We Were All Wrong About Honkai Star Rail 4.0

Honkai Star Rail 4.0’s livestream reveal at the beginning of February concerned players, including me. A reduction in the number of events--being replaced with more minigames--the absence of an impressively produced music-video-style trailer, the already disappointing 3.X phase of the game, and the version being split across two worlds--Planarcadia and Astropolis--led to the reveal feeling a little underwhelming. However, having spent some time in 4.0 now, I can swallow my pride and say my apprehensions were for nothing. This update is the most fun I’ve had in Honkai Star Rail for a long time. Planarcadia as a world leans into the lighthearted side of Honkai Star Rail. HSR has long mixed serious narratives with funnier ones, but the previous setting of Amphoreus was mostly the former. Planarcadia is immediately charming, funny, and drew me in from the off. It’s a sprawling city with multiple different areas full of advanced technology, but doesn’t resemble 2.0's Penacony despite also being a city setting. Different new characters caught my eye and added to the humorous aspect of the narrative, too. Caustide--a large boss with open-neck purple shirt, fur-lined jacket, oversized shades, and pink quiff hairstyle--is the perfect depiction of a mobster villain, only he’s a chicken. The “Narrator” is a tiny cross-eyed monkey who banters with the other characters in an endearing yet still comical manner. Continue Reading at GameSpot