Format: iOS
Genre: RPG
Developer: miHoYo
Publisher: HoYoVerse

Where "Genshin Impact" focused on a fantasy setting in a lush green open world, Honkai takes place in a science fiction world made up of constrained hallways. Able to focus their entire frame performance budget on these smaller spaces, the walls, tables, lights, doorways, and floor surfaces are so sharp and richly detailed that it's tough to believe the experience is running on a smartphone. The ultra detailed, cel-shaded character designs are back and look better than ever, while Genshin's unimpeachable user interface aesthetic returns as well.

Featuring a whole new slate of composers versus Genshin, Honkai uses a combination of synth orchestral work and light jazz. The space station theme song sounds straight out of "Phantasy Star Online" on the Dreamcast, while some of the battle tunes are almost 90s good! Most of the other music, such as in the game's towns, is a bit too cliche and lacking in distinctiveness. Just as in Genshin, the voice acting here is astonishingly good.

In "Genshin Impact", the player ran, jumped, and swam around an open world in real-time co-op, with periodic cut-scene story quests mixing things up. Honkai by contrast plays like a linear, single-player JRPG. The player still improves his characters with upgradeable items and rolls for new characters, identical to how things worked in Genshin, but this time story takes center stage, almost like in a "Final Fantasy" title, right down to turn-based combat. Enemies have elemental vulnerabilities above them, and it's a matter of mixing and matching normal and special abilities to eliminate enemy shields and, then, their life bars.

Whether fans of "Genshin Impact" enjoy this latest miHoYo title depends on whether the story-driven, single-player only, turn-based combat, linear JRPG appeals to them. For whatever it's worth, this reviewer's daughter is at the level cap in Genshin, and has already beaten all of the current-day content in this title as well: she loves them both equally. She even informed me that this title is more generous at handing out five-star characters and items. But no matter one's outlook on the changes, Honkai: Star Rail is a high quality title with a pleasing science fiction aesthetic, a solid story, and wonderful voice acting.