Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 Review

G7 Magazine Staff27 January، 2025

195 7 minutes read

The launch of Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 is vital for HoYoverse’s fashionable turn-based RPG, because it not solely kicks off a brand new yr of content material however actively introduces a number of new key parts to the sport, together with a brand new vacation spot to discover, gameplay mechanics, and, after all, playable characters. Version 3.0 had lengthy been awaited because it was set to introduce gamers to Amphoreus, the subsequent new playable area following the Astral Express’ adventures by way of Penacony. Unlike the earlier locations that the Nameless have visited, Amphoreus in Honkai: Star Rail is an uncharted planet that’s enveloped in thriller.

Platform(s): Android, iOS, PC, PS5
Released: April 26, 2023
Developer(s): HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
Publisher(s): HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
ESRB: T for Teen
Steam Deck Compatibility: sure
OpenCritic Rating: Strong
Cross Save: sure

Also generally known as The Eternal Land, Amphoreus has heavy inspirations from Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman mythologies and civilizations, which go from its world design right down to its narrative design, too. The characters, from the lowly NPCs to the Chrysos Heirs, additionally draw inspiration from them, serving to construct a strong and constant new vacation spot. Version 3.0 can be chargeable for the introduction of Remembrance as a playable Path, the primary new addition because the recreation’s launch in 2023. Remembrance in Honkai: Star Rail revolves round utilizing particular summons known as memosprites, and a little bit of it was proven with Version 3.0.

Amphoreus’ Story Kicks Off In Style In Honkai: Star Rail 3.0

Exploring The Eternal Land Feels Dangerous

While there may be nonetheless a lot thriller surrounding Amphoreus, its characters, and the place the story is heading, it’s secure to say that the primary Amphoreus Trailblaze Missions launched with Version 3.0 kicked off the brand new narrative arc with immense type. Unlike earlier locations the place a choose variety of Nameless arrived at a hospitable vacation spot, Amphoreus greets the Trailblazers with a load of motion, placing them right into a hostile and suspicious location. This sense of thrill upon being launched to a brand new location has been absent because the recreation’s prologue, the place the Trailblazer awakens in a battle-ridden Herta Space Station.

Honkai Star Rail's Jingliu pours a glass next to three Wishful Resin.

Honkai: Star Rail – How To Get & Use Wishful Resin

Wishful Resin is a good new merchandise kind added with Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 that means that you can choose the sub-stats of a Relic or Ornament piece.

As the marketing campaign in Amphoreus progresses, the narrative arc tends to flex again into what we’re used to in the case of being launched to a brand new world in Honkai: Star Rail. Players quickly meet a roster of characters who rapidly grow to be allies, regardless of some elevated suspicion about their intents and personalities. What is exceptional, particularly when put side-by-side with different planets, is that Amphoreus is in a state of fixed hazard and consciousness, which creates a lingering impact of not realizing what’s to come back – which is exactly what makes Amphoreus so enjoyable to progress by way of.

The story of the Version 3.0 missions takes a number of twists and turns and takes its time when detailing the brand new characters that the Trailblazers meet. It will not be in contrast to the best way characters have been offered in earlier areas, nevertheless it looks as if it’s potential to get to know these characters higher nearly instantly, which helps with immersion. From an preliminary standpoint, the story of Amphoreus can appear considerably complicated with all of its Chrysos Heirs, Titans, and Coreflames, however that’s nearly instantly addressed as soon as gamers have a particular reunion with Aglaea in Honkai: Star Rail.

As such, gamers lose little time pondering what’s going on and, as an alternative, begin working towards an answer whereas attempting to actively decipher the various totally different personalities and intentions that the Chrysos Heirs have. It’s a good way of avoiding bumps within the narrative development. Combining the journey with exploration throughout the brand new maps, the story begins sturdy, particularly with the nice new boss battle on the finish of the quests and the immense cliffhanger set to be explored in Version 3.1, the patch that ought to see the releases of Mydei and Tribbie in Honkai: Star Rail.

Honkai: Star Rail Has Never Felt So Big With Amphoreus’ Maps

Okhema & Other Areas Are Gargantuan

Honkai Star Rail's Titan stands in Amphoreus.

HoYoverse lived as much as what it had stated: Amphoreus is ready to be the most important vacation spot within the recreation to date. While not all of the maps deliberate for Amphoreus have been launched as of Version 3.0, those that had been launched with the replace are immense. Okhema, the capital of the planet and the final secure haven for humanity, feels bigger than the already enormous Golden Hour Dreamscape in Penacony. The map’s design stands out as it’s not solely massive in a horizontal sense, however even vertically. There are rooftops to discover, secretive areas, and way more to discover.

