]

Why leave the cursor/mouse in the centre of the screen during cutscenes? Then include it in a review? It's so distracting.

[@apexnext]

It's so amateurish. 😂

[@D.U.D.E-]

Really enjoyed the weeks worth of content the game launched with. Stoked to be waiting for updates for weeks on weeks...

[@aleef133]

This guy sent his units to do trace material assignment. Bad idea, they can be farmed easily. Get the exp/credit/lightcone exp

[@zeth479]

You can send 4 teams (for now)

[@Farisss11]

Wdym? You can still use them while they being sent

[@meia1855]

Assignments could be whatever you want currently.

[@ryumii1701]

This guy is still stuck in genshin 1.1

[@voidboundx]

As someone who didn’t really get into genshin, I’m absolutely HOOKED on this game 🫡

[@acquangle318]

As someone who didn’t really get into hsr, I’m absolutely HOOKED on genshin 🫡

[@sin7804]

@@acquangle318 who asked

[@chokedbybacklog5433]

​@@sin7804 so why are you replying if you didn't ask?

[@Laevatei1nn]

​@@chokedbybacklog5433 you thought you did something, but what you said doesnt even make any sense

[@chokedbybacklog5433]

@@Laevatei1nn If you couldn't quite grasp it, just say so, man...I'll explain it so you can get it.

[@GodsPrettiestPrincess]

MiHoYo knows how to make amazing RPGS. Another banger.

[@gureguru4694]

game is more entertaining than octopath traveler 2, was playing it on switch then HSR came out - never touched the switch for 2 whole weeks lol

[@CaseySaber555]

Played it. Loved it.

[@swordmasterliam2774]

Get off KZbin go get a real job and actually try living for once

[@technologik05]

10:09 rating. You're welcome.

[@117super5]

The game has endless easter eggs, pretty much all quest and achievement are relative to something else.

[@balikz013]

It literally filling my drought for playing Persona like games, and the MC is way more useful than in Genshin, way more fun playing as him/her comparing to the MC in Genshin who didn't talk and interact to the NPC

[@otakuza5012]

Yay! Thanks for the review!!!!

[@hintofinsanity]

This is easily one of the best jrpgs to come out in recent memory.

[@frederick7495]

it's not Japanese tho

[@gamein7979]

@@frederick7495 right, but if you know mihoyo motto is "tech otaku save the world" and term "otaku" is japanesse. so they wouldn't mind if you said it jrpg

[@hintofinsanity]

@@frederick7495 jrpg refers to a game genre not the the location of the developer. Dark Souls and Elden Ring are western rpgs(wrpg) made by a Japanese developer, The Stick of Truth is a jrpg made by an American developer.

[@michaelriga6431]

@@hintofinsanity Eh, not really. JRPG is because of the dev studio is in Japan. Bandai Namco does have many USA offices and also develop games here but the Tales of series is developed in Japan, so its a JRPG. The same goes for Atlus with the Persona series. Elden Ring is a non-traditional JRPG but its still a JRPG, unlike lets say Fallout which is a WRPG becuase Bethsedia is in the US. These games should be GRPG, Gachi RPG as that is what they are and not are usually Chinese so even CRPG works too.

[@GodsPrettiestPrincess]

@@michaelriga6431 at this point JRPG has evolved past just being a location based term into its own genre. It can refer to either an RPG made in Japan or an RPG that ticks all the boxes for classic JRPG staples.

[@lumpianggulay5709]

Really the best turn based RPG of the year.

[@A-Dubs398]

Is there really that much others though?

[@sowianskiwojownik5973]

Octopath Traveler 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 say hi.

[@GilgaMax305]

​@@sowianskiwojownik5973Also, Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie

[@arifasatria7704]

@@sowianskiwojownik5973 Debatable

[@3ternal33]

Yes it's better than all the other turn based games of 2023. What you said is true.

[@esh768]

Usually JRPG turn based is overwhelming for new players who never plays turn based somehow HSR has a perfect balance it doesn't feel overwhelming and also it doesn't feel like randomly press skill and kill.

[@ryumii1701]

Bc it’s a CRPG

[@kingshadow8782]

Here we go!

[@blueao2670]

You guys should do a compilation video of all the pop-culture reference/easter eggs you can find in Honkai Star Rail.

