Honkai: Star Rail Reviews

by ★Fated§øul

From the time ive started playing this game ive seen the same routine they pull in genshin and is the reason im just waiting for other games to come out. At some point in the game roughly when ur out of story you run out of stuff to do and are extremely limited on playing, unless u spend real money same thing as genshin. The starvation players feel when playing this companies games will eventually turn against them in the long run with having maybe 20-30 mins max to play hsr after finishing story to not having enough options to pull on banners when they throw them out like candy. Every other gatcha game gives a good amount of rewards and compensation to allow players to not feel obligated to spend money to have fun. This game doesnt have enough content from launch to have the players feel the need to play since there isnt a actual end goal like pvp or the ability to sit and enjoy the grind of gearing there characters fully with how crappy the energy system is and the lack of materials to get more energy, i think u get about 1600 energy till u need to spend real money or wait 24h till u refill which takes u 5 mins to use all that was refilled. Rework the energy system or give more options to get energy easier or the game will die faster then it arrived.

by Chinmokurain

There are so many things to like in hsr - interesting characters, engaging story, and fun combat. But the relic system is completely broken. There are so many layers of RNG that getting a good relic can take months. It’s not just about the time it takes - it’s about the lack of progression when engaging with the relic system. Building up my characters is one of the main reasons why I play this game. It’s fun to grind out ascension and trace materials because it’s a guaranteed upgrade and therefore there is a sense of progression. But, when I spend time and trailblaze power on relic farming only to get trash, I don’t get any satisfaction. I only get disappointment. And when I do get a good relic once in a blue moon, leveling it up is another journey of frustration, disappointment and anxiety. I actively dread leveling up good relics because I am scared that it will repeatedly roll into that single useless substat. I understand that relics are meant to give players something to spend trailblaze power on when everything else has been maxed out on a character, but for the love of god there has to be a better way of doing this that doesn’t make me want to pull my hair out.

TLDR; relic system has too much RNG and as a result is very frustrating and upsetting to engage with.

by Ceberle

I usually like the mini games in Genshin and HSR. They’re a nice break from the usual gameplay. Unlike most games, Hoyo typically doesn’t put the in-game currency awards, gems, behind the hardest difficulty level. This lets players of all play-styles, hardcore or casual, get gems without getting overly frustrated. This version of HSR added Hamster Ball Nights, which is just awful. I’d put up with the low-effort graphics and boring gameplay if I could clear the levels and get the gems. But no. They have a single score threshold, 2000 points, that doesn’t seem possible to achieve. The best I’ve gotten is around 1800, and I have no idea how I did it. Good runs will score 1100 points and bad runs 1800. I have tried the first level about a dozen times and can’t get any better at it. I’d be fine with just skipping it if there weren’t hundreds of gems I’m missing out on. There’s also a world quest to complete on the “difficult” setting that I’m obviously never going to complete.

Update: the design is even worse than I thought. You score better by spamming the action button than you do by trying to play skillfully. I’ve cleared several levels this way. There’s another variant that gives you a gun, and that one’s even worse.

by Bluedolphin1234

This review is more about Hoyoverse than HSR specifically, but Hoyo continues to show their racist tendencies across all of their games, HSR included. For over a year there has been a single character in the game with tan skin (who was then whitewashed in a sticker, go figure) and now we may have 2 poc characters once Sugilite releases. That is an abysmal ratio considering that there are nearly 50 characters in the game currently, and if we don’t include Sugilite in the current ratio, then 2% of the characters in game are poc. I’ll give HSR a bit of benefit in that there hasn’t been a planet or organization that references cultures with people with predominantly darker skin tones, but in a space fantasy game that can do whatever they want I don’t think that should be fully limiting to white people. At the very least Boothill probably should have been more tan considering he heavily references indigenous cultures and their experiences. I love many of the character designs in HSR but after a while they are going to feel stale and repetitive if you stick to giving all of them white skin. It heavily limits your color palette and there are so many designs in game that could look so much more interesting with a little bit of melanin! Please stop the blatant colorism and start representing people more authentically.

by The Rh Player

As a F2P strictly gacha and battle player I hate how long cutscenes and story’s can be to get through just to get to battles! My fingers ache from trying to tap away the story and it frustrates me! I need a skip button for these long story’s. I honestly couldn’t care less about the lore of the game and they need to think of players that joined the game just for the battles and characters to collect and build, because that’s all they advertised the game as. There’s always something that you have to painstakingly, ferociously click at until you can get away from it to do the main task at hand. Hoyo is very known for all the lore and I would just like my stellar jades and to move on. So please add a skip button for hells sake! I can’t do an event that’s just about puzzles without a 18 minute cut scene of unneeded words!! Please I’m getting sick of it and am so close to deleting all hoyo games because it’s crazy how many words they fit into one scene. A quick 4 minute battle against a boss could take 30 minutes to lead up to with just clicking away from it asap alone. It’s stupid and I, for the probably 10th time I’m saying this, want that skip button.

by Daisy Era

Genshin Impact, also by the same company, is extremely broken on my device. The cutscenes, which rival a Square Enix game, will display at the amazing rate of one frame per ten seconds; if even that fast. The sound cuts in and out, too. Regular gameplay doesn’t quite do the same but it does drag significantly if there are areas with lots of characters.

I’m happy to say that I haven’t experienced that with this game. I just hope they don’t get sued by the estate of the late Leiji Masumoto for stealing intellectual property. This is a reworked, slightly prettier Galaxy Express 999.