Even corridors main from one place to a different are likely to have some interactable factor.

The different maps in Amphoreus are a bit extra set to straightforward in the case of scale, however they arrive crammed with new enemies to defeat and puzzles to resolve, together with ingenious time-rewinding actions that stretch from elaborate progression-based puzzles to minor aesthetic fixes within the situations. These new maps in Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 provide gamers quite a bit to do, very like the earlier areas, however there’s a sense of enormity utilized to them that could be a lovely product of the vacation spot’s design.

The maps in Amphoreus make the sport really feel a lot bigger than ever earlier than, even when they provide an analogous (but nonetheless excellent) quantity of content material, however these areas by no means really feel too massive and, with its rewards and actions, too widespread. With its gargantuan scale, the Amphoreus maps are in a position to convey why the vacation spot is the most important within the recreation to date with out ever making gamers really feel like there may be an excessive amount of or too little to do in every zone. The design of the maps themselves seems lovely and unprecedented with new property that by no means stop to amaze.

Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 Characters & Remembrance Don’t Feel As Groundbreaking As Amphoreus

The Herta Doesn’t Feel Like A Necessary Pull

Version 3.0 introduces three new playable characters: The Herta, the Remembrance Trailblazer, and Aglaea. While most of those characters had been arrange and marketed to be game-changing models, from their significance within the lore right down to gameplay worth, they’re a bit lackluster. Surely, The Herta is a powerful Ice Erudition character, able to dispatching massive teams of enemies with the immense quantity of injury she will deal. However, The Herta’s energy doesn’t really feel that a lot totally different from different DPS models, comparable to Acheron or Firefly.

It’s value noting that Screen Rant didn’t have entry to Aglaea earlier than the writing of this assessment.

Even by accessing the character at E6S5 for every week earlier than Version 3.0’s launch due to HoYoverse’s preview entry, and thus being able to additionally utilizing The Herta’s best builds and team comps, nothing actually satisfied me about pulling for her with the discharge of Version 3.0. As one of the vital Ice DPS models within the recreation, she didn’t actually stand out to me, which finally resulted in a definitive skip, nearly as good as she may very well be. The Remembrance Trailblazer will not be too totally different, however I’ve extra hopes for them.

The protagonist’s new type is the primary playable Remembrance character. This is a groundbreaking feat and all gamers have entry to them in the event that they progress sufficiently by way of the Amphoreus marketing campaign. The Remembrance Trailblazer in Honkai: Star Rail presents gamers a glimpse into what the Path may really feel like within the type of a assist unit that works in a wide range of staff comps. Although they contribute to the staff’s harm output, the Remembrance Trailblazer stands out by supporting allies. The buffs they supply are immense and shouldn’t be disregarded, such because the fixed CRIT DMG utilized to all allies.

The dangers are extra tangible than ever, and Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 is placing the sport on monitor for one more profitable yr.

When it involves gameplay mechanics, regardless of being able to summoning the memosprite known as Mem into battle, the rotation with the Remembrance Trailblazer doesn’t really feel too totally different from different assist models. Surely, they do an excellent job inside their function, however gamers shouldn’t go in anticipating the Path of the Remembrance to drastically alter the construction of fight as a result of it merely gained’t. I’m extra excited in regards to the Remembrance Trailblazer’s future than I’m with their present state, as the longer term launch of Amphoreus characters in Honkai: Star Rail may present simply how important they’ll grow to be in staff comps.

The future may also present if they’ll match the facility stage of the Harmony Trailblazer, who shook up the meta in 2024.

It’s not possible to find out precisely how the Path of the Remembrance is with out accessing Agalea throughout HoYoverse’s preview interval and the primary few weeks of Version 3.0 (since Aglaea’s launch is ready for Phase 2 banners). It’s probably that her arrival as a staff’s essential DPS unit will assist showcase the flexibility of Remembrance characters, being able to working as helps just like the Trailblazer, or as harm sellers. Based on what’s been proven to date, I’m not anticipating a lot, however solely time will inform how Aglaea performs in Honkai: Star Rail.

Overall, Version 3.0 is likely one of the finest patches the turn-based RPG has seen shortly, particularly following the annoying but vital story arc in Penacony Paperfold University. Amphoreus takes on a extra severe strategy to its story with out too many ludicrous and comical parts that had been beforehand made potential by Penacony’s dreamscapes. Here, the dangers are extra tangible than ever, and Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 is placing the sport on monitor for one more profitable yr, even when the brand new playable characters usually are not as game-changing as we’d anticipated.