What Honkai Star Rail does right: A look into HoYoverse's newest entry and the reasons behind its success

HoYoverse's Honkai Star Rail is a huge hit. Even if one doesn't particularly care for its gameplay, it's impossible to deny the title's success. According to Sensor Tower, this game has regularly been near or at the top for the past few months when it comes to revenue. It's not hard to see why it has been as successful as it has been to this point.

Honkai Star Rail is a turn-based RPG with a lovable and well-written cast that makes it easy for players to want those characters and spend money on getting them. It helps that the game is well-balanced and surprisingly F2P-friendly in an industry where microtransactions are usually seen as predatory.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective.

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Why Honkai Star Rail has been a huge hit worldwide

Sensor Tower Monthly Revenue Report (Aug 2023) byu/numberlockbs ingachagaming

Here are some metrics from Sensor Tower regarding Honkai Star Rail's performance throughout the last few months:

• August 2023: $49 million
• July 2023: $41 million
• June 2023: $54 million
• May 2023: $81 million
• April 2023: $20 million

It should be noted that the title debuted worldwide on April 26, 2023, hence the much lower figure for that month compared to later ones. Nonetheless, the game has historically performed very well, even surpassing titles like Genshin Impact and Fate/Grand Order in some months.

Assuming the data is fairly accurate and indicative of HoYoverse's newest success, the next thing to do is to look at why this is the case in more detail.

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Great character cast

A small selection of the many beloved characters in this game (Image via HoYoverse)

The main reason to spend money on Honkai Star Rail is to get a character you really want. There are currently seven playable Paths and seven Types in this game. Each character can have one Path and one Type. For instance, Kafka is a Nihility Lightning, while Dan HGeng - Imbibitor Lunae is Destruction Imaginary.

Even characters in the same Path or Type can feel unique compared to one another. There are, of course, unit designs that can appeal to a person. Many gamers love to collect visually appealing characters and will go out of their way to spend money on them. Note that many 5-star units are only available when their limited-time banner is out.

Likewise, some gamers may even spend money to get certain 5-star Light Cones to enhance their favorite characters. Clever writing and memorable storylines also help make some units more endearing to the player.

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Microtransactions and F2P-friendliness

An example of a generous yet cheap microtransaction (Image via HoYoverse)

Honkai Star Rail is easily beatable for an F2P player if they're smart with their resources. They won't be able to get every new character or Light Cone like a whale can, but they can always be smart about how they manipulate the game's Pity Rates.

Small spenders also get plenty of value in this title. For example, the Express Supply Pass is very cheap and can give a player 300 Oneric Shards and 2,700 Stellar Jade a month.

Note that this game is free-to-play, so it won't cost players anything to try it out for the first time.

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Fun gameplay

Honkai Star Rail has a simple twist on turn-based combat. All units can either do a regular attack, do a Skill, or perform an Ultimate. Three moves might not seem like much, but the system is still a lot of fun to experience. Different team comps, Light Cones, and Relics can offer a bit of customization to the overall gameplay.

Ultimately, Honkai Star Rail lives up to the hype. This title won't be for everybody, but anybody who likes gacha or turn-based games will feel right at home.

It will be interesting to see how HoYoverse's next big project, Zenless Zone Zero, compares to the company's other big heavy hitters in Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail.