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.
It helps that the story is one of HSR’s easier-to-follow plotlines, too. After 3.0’s heavy narrative, which featured a lot of early lore dumping that led to heartbreaking moments, 4.0’s story is a breath of fresh air. It’s genuinely good, and it’s long enough that I didn’t blast through it all in one sitting, either. After the comedic aspects of the early story, 4.0 still leans into the serious side of Honkai Star Rail at its conclusion with a plot twist, but it’s not such a leap that it feels disjointed.
The minigames I was concerned might feel too simple are actually pretty complex without getting confusing--almost the perfect balance. They’re actually fun, and feel more fleshed out than any minigames before. The events are something I was concerned about ahead of the new version's release, but that’s mainly because of the aforementioned apprehension around the minigames seemingly replacing them. There are actually more events than I anticipated though, and they’re certainly more varied. There are seven events so far, giving anything from free Star Rail Special Passes to a free 5-star character of your choice.
Something I particularly love are the different stories that are followed. It’s not just the player following the Trailblazer--we’re also accompanying Dan Heng, Pearl, Silver Wolf, and more. It helps to give us the larger picture of the narrative, instead of being limited by one perspective.
The character development of Sparkle is another aspect that really gave me joy. Previously, Sparkle just sort of … existed. She didn’t get much attention, but in 4.0 we see her fears and desires. She feels like a well-rounded, relatable character now, instead of a figure in the background.
On the other hand, Evanescia--who was originally stated to be a Japanese cherry-blossom-themed character--now has more of a schoolgirl vibe going on, which disappointed me since I was really enthused about her original aesthetic. This may have something to do with the Chinese and Japanese political conflicts that are ongoing, since the trees that I expected to resemble Sakura trees are suddenly orange. While those grievances have existed for many years, they've been exacerbated more recently by Japan's reported condemnation of a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan. China apparently retaliated against these comments with economic pressure, instituting new export controls. As miHoYo--the parent company of HoYoverse--is a Chinese-based company and Sakura trees are a prominent feature of Japanese culture, that political clash could be the reason their appearance has changed in the game.
The new Elation gameplay path is interesting and engaging. The more Elation characters in your party, the more “Punchline” you will gain. Aha--the Aeon of Elation--is visible in the action bar, and his speed increases based on the number of Elation characters in your team. When he takes his turn, your Punchline is consumed, all ally debuffs are removed, and all Elation skills are triggered. If there are no Elation characters in your party, Aha will deal damage to everyone on the field. It’s a refreshing twist on combat that I really enjoy manipulating to see just how much impact I can force Aha to have.
In terms of changes from 3.X to 4.0, there are more than I originally thought, including some quality-of-life improvements. You can now change the location of the support characters in your team, meaning you can better plan and line up synergies. Similarly, you can change character positions from the Quick Lineup screen. Formerly hidden subsidiary statistics for non-upgraded Relics are visible by default, giving you a larger and more accurate view of them.
Insight Mode is now available in the Divergent Universe--this mode allows you to receive double Synchronicity Points and buffs that lead to clearing the stages more easily. Any Trace Materials you have left over can be converted into Elation Trace Materials for a limited time, with a maximum converted amount of 120. These can be used to upgrade character abilities.
Arcana stacks are accumulated faster in order to increase your team’s damage and decrease the enemy’s defence. Combined with increased Skill Points recovery, increased ally damage, and faster Energy regeneration, this can subtly adjust the way a battle plays out. I was expecting it to have more of an impact, but knowing about the change certainly affects the choices I make in combat.
There are smaller changes too--the Express Phonograph now has the option to play white noise, there’s a free Plumbossom Letter outfit for Ruan Mei, and new Vim and Vigor Trailblazer outfits--although these need to be purchased from the Gift of Stardust Store. The Ever-Gloriosus Magical Girl Relics set reeks of Madoka Magica inspiration, while the Diviner of Distant Reach Relics are stunning cloud-themed accessories.
My favorite aspect of the update though has to be the cutscenes. Formerly, Honkai Star Rail cutscenes were reserved for the most important lore moments--the scenes that HoYoverse really wanted us to pay attention to. This time around there are far more cutscenes. It’s attention-grabbing in a more efficient way than walls of lore-dumping text, as HoYo has been guilty of in the past. Sparxie has a specific cutscene where she is incredibly expressive, feeling a lot of different emotions, and they’re really believable thanks to the high quality of the cutscene. Hopefully this continues through the rest of the 4.X updates.
Following the 3.X lore dumping, presentation issues, and neglecting some characters, my judgment was clouded. The 4.0 release has none of those problems--more characters get their time in the spotlight, the lore dumping is all but gone, and the cutscene quantity and quality is far improved--but head into the update and experience it for yourself.
