Summary
There is a new leak about a possible dating sim game mode inHonkai: Star Railand, given developer HoYoverse’s previous endeavor into the genre within another game, I am not particularly excited about how it will turn out. Dating sims are a romance-based genre of games that allows players to meet characters and, if there is an interest in doing so, strike up romantic relationships with them throughout the larger narrative. HoYoverse has an entire visual novel dedicated to it calledTears of Themis, but it seems a portion of the mode will be incorporated into the turn-based RPG.
According to information provided by the leaker known as Ubatcha, which was shared in a post tagged as “Reliable” onReddit,an upcoming update forHonkai: Star Railmay incorporate a date-like mode. The leak says that players will be able to go on a date with Robin and that the leaker anticipated it would arrive in Version 2.4. However, with the content not being available in the current patch, it is likely it got pushed into another future patch. The leak mentions that players will travel with Robin to Herta Space Station and another familiar yet unspecified location.
Why I’m So Excited About Honkai: Star Rail’s New Leaked Characters (& Why You Should Be Too)
There are rumors of two new Honkai: Star Rail characters arriving after Version 3.0 that will bring back the best combat mechanic so far.
Dating Aspects May Not Fit Into Honkai: Star Rail
HoYoverse Has Already Explored The Mode In Genshin Impact
Because the turn-based RPG will likely not embrace a fully-fledged visual novel gameplay style, the rumored dating sim mode forHonkai: Star Railwill probably be limited. The precedent set by HoYoverse is the Hangout missions available inGenshin Impact, another game by the developer.In Hangouts, players are able to spend some time with the character from the respective quest and explore multiple endings to the storybased on their choices throughout the mission. This is standard protocol in dating sims, but the main difference is that none of theGenshin Impactcharacters are actually romanceable.
Instead, players are bound by the confines of their friendly relationship with the existing characters. It is very probable that thecharacters fromHonkai: Star Railwill follow the same structure that the ones do inGenshin Impactand, as such, will not be romanceable either. It is great to spend time with certain characters and get to know more about them, butunder the premise of a visual novel, which is known for the development of relationships, often to a romantic pattern, the lack of it inGenshin Impactis daunting– and this will likely be the case inHSR.
The rumored date between Robin and the Trailblazer will most likely be a friendly one, even if there are some nods of acknowledgment toward mutual interest between the characters. As such,players may have to content themselves with a whole new set of missions that tease romance possibilities and never actually reach them– and that is deeply upsetting to me. The odds of characters actually being romanceable inHonkai: Star Railare very slim for the same reasons they are not romanceable inGenshin Impact.
Honkai: Star Rail Leaks Are Great News For Powercrept Characters
Developer HoYoverse may be planning on dealing with powercreep releases with a creative, yet still limited and unstable plan in Honkai: Star Rail.
Why Characters In Honkai: Star Rail Will Never Be Fully Romanceable
There’s A Plethora Of Reasons Why You Could Never Romance HSR Characters
It is likely that characters in the turn-based RPG will never be fully romanceable. The first reason is thatthe game has a large and ever-expanding roster of units that could make choosing a romantic partner extremely complicated, especially if it leans into monogamous relationships. If players pick a romantic partner in Version 2.5, for instance, they could possibly be locked out from other more interesting options that are released in future updates. This would require some sort of break-up mechanic or simply embracing a non-monogamous structure inHonkai: Star Rail, which may not please all players.
Furthermore, the creation of a romance system could possibly transform characters that are otherwise interesting into mere romanceable partners that repeat the same type of lines and interactions. This has happened in several types of games, such asSkyrim. Despite their structural gameplay flaws, characters like thecompanion Lydia inSkyrimare interesting to have around, but become extremely bland once they are romanced and affixed to take care of the home and children – andthat would be inexcusable inHonkai: Star Rail.
Additionally, characters in the game hardly ever have their ages revealed while others are explicitly children, and this could lead to criminal types of setups between characters. Avoiding it altogether allows for a safer experience.
The other main reason is that players can control either a male or female Trailblazer. Gay relationships should never be a problem, but HoYoverse is a Chinese company. The state still struggles with anti-LGBT-positive policies and, even if it is improving,LGBT relationships are still censored by the country’s legislation. As such, the developer would have to develop a system to recognize male and female Trailblazers and create gender-specific mission outcomes inHonkai: Star Railbased on that, only allowing male Trailblazers to date female characters and female Trailblazers to date male characters.
Honkai Star Rail 2.5 Leaks: Feixiao’s Technique Is The Best (& Strangest) So Far
Feixiao’s Technique in Honkai: Star Rail has been described and showcased in Version 2.5 leaks, and it seems both powerful and somewhat unusual.
The idea behind the game, however, is to provide a seamless experience for all players, with no distinction based on gender, and, as such, fully-fledged romance is automatically impossible within its structure – half of the players would be blocked out of certain interactions, whereas the other would be blocked out of another set of mission outcomes. This makes it completely unreasonable. The compilation of reasons makes ithighly unlikely that players will ever be able to truly date characters inHonkai: Star Railand that is both somewhat satisfying and upsetting.
The idea of Hangout-structured missions in the game does not attract me too much, as it is my least favorite type of quest inGenshin Impact. Surely, there are great moments with some outstanding characters, but it can be horribly bland. This is especially true when you are replaying the mission to reach all the endings to ensure all the rewards, including Primogems. If this structure is repeated withinHonkai: Star Rail,I might see myself skipping the activity altogether based on how much I like a character or not.
Honkai: Star Rail 2.5 Leaks Hint At Lingsha Becoming The Best Healer In The Game
Lingsha’s gameplay kit in Honkai: Star Rail 2.5 has leaked and, given the current description, she may trample Huohuo and Luocha’s healing powers.
For now, however, the leak should be taken with caution. Seeing it was predicted for Version 2.4 and it didn’t arrive means it may still be in development and fine-tuning. This could result in a better Hangout-like experience overall, allowing players to get to know some characters better without having to go through some tedious and bland interactions. Even so, I am not particularly sold on a visual novel mode insideHonkai: Star Railand would rather replay a game likeHatoful Boyfriendall over again.