In the parts I’ve played, after several minutes of additional downloaded data (the scenery is pretty, the music is calming but, for the love of God, why is there noise like an old vinyl record being played by a worn needle?) the gameplay is nice, the animation is smooth, though there are parts with a very annoying ‘white-out’ of much of the screen. The starting characters are barely tolerable. And why, oh why, can’t you just keep the camera at a third person view instead of making it skew with every stray tap of the screen?

by Pokegogogo123456789

So the game is quite gorgeous and runs smoothly. Some things the game definitely needs are a way to skip cutscenes. You can aggressively push forward through them by tapping, but since I am right handed I sometimes click prompts which bothers me. Maybe move the prompts elsewhere or give us a real option to skip them. Sorry I know you guys put in work to make these but when doing a simple retrieve side quest I’d like it to run faster.
Secondly there’s no pity system when using the warp. I do find he game entertaining so I threw 40 dollars to see if I could pull Steele and nothing. Unfortunately it’s money gone to the wind because I made no progress into getting her. Also you should probably add a currency that lets you upgrade eldelolons like blank eldelon since it’s near impossible to pull the 5 star heroes.
Relics are okay. Definitely needs a filter system to find wanted substats when building heroes. It’s a good start.
A quick note on skills and light cones. I’m using welt with Hidden Shadow. I have ADD and unfortunately from time to time I can’t recall if I did skill or basic attack last. It would be nice to have an icon letting me know my next basic attack is buffed.
Lastly, why doesn’t March 7th Girl Power generate skills points since she is effectively using her basic attack?

by Addinton

I had heard great things about this game, and for the most part it was a really great game! Until you pass the tutorial… after you’ve made your way past the tutorial it says “oh well now you have to download the rest of the game” or whatever it said. I try to download it, it crashes. It try to do this multiple more times and then my phone crashes. However heres the catch, I try to unlock my phone… and it crashes. I do this 3 more times and on the 4 try it actually lets me in but half of my apps have disappeared. And then it crashes. At this point I’m freaking out, looking back on how sketchy that was, and blaming myself for being a dumb - . I’m worried that it might be a virus, my phone is ruined, my life is ruined, and my social life is ruined. I try one more time before I get a panic attack and… well what do you know, it works. Take that how you will. However I have 2 more sketchy stuff: #1 for some reason this review keeps turning to a 4 star review without me doing anything so uh, talk about petty. But #2 is that Honkai took up 7GB and I deleted the game which means I should have 7 free GB but almost instantly after I deleted Honkai I get a notification… it says my storage is full… and guess what!? I suddenly had only 0.3GB left but Honkai was gone… explain that to me!? My friends think someone could have hacked the game, but take caution with what you download.

by Lobit154568

I love this game so much, I’ve been playing for about a year, until I tried to log into my account, and it said “account doesn’t exist” Now, I have two emails, so I tried the other and it brought me to a new account. Tried for the next few hours to find out what happened but ended up making a new account. I was really mad but it ended out okay because I got Aventurine (My favorite character that I had saved up 70 pulls for on my original account for and lost my 50/50) I caught up with the story and it was fine. However, I made a backup account in case it happened again. One day I tried to log into either account and it brought me to the very beginning of the story at square one. I was so mad, and started crying because I had to restart again. So I made a new account. I haven’t tried to log into it since I deleted the game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was gone as well. I made 4 hoyoverse accounts, the accounts worked for Genshin, I still have my original account on Genshin. But this app has banned at least three of my accounts. My friends said that I still showed up on their friend list, proving that my accounts do still exit, but I cannot log into them despite knowing the password, user, and email I used for each account. I have just given up on even trying to get back to the end of the story to continue in fear that I won’t be able to log into my account.

by Rosen Beaufort.

Okay so, basically, i love the new characters I do, but what’s bothering me is how we’re kinda getting left on hook with some of the characters lore. I’m talking about Argenti. Yes I’m a lover and a main of him, but I want more of his lore. More of his family, his people, more of his racing contests, how he has doomed fate, what was his childhood like(I know he doesn’t have early childhood memories due to the war from his planet.)and when did the war even start? Hoyoverse I love you truly, but please. Add more Lore into my man Argenti. give us more of his well-being, how he smiles through it all even though he had such a horrid and rough past. Like I need MORE on him, I want MORE about his teenage years and how he grew up to be such a gentleman and a good man of honor to the Knights of Beauty. This applies to other characters aswell, Some I haven’t read all of but I can assure you that there are some Characters of any lore still being left on edge. I want more and I need more, please understand my opinion and just know that I still find your game very valuable, I just want more information on some characters lore.

by Kenmà

I just want to start this off with… I love this game! I used to play genshin a year ago before a quit, and personally I believe this game is really nice. I don’t want to compare the two games but, I believe the story to this game is very nice, no filler, amazing visuals and cutscenes, and i find it nice that the main character or I guess “you” actually has a personality (what i mean by that is the different response options they give you).

My only issue is that I feel like they aren’t giving enough love to some characters. I feel like I’m a bit biased since I got Jing Yuan but I feel like it’s very hard to get good damage output from him unless if you’re investing A LOT to him. He’s decent but there are a lot of 4stars better than him, which is a shame since he is a 5star. And adding onto that, I think erudition is the “geo” of this app Star Rail. If you don’t know what i mean by that, basically erudition feels like it’s been neglected and is just not very good. It’s probably because they have to hit multiple targets at once which makes their damage scales a lot less but there has been other characters (not from erudition) who provide WAY better AOE than erudition characters.

But that’s all.

by Designation G (or Gamelegend)

#1 I’m just not right with the battle mechanics because of how boring they are because of the battle being way too easy because your ultimate goes up so fast that after just three turns, I’m already done with the fight.