[@Renix360]

A 9/10? So you guys definitely heard about it before reviewing it, nice!

[@davidsabillon5182]

It's basically FFX Impact. And I'm ok with that.

[@Deathwept]

Homie didn’t know he could move the cursor into the corner during recording of cut scenes 😭😂

[@flasherzoom7750]

The story, the characters, the systems, and the endgame are all better than genshin's.

[@jsle5376]

[@xeacarons]

easy now. give it few more months to actually see how the endgame will be like. we are still in the honeymoon phase lol remember lost ark and ToF? yeh ded games now

[@honguyenhoaibao3676]

​@@xeacarons tof, yes, lost ark still doing fine.

[@AB-jt4rs]

​@@xeacarons ToF died off for completely different reasons. Reasons for which HoYoverse has no reason to be concerned over I'm sure of it

[@cazador8744]

You forgot the music. Wildfire and take the journey

[@splashdot1894]

Was hoping for a video from yall niqqies! blessu p

[@Skrimpish]

Lot of negative on the turn based. Personally my hands are too big to play an action game on my phone. And everyone glossing over the outstanding artwork 😢. I guess its par for the course these days but many years ago this level of artwork was something we could only dream of. All these recent games of this dev are just superb

[@rennieveras004]

ez 10/10 of my life great story, mc, characters, plot, gameplay,animation and music.

[@PandaAttackGT]

Took me a minute to realize that wasn't my cursor.

[@angelopebs]

Could you guys not hide the cursor?

[@Permiton]

HSR is a middle finger to the Genshin Community, because it has features the Genshin Community wants in Genshin.

[@CRAZYKID123454321]

So download it and become this community

[@blaze8308]

​​@@CRAZYKID123454321 this type of comment is the reason why the developers don't listen to the player base rather they get encouraged to ignore the player base more

[@scaramouche7759]

First Dehya, and now HSR, doesn’t hoyo love us anymore 😭 did they even love us at all 😭😭

[@KingJohnMichael]

That's called progression

[@seizurelater]

genuinely out of curiosity, what features does HSR have that Genshin’s community wants?

[@animeweng]

Didn't talk about Simulated Universe and Forgotten Halls. Also game is full of time limited events and puzzles.

[@Njile_786]

This game is amazing. 10/10.

[@dustyliao3592]

Remember, this is a mobile game! Imagine what Hoyoverse can do if they targeted PS5 and PC

[@KingJohnMichael]

These games are on consoles and pc tho

[@articstorm007]

It's.....on pc.... Thats how I'm playing

[@sanzuriver2959]

It's a cross-platform game. But Hoyoverse is going to put gacha and loot boxes into AAA titles for sure...

[@AlexPerez-tt9ru]

​@@sanzuriver2959 it's got gotcha but it's not necessary to spend.

[@AngryGamer-wm5su]

​​@@AlexPerez-tt9ru it's never necessary to gamble in these games yet a lot of people do it. Because it's about trapping u into the gameplay loop and slowly addicting u to roll because of various reasons. So yeah, it's still scummy.

[@paoloreginato]

Forgot only to say how much easier the game can be if u spend a few hundreds of bucks

[@ZeroRemorse]

Anyone looking at this review should know that the game has changed a lot since release. All of it positive. Give the game a shot.

[@SuperOvidiuMihai]

2:11 why is the cursor visible and in the middle of the screen? what kind of a moster does that?

[@hoobop]

I've been obsessed with this game and in love with it!

[@MarioSonicDKPokeFAN]

Just learned about this game. Would've loved to play it except that it's only for mobile phones and PC?? Wish it was on consoles.

[@yejubrando272]

It will come soon dw

[@kaikiske7436]

“Layers of increasingly complicated systems” All of these types of games summarized in a simple phrase.

[@joshuaa7223]

Not really

[@luxcloud9]

2:01 MOVE UR MOUSE!!!!!!!

[@apexnext]

Gawd that is so annoying! 😂 I dunno how anyone doesn't do it instinctively. 😳

[@StrawHatGamingg]

Really fun game with cool music. My Seele is awesome

[@wakandaforever616]

Seele is the best girl

[@cryingdemon]

Looks cool. I'll wait till the inevitable console release.

