Developer miHoYo (now HoYoverse) gave fans a sneak peek into two of its upcoming games —Honkai: Star RailandZenless Zone Zero.Both trailers were featured at this year’sSummer Game Fest, drawing the attention ofHonkaiImpactandGenshin Impactfans.
Not much has been announced regarding themiHoYogames’ release dates or general gameplay mechanics. However, their introductions in the Summer Game Fest 2022 reveal much about each title’s genre.
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Honkai: Star Rail
Honkai: Star Railis an open-world space RPGwith gacha elements. What sets it apart from HoYoverse’s other games, however, is that it features turn-based gameplay, similar to the classicFinal Fantasytitles or mainlinePersonagames. Thus,Honkai: Star Railwill likely have a mix of large, open-world locations and meticulously crafted dungeon levels.
Set in the universe of its predecessorHonkai Impact 3rd,Star Railwill also feature a wide cast of characters, many of whom were already showcased in the trailer. Some are even returning characters, like Bronya and Welt. So, it’s no surprise thatHonkai Impact 3rdfans are excited about this new gacha game.
Zenless Zone Zero
Zenless Zone Zerois a futuristic urban action gameand HoYoverse’s newest IP. Much like the developer’s previous titles, players expect this game to also have gacha elements. Set in a fictional city known as New Eridu, players will supposedly live dual lives, acting as Proxies in the game’s “warped reality.” There have also been rumors thatZenless Zone Zerowill feature roguelike gameplay, particularly through dungeon-crawling and procedurally generated stages.
SinceZenless Zone Zerotakes place in a new universe, it’ll feature a completely new cast of characters, divided into different factions. Many of these characters were already featured in the gameplay trailer, and they sport different designs, setting them apart from HoYoverse’s other IPs. Though their character models clearly belong to HoYoverse, their clothes and weapons certainly fit the title’s more urban and futuristic setting.
HoYoverse has yet to announce a release date forZenless Zone Zeroas well. Although, likeHonkai: Star Rail, it’s promoting new content on social media and its website. Last month,Zenless Zone Zeroconcluded its first beta testingsession, but HoYoverse has yet to announce when the next round will be. There are also no gameplay videos available online since this is HoYoverse’s newest known title in development.
With more content on bothHonkai: Star RailandZenless Zone Zeroentering the mainstream, fans of the gacha game giant are eager to get their hands on the new titles. However, this means more pressure for HoYoverse.After releasingGenshin Impact— one of the biggest free-to-play games in the past years — expectations are high. And what fansdon’twant is another clone of it, copy-pasted onto new assets. Perhaps this is why HoYoverse is branching out to new genres.
That said, some fans have also expressed their concern over the developer taking on multiple projects. After all, mismanagement of resources could lead to a drop in the quality of HoYoverse’s many IPs. Still, fans will have to wait and see. Until then, the community can stick toGenshin ImpactandHonkai Impact 3rd.
Honkai: Star RailandZenless Zone Zeroare currently in development.
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