#2 I tried to play this game again this morning and guess what my account expired which is stupid because it shouldn’t. I mean this sometimes happens with Roblox but like if you can just re-enter your account and you can continue like nothing happened in Roblox why can’t this be the same way? I mean I literally had to make a new account in order to play this game which is stupid is this game requiring me to literally play every single day? Blasphemy! I just can’t have it with these games. The amount of grinding that I have to do. Just to get to the next point in the story is stupid. I mean I know what games are getting boring and boring and boring but still this doesn’t make a difference because it still feels like raid, shadow legends or you know, subway, surfers or literally any game that has too many ads about it just like this one I mean I know it doesn’t have any ads in it but that doesn’t mean you need to make fake ones.

by Panda_Child

Playing this app star rail after playing Genshin for three years is like dating someone great after you break up with your toxic ex. The gameplay actually supports the gacha system, in that it is much easier to build characters and doesn’t require a soul destroying amount of investment to proceed with the game while still playing a character you like. The recently added Penacony storyline is amazing. It’s so well written, the atmosphere is perfect and genuinely makes me afraid sometimes. There is so much intrigue and it’s presented in an incredibly fascinating way. I feel that the game will only improve from here. They are really tackling some serious topics and I think they’re doing so very well. I enjoy the exploration despite being unable to jump or climb. It is complex without being overwhelming.

I will say it is a little annoying how many enemies there are in the wild and how immediately they will attack you. Sometimes I just want to walk around without being hit by a weird guy from a corner. My main issue with this game is that it takes so much storage - way over 10gb, maybe 20. It’s impossible to download if you don’t have a lot of storage on your device. I had to delete many photos and videos. I hope they find a way to lower the storage requirement, such as allowing you to delete past events or other unnecessary data. Or maybe download it with terrible graphics I don’t know.

by Hello7783678376782

So I loved the game, honestly one of my favorites to play, great graphics, animations, story, characters, battles, all of it. Really, in the game, there was only one thing I was on the fence about: The character banners. By the time you get to level 50 or so, me being currently 57, obtaining stellar jade is hard enough, and although the pity is better than most games, it is still almost impossible to get a desired character. I pulled to get blade and had to get to hard pity. That means 150 pulls. However, that’s not my big issue with the game. My mobile device has 32 gigabytes of storage, but after all the data and stuff it has that I don’t know how to get rid of, it has more like 16. This game took up so much storage that I couldn’t download it even with nothing else on my device, so I had to download on my laptop instead. My mobile device is much more accessible to me, and the amount of time I can spend on my laptop is limited, due to scheduling issues, so I can only spend a couple hours a week playing, and HSR somewhat requires almost daily play. Other than that, it’s good, just this is a massive problem for me.

by Notsopoison

I downloaded and played this app Star Rail on release and from the start it was clear that this game aimed and succeeded to be action-packed and entertaining. The experience so far has been fantastic with really exciting gameplay, endearing characters, and an incredibly hooking storyline.

Unfortunately, the latest few updates has left me completely unable to play the game for several months now. The amount of storage space it takes (and seems to be rapidly increasing) is something that I feel has turned down a lot of potential players including myself. The device I play on has limited storage, which as much as I'd want to, would not be financially worth increasing just to be able to play. I've seen all the recent advertisement for the new Penacony region and it's characters, and I've been extremely interested in trying it out. I understand the game has a lot of data to hold with new storylines, characters, graphics, etc. But it is extremely disheartening to have to stop playing for something such as poor storage optimization.

I can only hope that one day this gets resolved in the future so that myself and others can pick it back up again.

by Al Bae

Love that this game is different. It’s not trying to be better than more established games, and it doesn’t try too hard to push the envelope. Great art, great music! Balance is just ok, leaning more towards bad. You can get through this game without Bailu for example, but you’ll have to use a lot more brain power to make that happen. Grinding for materials is a huge slog before Lv. 40, but if you swipe it’s no biggie. Progression can be fast, but this won’t be true later on if you don’t get the pre-reg gifts. You can make it to 40 in maybe 4-5 days with a normal amount of effort. Just pick a good team, upgrade everyone, and use your Fuel! Once you’re there, that’s when the fun really starts.

So many reviews out there comparing this to Hoyo’s other, very popular game; or that Star Rail is too easy in comparison… Avoid reading those misinformed nonsense posts like the plague and go watch a video review for this game elsewhere instead. They’re just trying to protect their time/financial investment in that other game—don’t let that deter you from the great experience Star Rail has for you! This game further on will be a great challenge, and even more fun if you don’t whale! That is, if you’re up for it.

by All Good Names Were Taken, So…

The overall game design is amazing, with Greta graphics and good characters. I’ll give MiHoYo that. But I’m not exactly a fan of the combat system. It’s not that this style is bad, but it seems a bit TOO easy. Not that I want MiHoYo to increase difficulty, but it seems that the fighting is very restricted and leaves no room for character movement. In my opinion, I strongly believe that Genshin Impact’s combat system seems a bit more preferable and playable. It allows you to move freely in the area you are fighting in(Ex: A Grass Plain, A Temple, etc.), allowing players to get creative with their fighting styles. The movement of the character and enemies allows the player to dodge attacks, and gives a more challenging fight. While as in this app… Erm, it seems like you’re just playing a modern remix of the original Final Fantasy XII. I’m not opposed to MiHoYo experimenting with different things, and I, as a player, am giving honest feedback on the game. I cannot interfere with their decisions.