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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.
It helps that the story is one of HSR’s easier-to-follow plotlines, too. After 3.0’s heavy narrative, which featured a lot of early lore dumping that led to heartbreaking moments, 4.0’s story is a breath of fresh air. It’s genuinely good, and it’s long enough that I didn’t blast through it all in one sitting, either. After the comedic aspects of the early story, 4.0 still leans into the serious side of Honkai Star Rail at its conclusion with a plot twist, but it’s not such a leap that it feels disjointed.
The minigames I was concerned might feel too simple are actually pretty complex without getting confusing--almost the perfect balance. They’re actually fun, and feel more fleshed out than any minigames before. The events are something I was concerned about ahead of the new version's release, but that’s mainly because of the aforementioned apprehension around the minigames seemingly replacing them. There are actually more events than I anticipated though, and they’re certainly more varied. There are seven events so far, giving anything from free Star Rail Special Passes to a free 5-star character of your choice.
Something I particularly love are the different stories that are followed. It’s not just the player following the Trailblazer--we’re also accompanying Dan Heng, Pearl, Silver Wolf, and more. It helps to give us the larger picture of the narrative, instead of being limited by one perspective.
The character development of Sparkle is another aspect that really gave me joy. Previously, Sparkle just sort of … existed. She didn’t get much attention, but in 4.0 we see her fears and desires. She feels like a well-rounded, relatable character now, instead of a figure in the background.
On the other hand, Evanescia--who was originally stated to be a Japanese cherry-blossom-themed character--now has more of a schoolgirl vibe going on, which disappointed me since I was really enthused about her original aesthetic. This may have something to do with the Chinese and Japanese political conflicts that are ongoing, since the trees that I expected to resemble Sakura trees are suddenly orange. While those grievances have existed for many years, they've been exacerbated more recently by Japan's reported condemnation of a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan. China apparently retaliated against these comments with economic pressure, instituting new export controls. As miHoYo--the parent company of HoYoverse--is a Chinese-based company and Sakura trees are a prominent feature of Japanese culture, that political clash could be the reason their appearance has changed in the game.
The new Elation gameplay path is interesting and engaging. The more Elation characters in your party, the more “Punchline” you will gain. Aha--the Aeon of Elation--is visible in the action bar, and his speed increases based on the number of Elation characters in your team. When he takes his turn, your Punchline is consumed, all ally debuffs are removed, and all Elation skills are triggered. If there are no Elation characters in your party, Aha will deal damage to everyone on the field. It’s a refreshing twist on combat that I really enjoy manipulating to see just how much impact I can force Aha to have.
In terms of changes from 3.X to 4.0, there are more than I originally thought, including some quality-of-life improvements. You can now change the location of the support characters in your team, meaning you can better plan and line up synergies. Similarly, you can change character positions from the Quick Lineup screen. Formerly hidden subsidiary statistics for non-upgraded Relics are visible by default, giving you a larger and more accurate view of them.
Insight Mode is now available in the Divergent Universe--this mode allows you to receive double Synchronicity Points and buffs that lead to clearing the stages more easily. Any Trace Materials you have left over can be converted into Elation Trace Materials for a limited time, with a maximum converted amount of 120. These can be used to upgrade character abilities.
Arcana stacks are accumulated faster in order to increase your team’s damage and decrease the enemy’s defence. Combined with increased Skill Points recovery, increased ally damage, and faster Energy regeneration, this can subtly adjust the way a battle plays out. I was expecting it to have more of an impact, but knowing about the change certainly affects the choices I make in combat.
There are smaller changes too--the Express Phonograph now has the option to play white noise, there’s a free Plumbossom Letter outfit for Ruan Mei, and new Vim and Vigor Trailblazer outfits--although these need to be purchased from the Gift of Stardust Store. The Ever-Gloriosus Magical Girl Relics set reeks of Madoka Magica inspiration, while the Diviner of Distant Reach Relics are stunning cloud-themed accessories.
My favorite aspect of the update though has to be the cutscenes. Formerly, Honkai Star Rail cutscenes were reserved for the most important lore moments--the scenes that HoYoverse really wanted us to pay attention to. This time around there are far more cutscenes. It’s attention-grabbing in a more efficient way than walls of lore-dumping text, as HoYo has been guilty of in the past. Sparxie has a specific cutscene where she is incredibly expressive, feeling a lot of different emotions, and they’re really believable thanks to the high quality of the cutscene. Hopefully this continues through the rest of the 4.X updates.
Following the 3.X lore dumping, presentation issues, and neglecting some characters, my judgment was clouded. The 4.0 release has none of those problems--more characters get their time in the spotlight, the lore dumping is all but gone, and the cutscene quantity and quality is far improved--but head into the update and experience it for yourself.
Source