[@rabeelsyed9683]

Please review: - Path to Nowhere - The Legend of Tiandang

[@reillocb]

The cursor in the screen giving me anxiety😅

[@bimantorojaya]

Agree with the 9/10.

[@TheEffectOfMass]

Great game. Go play it if turn based RPGs is your thing.

[@222wesker]

is it in ps5 ?

[@joshuadavey650]

​@@222weskeryes very soon

[@222wesker]

@@joshuadavey650 cool

[@dadian803]

It's 10/10 alone by having more playable males in the Honkai universe lol! Welt from the HI3 universe and Luocha - Otto's alt universe.

[@UserAme99]

The review score of this F2P game is higher than Redfall.

[@GilgaMax305]

That's how you know Redfall is utter garbage. Getting beaten by a free to play game. 😂

[@sharingmon7230]

Amazing Game😘 Can't wait for Zenless Zone Zero too🤩

[@stupendously_silly]

The only game that rick rolled players that tries to read the in game lore.

[@TheWorldFromJ2Z]

Just an FYI, this game ISNT free on PSN. It's about $10 there

[@Rocksteady72a]

FYI, it's free. The $10 was the preorder offer. You can download it rn for nothing.

[@Memelord2020]

9/10

[@ponderingForever]

It's such a solid mobile turn-based rpg

[@Turanic1]

4:32 explains what is the point of having all these characters in combat

[@brianwaterman9154]

Honkai Star Rail feels better than Genshin as a f2P and that is saying something

[@caldarinavyfleet]

2:17 Superman reference LMAO

[@Mysteltaint]

Imma wait for Genshin Star Rail

[@caseyimiller]

Perfect 😂

[@VaronDiStefano]

Game is incredible. Download it

[@bloodrunsclear]

Did you need to have the cursor in the middle of the screen?

[@vaibhavtyagi6148]

Yes

[@IppoDarui]

I’m hooked on this game

[@ravantgarde1899]

I’m intrigued

[@herrscherofgachapain6342]

Go try it. It's a fun game

[@HayashiShirou]

this game pretty much mix of houkai gakuen 2 (GGZ), old FF7, and genshin impact. the moment of the MC picking up bat... "oh that is GGZ where Kiana picked bat as first weapon to fight zombie at school. lol."

[@cloverraven]

Thanks for review. Your mouse is killing me though.

[@idmss2663]

FINALLY!!! been waiting so long I'm now trailblaze 40+

[@DisgruntledDoomer]

Why does it take over four minutes into the review, before you actually tell how the game plays? That should be something you mention right at the start! And not stuff like story beats, progression systems or level upping...

[@zacky237]

The only let down for me is turn based combat!

[@AnthonyEast]

Game is such a dub

[@Mitchell4892]

Glad gacha was mentioned early on to save me some time.

[@tardarsauce1842]

Bro is surprised that the game has many books to read. Yet Skyrim have this since 2011

[@CoyotesOwn]

Deos it have a Kernel deep anti-cheat like Genshin?

[@michaelriga6431]

Hoping for a PS / XBX release in the future.

[@joshuadavey650]

Ps release coming soon

[@moriko-chan1059]

The artefact systems is where Mihoyo makes a big chunk of their money.

[@joshuadavey650]

Lol no its the charcters and lightcones. A fair amount from the subscription and bp too

[@BigTough]

But what's crit rate and crit dmg?

[@liarh9284]

crit dmg actually is critical dmg multiplier in this game if that is what you are asking, just some typical RPG game mechanics.

[@blazeinaba3195]

CRIT = Critical = Deal bigger damage than your normal damage. CRIT RATE = Chance of you to trigger critical strike. CRIT DMG = Damage multiplier for critical strike. The more CRIT DMG you have, the more damage you can deal with critical strike.

[@Frologics]

This review is like 70 percent menu footage

[@robertpadua6096]

Is this a single player game?

[@USMCKong0311]

So basically turn based Genshin

[@AB-jt4rs]

Not at all

[@david_lifeandgames]

Turn based with much better story and dialogues.

[@Erra66]

whether you're okay with gacha systems or not, there is no shot you are rating this game lower than jedi survivor on the level of polish expected from a triple A company lmao

[@jck3356]

It's more fun than any other JRPG

[@swordmaster2k1]

Anyone else kept trying to move their mouse from the middle of the screen?

[@devondavis5119]

Let's gooo 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