But to summarize:
If you want a more challenging fighting experience, please play Genshin instead, as it isn’t as restrictive. But this app: Star Rail is still a good game, and I strongly advise you to give it a try. And if you don’t have Genshin already, go ahead and try it, it’s worth the 20 something megabytes you need to play the full game. 😭

by Cupcakeburner3000

Overall, the game is visually impressive with its smooth animations, outstanding graphics, and great character designs. The story is also engaging and enjoyable. However, there are certain areas where the game could be better to make it more exciting and engaging for players. One suggestion is introducing multiplayer features like battling bosses with friends or exploring the world with other players. Another suggestion is to add more exploration options, for example, expanding the world map, introducing new areas to discover, and adding hidden secrets or challenges. It would give players freedom and discovery, making the game more exciting and immersive. Lastly, more end-game options, When players run out of quests, this could include new challenges, boss battles, or even a new game plus mode, which would give players a reason to keep playing and provide a sense of accomplishment and progression. Introducing these features can make the game more engaging, exciting, and satisfying for players.

by Sopasapatos

it was easier for me to learn how to play this game compared to other gacha games with more confusing mechanics. moth trailblazer quests/stories every update is great, and a lot of the events (especially the critter pick and aetherium wars). in addition, the game gives 10 free limited character pulls every patch, and hopefully this won’t stop.

the only thing i’m concerned about is that some endgame content is not very f2p-friendly (in memory of chaos, you have to have the most recently-released character in order to 5-star all 12 stages and swarm the torturous difficulties of both swarm disaster and gold and gears are both so difficult to clear even with properly and fully-built characters and despite following every strategy to help clear these stages). for someone who can’t afford getting every meta/non-meta character i want, this saddens me. i don’t know why some people (perhaps the small but influential amount of annoying whale players, since most of the whale players i know irl even said some endgame content is challenging) keep saying “all endgame content is TOO easy” in surveys when it’s not.

by TeamGilmore

I’m not someone to write a review unless I’m complaining, but i HAD to say how much i love this game. Ive played Genshin Impact previously and still do, yet this app Star Rail has to come into first place. First off the note- if you can’t decide to get this game, please do. This came (compared to genshin) is relatively decent in size. And the graphics are amazing. Second off, the character designs are amazing. I am in LOVE with the characters and their designs, along with the story. It has its own world- and very different from genshin impact. The way you fight is rather fun and convenient, for me at least, and how you’re able to level up quickly is fun as well. Ive been playing genshin impact for two years, and I’m only at level 54. I am on level 57 on this app star rail, maybe cause i play too much, but its really easy and fun to get to other levels compared to other games. This game also allowes you to chat with others and try out their characters, which is a cool addition. In short, i really do love this game, and could go on and on about how i adore it!

by ☆〜（ゝ。∂）:)

this app Star Rail in my personal opinion is one of the best gacha games in the world. And in my opinion it will stay that way, as the turn based combat is incredibly fun, the character designs are very good, animations are very good, the story is incredible, you are able to do events at your own pace as a lot of them are not time limited which is really friendly for new players and players who aren’t able to play daily. The energy system with 240 trailblaze power and overflow energy is also incredible as that will allow players to not be forced to use their energy. And the game is incredibly generous with rewards. You are guaranteed at least 1 5 star each patch which is very nice and getting stellar jades for pulls is very easy unlike getting currency in other gacha games. For example in Genshin Impact, you could spend hours and not get a single pull which is extremely frustrating, but spend a few hours in this app Star Rail, and you will get around 5-10 pulls which is much better in my opinion. Overall the fun gameplay, great story, and generosity of this game will allow it to continue being one of the best gacha games for years to come in my opinion.

by I'm A Lil Rat

I really enjoy this game, BUT I feel as if Hoyoverse leaves it as a side note because Genshin is/was so popular. I personally wish they would put more effort into this game when it comes to more frequent updates to the base story line, because the story line in this game is incredibly interesting and isn’t just a textbook “hero saves the day” type deal, the characters have real development and complex personalities which I believe Genshin lacked. Overall, this app: Star Rail has so much potential and is genuinely addicting in a way Genshin just wasn’t for me because of the constant ACTUAL effort I had to put into the battle aspect of it. With this app, (totally not referencing something I actually do) I can go to the restroom, play some and have auto-battle turned on when I shove my phone in my pocket when I have to go back to a boring Thanksgiving dinner. This game is definitely good for anyone who wants to feel the excitement of a complex storyline without having to worry about battle difficulty.

Thank you, Hoyoverse for everything you do

Sincerely, W Rizz

by Zimento_4105

Most of the mobile games I play usually have issues involving glitches, certain crashes, etc., but not this app Star Rail! The character designs and story elements are done very well, even with some designs having so many intricate details. The battle mechanics remind me of Persona 5 and that just makes it all the more fun, since you need strategy and good team members to get through some difficult bosses. And before you ask, I am F2P (Free-to-play) and only have the free five-star, and another five star I got, but only a few days ago. It’s perfect how much you just need to play in order to get what you want to proceed, you don’t need to pay $60 to get a five-star that beats the entire game, AND the free summons events are very generous. If you haven’t picked up this game, what are you waiting for? Also for people who say that the game is difficult, it’s not. Pick good characters from the list you have, get a ten-pull if you grind (or pay) enough, and build your team based on what weaknesses the enemy has, what bonuses they give, etc etc.

by Cosmixradience

I had quit genshin impact for about a year due to not being able to do anything or enjoy the game without burning a hole in my wallet. Then this app star rail appeared. I was skeptical about if it would be worse or better then genshin a but I was wrong. When I entered the loading screen was beautiful and the the character attacks. Even better. It looks like I am watching a high-quality 3D anime but I’m actually playing it. I had to delete it for awhile because of how addicting the story play was! The story line is very well put together and always makes you question what is coming on next. Details for characters to play as and voice lines are phenomenal! It almost makes me thing that the people who made this game are on something. Please play this game if you have a bunch of free time and want to play a game that isn’t like TikTok or anything where you bluntly stare at a screen. this app star rail is very engaging and dare I say better than its big sister genshin impact instead. In conclusion, get this game you will never regret it.

by I Have At Least Half A Brain

I read a bunch of the one star review, and a lot of them have been talking about how you have to pay to get past some of the difficult situations. So far after playing the game for two or three hours over the past three days, and it has been fun. I have not spent a single dime on the game and have been able to breeze through the game, although there were some parts where I had to do a battle multiple times to win. For anyone who is thinking that I got a five star or some other way has made me easily able to beat the game, I haven’t. All that has gotten me through is leveling my characters like you are supposed to and playing with any iq at all. All I can say is to look at the enemy weaknesses and build your team based off of them. In the game when you approach an enemy, at the top of the screen there are icons that show you what the weaknesses are, then back away and build your team. Another thing is that when you log into the game, the give you some rolls on the gatcha system, and if you do ten on any of the ones that say within ten rolls you will get a four star then you will get one. Stop acting like you are playing dark souls, it’s not that difficult.

by Pandaonexx

I was hesitant to play this game since I didn’t really enjoy Genshin or this app Impact, but once I started playing I couldn’t stop. The story is engaging and the combat is simple yet has so many layers of depth the more you get invested. Even though this is a gatcha game, it’s far from pay to win. There are so many ways to obliterate enemies with free-to-play characters and builds. Nothing in this game feels too incomprehensible, but it never feels monotonous. Although once you finish the current main story and side missions, the number of actives is low; I still find it enjoyable to grind for materials and try new team compositions for Simulated Universe and MoC- since the game is that captivating. All in all, worth every hour spent and future hour I will spend! (Side note: I only purchased 1 micro transaction, the $5 Stellar Jade login calendar, and I’ve been able to get 5 five star characters; one including a limited time warp character after only 2 months of playing. I am pretty much F2P, and you’re able to get so much.)

by Ryujifys

hsr has been my favorite game since release. i love the battle mechanics because i can sit back and eat a meal or do my daily activities while also farming. i also have loved the story, especially dan heng’s. however, there is one thing i don’t like about the game. the lack of diversity. penacony, the most recent large area of story and exploration, is inspired by the jazz age, and there is not a singular playable person of color in sight. there are plenty of npcs that are perfectly represented, which proves that hoyoverse CAN do it, they just refuse to. as of 2.4, when im writing this, there is only one singular character that is a person of color, and that is arlan. the character released in 1.0, well over a year ago, that is seemingly the absolute worst character in the entire game. his ability names are also.. questionably racist sounding. do with that what you will. it just disappoints me because hoyoverse has the potential to represent other cultures correctly, they just don’t want to in playable characters.

by łîłÿ Trëé

Frist I would like to start off with some reason why you should get this game. This kind of fighting style and the whole game in of itself might not be great for others. It’s a great game if you like turn base games with lots of lore and story included. If you want more action I would say another game would suite you best. I use this app Star Rail to relax after a long day. This game has a very relaxing play style and great for players like me. But it doesn’t have a lot to do after story and when you run out of materials to farm. Of course you can update things to be the very best way, but many people don’t enjoy stuff like that. What I’m basically saying is that, if you like a relaxing game that you can just sit back to, this is the game for you. If not there’s many other games that this company has made that would better suite what you like. I’ve played many of their games before but I personally prefer a slow game that makes me follow everything nice and slowly.

by Dinofluffzzz

I played Genshin previously, back before Liyue was playable and up until Inazuma was released, and kinda enjoyed it? It was fun but not the best. Star Rail (so far) FAAAAR exceeds Genshin. Voice acting is incredible, the detail into cutscenes is much better, overall world aspects are better, graphics look sharper, just overall a very good game. The story is engaging so far and the turn-based combat is a nice change from Genshin's "free-style" fighting. Most characters I have fallen in love with on the spot as well, which didn't happen when I played Genshin.
The gacha is well... the gacha... that seems to be the one thing that HASN'T changed from Genshin... so be prepared for that. Also be prepared to pour some time into this game. Combat does take a hot second if done by hand. There is an auto option EVENTUALLY. It is not available right away, so the whole first chapter is done almost entirely manually.
So far, Star Rail is actually really fun and pleasing to play. Really, really hoping it stays this way!!

by Everligh Rose Lol

I think that this game sounds amazing! I love it! I love it a little bit more than genshin impact but it’s honestly crazy for me to say that. I love all of the hoy verse games it’s amazing. Genshin impact was one of them there’s many games and it’s just amazing. Let’s just appreciate the creators of hoy verse and all these other games that are amazing. and so make sure you rate a five star just download it. If you think the sound quality isn’t good or anything it is it’s really great. It’s honestly something you won’t expect from a new game that’s just came out but it’s amazing you might expect bugs and everything but like it’s perfect. I don’t know how they do it but I think it’s just super Duper Duper Duper Duper cool. It’s not a normal game. It has amazing battles and everything. So if you don’t think so, try it out yourself. And it’s so easy to get a five star. My older sister got a five star not even an hour when she started playing less than an hour, actually it’s really hard to get a five star in Genshin but I think it’s super easy so hello are you gonna download it yet? I hope you enjoy it.
-Random User

by Player12341243

So, I’ve been playing HSR since the very first day it came out. It’s an amazing game, with everything a player that enjoys turn based combat could ever want. This game has unique characters with their own deep personalities and quirks, a beautiful series of planets that embody different cultures across a vast fictional universe, compelling combat systems and game mechanics, and an overall lovely player community. What exalts this game in my mind even further though, is the lengths the devs go to to ensure their player base is happy. They truly spoil us, and work tirelessly to keep us engaged with different a variety of fun events, an abundance of rewards and quests, and now a free limited 5 star character. I sincerely hope they continue to pamper us, it’s one of the things that makes this game feel worthwhile with everything else aside! Feeling like you’re playing more of a passion project rather than some other greedy cash cow game that wants to steal from you makes playing the game much more enjoyable. I would recommend giving HSR a shot to anyone who’s interested!!

by Demon Queen Frost

this app Star Rail is a brilliant successor to the this app name, with its compelling story and fun gameplay, as well as the fairest gacha I’ve seen since this app Impact 3rd. After the rough patch with Genshin Impact, I was worried that Hoyoverse might have hit a low point and sold their souls for money. I’m glad to see that I was wrong, and that they’re still making a game that everyone, F2P or no, can enjoy.

The only issue I’ve had thus far is a pretty known one at this point: the issue of Relic Farming. While it is definitely better than Genshin, Star Rail still suffers from issues with heavy RNG, which makes it a lot harder to get through later portions of the story and lategame content. If this were predominantly a multiplayer game, I’d understand the refusal to tilt the RNG in the player’s favor. But this is a single-player game, for the most part. Even if it requires sacrificing other 5-Star Relics, or perhaps even fighting a daily boss, I feel like players would appreciate a way to reroll their primary and substats to ease up on the monotonous farming, if only slightly.

by Hoshiyomi。

Tl;dr: Game is cool, Genshin-level characters, story, and graphics. Farming is easier and turn-based combat is fun. Fuels your gacha addiction, 10/10

I preordered the game about a month ago, and now I’ve been playing for 4 days. I can say without a doubt that this is a game I’ll be committed to for a long time, unlike some games where I’ll play from 1 week to 1 month then gradually stop altogether. The only other mobile game I’ve played for more than a year is Genshin Impact, but this app Star Rail will be added to the list.
Star Rail has that turn-based system that I really enjoy, as a kid I played a ton of Pokémon. It’s similar in that aspect. And this game not only fuels my gacha addiction, but also has brilliant graphics, storyline, and characters. The game is also pretty generous with the wishing system allowing us to choose a 5 star from the standard banner after 300 pulls. Additionally, there are many opportunities to get gacha tickets, whether from quests, achievements, or for free from events. Farming for characters is also better and easier than in Genshin, as I don’t have to run everywhere to grab flowers, but rather I can just farm Calyxes. I don’t think I’ll get tired of this game so easily.

by Happystail

First of all, I love HOYOVERSE games. The quality of the games are unbelievable for a free game. Now people might say you need to spend some money for a good character, but I mean the story and the free content is already amazing. And if you are a f2p, you have to be a bit more careful on which character to aim for, but no 5 star character is impossible to get as a f2p. The story and the character designs are absolutely captivating. Reminds me of humor that exists in Persona 4/5 games, with small mini interactions with items throughout the game. Really makes me think how HOYOVERSE does their research when it comes to popular games. Unlike genshin, this is a turn based game which I thought would turn me away (I like more free style of fighting, dodging etc. like Kingdom Hearts, Nier automata). Still, the game play style with bursts and ultimates keep the repetitive fighting interesting. The only thing is you probably need to actually level up characters and has less likelihood of getting away with underdeveloped characters depending on shield, healing or dodging as one could do in genshin. Can’t wait to see what is waiting for us in HSR!

by LuigiThe13th

I have loved and played Genshin for the last 2 and a half years, but it feels like I’ve not been respected or properly appreciated by the developers for my dedication. But ever since starting Star Rail, I feel that respect and appreciation that Genshin sorely lacks. I mean, the fact we’re getting a free limited 5 star says it all. Genshin has only given out one free “5 star” ever. A character who is so bad she’s not even worth using, and one who will never ever return again.

Not to mention, the amount of high quality QoL that Star Rail has been getting far exceeds anything Genshin has. It’s gotten more QoL in these past 7 months than Genshin has had in its entire 3 year lifespan. It baffles me how these two gachas can be published under the same company. The this app team should definitely go and become their own company, or get the Genshin team kicked off and see how they’ll fare without Hoyoverse backing them up XD

All jokes aside, this and this app Impact are both amazing games that deserve all the love, attention, and respect in the world. I really hope Genshin will take serious notes from this game and its astounding success.

by Random Chan

The first time I was introduced to Hoyoverse, or Mihoyo at the time, I was told by a friends to play this app impact. I instantly did not enjoy the game, it was not my cup of tea. The story didnt have me hooked at all, and Im very picky about animation. So when Genshin came out with ipdated graphics, I was stoked. With Genshin I enjoyed playing a game because the fandom got creative with the characters all the time, it was fun to love a specific character and my favorite (and tbh only really enjoyable part for me and most players) thing was gambling for them.

Being dedicated for Genshin since the day it came out and growing tired of the game, I was stoked hearing about this app Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero (so hyped for ZZZ). I really enjoy Star Rail, they upped their game in every way possible. The story is dumbdumb proof, you dont even have to bother trying to fight from time to time because of the rotary fighting style, and you can speed it up too so you dont have ti wait ages to get back to the story. The cutscenes are next level compared to Genshin, its the cutscenes we would see in the trailers and hope to see in games, and we recieved that.

Keep listening to your playes Hoyoverse, Itll be the lead of your success.

by Snartbaby

I enjoyed genshin and have played it for about 300 hours without feeling the need to spend any money on it. it’s very well made and probably the closest thing i’ve seen to a proper console game experience on mobile. so needless to say i was excited to try the developers newest game, and i think it is very promising so far!

the character designs look awesome. i like the sci fi aesthetic, and there is an intriguing story with lots of detailed worldbuilding. i usually don’t enjoy turn based combat, but this combat is fast and exciting with fun sound effects and very impressive animations.

overall i really like this game, but i want to critique a few things about it. i really wish there were more than like 3 playable male characters. i know it’s a new game, but the current roster is heavily skewed towards female characters. the few guys that we have so far are very cool and have great designs though! i also wish the world exploration would provide a bit more mobility. i know it’s not really an open world game, but it’s still boring to only walk and sprint everywhere- WHY CAN’T I JUMP? i’ve played plenty of other rpg games that let you jump!

by Carjackjenry

You can stop searching for that one rpg game you’ve been looking for. This is the one you’ve been waiting on. I’ve never given a game 5* before but the devs have earned it. First it is 100% f2p, yes you can go “whale out” but even then, You still need to have some of the characters you get early game. Plus you get a 5* from the special 8pull (sale) banner (not “after” 50 pulls but at 50 pulls) love when games are straight forward like that. Please never sell this game. Your team is perfect the way it is. Any 5* will fit well in your team. You really can go wrong with any of them imo. It continues to get better. You get a lot of free pulls just from playing the game. They’ve set this up perfectly & Here’s another really fun part about the game. You can do whatever you want in this open world. Say you’re In the middle of fighting monsters & get the itch to go looting & talk to people to complete “side missions” you just teleport to wherever you what to go, then hop right back to where you left off in whatever level you were in. This is absolutely the best rpg available on Honkai Store imo. Amazing game. I’m having so much fun with this game.

by GenGojo~

Started playing the moment it debuted. I love the graphics, the Burst animations, and the story. Engaging, and I love love LOVE the character designs. Their very diverse, and cute/handsome. My personal favorites are Archeron, Aventurine, Jing Yuan, Yanqing, etc. This game is, in my opinion, easier than Genshin because it honestly makes it easier for you to gain Stellar Jade. Now, I know some of you may disagree with me and say “No it is hard, it’s ridiculously hard” but honestly I argue. Genshin doesn’t have many quests that offer primo gems as the reward, and if they did, it ranges between 10-30 max. I know I know, sometimes it could reach 50, but honestly HSR offers more quests that gift Stellar Jade, and I love that. And Genshin makes it harder when it comes to the Gacha. Their characters are awesome, but it’s painfully agonizing mentally to never have enough primos to pull for the character you want. For me, in HSR, it’s easier. I already have a character I was super excited for when he debuted, Boothill. He’s a great character, and I’m so happy I have him. Overall, I think HSR is better than Genshin because they make it easier to save up for gachas, unlike Genshin.

by Izzy The Grey

I have been an avid Genshin player ever since it’s release. When I heard about Star Rail, I almost ignored it. I downloaded it just to see what it was like, and I love it. The story is dynamic, and is on par and maybe (depending on where it goes) could be greater than Genshin’s. The characters are all super stylish and I can’t say I dislike any of them. March 7th is a great new Paimon and the Astral Express crew are all great characters. Combat is also really good, and as someone who has never played a roll based RPG, I am now a fan of the genre because of Star Rail. Story, combat, characters are all amazing. Even the gacha system has made me so much happier as I feel there are more opportunities to pull. The only issue I have is exploration, and that tiny nit pick is me just not being able to jump. But thats not that big of a deal. All I have to say is that if you play Genshin(and are open minded) Star Rail will be a fun and refreshing game for you. I can’t wait to see what is next.

by Obsesstion

I don’t normally review games just cause who cares what I have to say. But if anyone is on the fence about trying this game, let me be the one to push you over the edge. Compared to their previous games, I find myself coming back to HSR daily. Even when I’ve finally managed to pry myself away from it after a few hours there is always something I can look forward to when I come back. No more waiting for resources to recover or respawn. I think all the developers’ previous experience is showing. This is an addictive game and better than that, it’s not P2W from my experience! I don’t find myself hoarding resources because I’m scared I might misuse them. The game world is abundant with level up items and they’ve made the slog of grinding into something actually interesting! If you’ve been turned off by the idea of turn based combat or the “closed open world” trust me when I say that all of these decisions were for the betterment of this game and it shows. Instead of endlessly jamming and attack button and switching between characters to wait for their Ultimate to recover, you get actual interesting turn based strategy! This combat system actually engages the player. And hey, if that’s not your thing, the auto battler works just as well. All this to say, try the game. It’s fun!

by ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

I originally had no interest in the this app series until I starting playing this game! I know a bit of the this app series that turned out to help me understand some of the characters more! I got introduced to hyv by genshin impact which is a great game as-well! I noticed that I like the turn based fighting more than the open world! Though silver wolf just looks like haxxor bunny (bronie). My favorite character has got to be Kafka. The characters have great designs! I love the little Easter eggs in the game! I can tell the devs had fun with this game. The story and battle are amazing! This game is great quality with good development, designs and graphics. Even though it’s a turn based game the world is beautiful! Though the advertisements are misleading as they say you get 80 free warps. I also don’t get the point of friending people as you can’t play with them or chat with them. Only use their characters. — but overall it’s a great game I recommend! || 6/5 stars || !!! ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ ⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡

by Terrible Service, Scam

This game is definitely not for hardcore gamer, if you want to play it continuously for hours on end everyday this game will dry out very quickly. Now that we get that out of the way let’s start with the pros. This game have beautiful animation, beautiful Waifu and husbando, breathtaking music, character with great personality that feels like they’re someone who you’ll meet in real life and most importantly the jokes. I don’t know what the script writers are thinking when they wrote this but gosh it was hilarious and very surprising for me. For the cons, it’s a bit slow to start, if turn base content focus game are not your thing then you will find it very boring and be turn off. However, if you are willing to give it a try to focus on it for an hour or two you might change your mind. This game is not for everyone which is understandable since everyone have their preferences. I personally love the battle and the auto option that it provides, for a working person like me I find this game very relaxing and I can just enjoy the what this game have to offer to me, experience the different world, different cultures and music. It makes me very happy.

by Juju-rock

So i used to play genshin before and trust me genshin is a good game but i do not know why but it gives me stress and there to much to do but for this app not trying to be bias here but like its soooo good doesn’t make u stress the gameplay is good the cutscenes is good the quality the ultimate’s as well and the characters to bro and seele shes reminds me that character keqing and keqing and genshin impact is a amazing character but sadly dont use her. But yea one more thing for me as a mobile player pleasee hoyoverse fix for some reason i open this game and when i open the game its start to lag and start’s to freeze up and then i put it as very high or even medium/high settings lag so i don’t get why because for me genshin i would put it a high yes it would lag but i will come back to normal so i dont get it please fix it hoyoverse maybe in the next patch thank you so much for making this game i been waiting for this game to!! 🥰🥰

by Mizzie<3

This game Is sooooo good!! I’ve played other hoyoverse games (Genshin impact being one of them) and I was not expecting to be amazed by this game. I was bored so I decided I would download it, I wasn’t expecting much and was planning to delete it and go back to playing Genshin impact (I recommend playing Genshin impact) but OH MY GOD WAS I WRONG! Immediately I was hooked to the story. The character designs are also AMAZING! I love the combat system. It’s turn based so I had to get used to it, I know not many people like turn based games, but I do!! It’s so much more fun! And I love how easy it is to get the warp currency (warps are things you use to make a wish which can give you light cones or characters) (light cones are weapons) I like how there are breaks and it forces you to level up your account so that you don’t blow out the story and finish it (I’m not saying that as if the story is short, It’s not.) I only started 2 days ago and HAVE to write this review! I totally recommend to someone who loves anime, fighting and amazing music! I love escaping to this app star rail when I’m bored or stressed! I totally recommend 🦋

by Wafflepuffs

Honestly, from all of the gacha games, this has been the most forgiving and realistic gacha. They give a lot of free rolls and opportunities to gain jades and the return you get from rolling characters is amazing. The content is fresh and exciting and is paced really well.
However one thing I wish to see changed is the relic system: in one cavern, you have two sets, and in those two sets you have 4 pcs, and from those 4 pcs you have mainstats, and then substats. There is way too much rng and my pela feels capped because she has no ehr body, and the self modeling resins that I get monthly is used for ER rope or spd boots, which are almost impossible to obtain. Resins themselves have rng in their substats anyway, why is it so rare and yet punishing to use when you waste a months progress and obtain the most useless substats on a relic? Please, make the relic system a bit more forgiving, maybe let players pay a certain amount of relic remains to reroll one substat, make resins more obtainable, or let players choose the set from the cavern (players already have to rng which piece it is anyway).

Fantastic game otherwise, but really feels gated and frustrating when you waste months worth of progress and get substandard relics, thus capping your character's potential.

by :) Audrey Lee :)

(This is just put as 5 stars so more people might see it, but I give the game a solid 3.5 stars ^ U^) HSR is a great game, easy for f2p players, and has many improved details. The only problem is how hard certain fights are. During one of the story quests, I came across a strange gate monster. It was super annoying how it could stun me, damage me, summon mechanical fish that breathe fire (What?!) to kill me, and at this point my characters were all only lvl 40, with an average of 400 dmg stats.. I tried to go to other quests because at that point I couldn’t beat it no matter what team comp I used.

During the new Ruan Mei event, I had to fight this giant “headache” , but the problem was, it was just as hard as the previous fight. So I went to do my wash topia quest, where the game randomly threw me into a fight with Argenti for no good reason.. and again, WAY too hard. But for some reason not a lot of other players seem bothered. (If I ask my friends for help, they say it’s a skill issue on my part -…….-)

- Note: I tried to lvl up my characters for more dmg, but the fights I had to go through for ascension mats were also too hard. Hope hoyo can add the assist system like from this app (The one where you choose one of your friends to help in fights?) -

by REHEHEHEEE

This game is purely adventure and fun! I’m so glad I was able to find HSR. The battle mechanics, characters, and worlds are so fun to enjoy, and the fact the grinding is actually much easier than other RPGs makes leveling up characters incredibly strenuous. The little challenges, mini games, Simulated Universe… there’s so much to explore! Not to mention the story itself, which is crafted so well. The worlds feel totally believable. As of me writing this, I’ve been playing for a few months and already have tons of level 70 characters. I don’t even play all the time. As someone who loves little details, the character design and personalities as well as planets are detailed so well, it’s hard to believe this game is free! Of course, there are things you can pay for, but I have four 5-stars (not including my Trailblazer) and have bought nothing! I wish there were more base planets to explore, as I’ve completed both Belobog and the Xianshou Lofu, but that makes new season all the more anticipated! The idea that you can ‘text’ with characters is adorable; I wish you could build actual relationships with *certain* characters however. *coughdanhengcough* I think that would be adorable. But hey- this video game is totally worth your time and gigabytes. Best of luck as you traverse the galaxy!