After a lengthy memory-bending detour, the Astral Express is off to its next destination. Having rejected the IPC’s warm welcome to Astropolis, the HQ of the Interastral Peace Entertainment that would house the talks of the Anti-Destruction Alliance, the Express nevertheless gets baited to visit Planarcadia right in time for the latest Phantasmoon Games.
Known as Benzaitengoku in ancient times, the planet managed to survive an attack by the Antimatter Legion by being turned into a painting. Years later, it was restored to its normal state with the help of the IPC, marking the creation of Ahatopia’s Planarcadia as we’ve seen it.
Whereas Penacony was the planet of dreams, Planarcadia is the planet of wishes. So, ready to get your wishes known for the entire universe as you become an Aeon for a minute?
First things first, the new journey is not without its losses. Before the Express makes the jump, Black Swan announces her departure. In the wake of the events that have transpired on Amphoreus and shook the universe, the Garden of Recollection is calling its Memokeepers back.
Her little adventure with the Express and the betrayal she has committed on Amphoreus to help out would place Black Swan in hot water with her superiors, and she has no other choice than to get help from a certain Cremator to clean up the mess and go back to avoid any more suspicion.
I hope that this lore thread – much like the hints of the Leviathan research worked on by Ruan Mei, Steven Lloyd and the Intelligentsia Guild – will not be buried for another couple of years like the God-Slayer Protocol of Xianzhou, and we’ll see where in leads in an upcoming Myriad Celestia or other lore materials.
Now one capable member shorter, the Astral Express nevertheless makes its way to Planarcadia, Himeko’s homeworld and the planet that the Express had restarted its journey from fifteen years ago. However, things have changed massively since the last time Himeko visited home.
For once, the IPC’s influence had grown dramatically, with the corporation now controlling much in the way of life in Planarcadia, even forcing the unique “imagenae” of this world to work. These unusual creatures live in symbiosis with the locals, having long been integrated into the city’s daily life. They rely on people’s “Wishpower” to sustain their life, and will gradually fade away once forgotten.
Between the attempt to form the Anti-Destruction Alliance, the visit of the Express and the newest Phantasmoon Games, Planarcadia is in for a ride.
Version 4.0 largely serves as an introduction to the new planet, its ways and traditions and the rules surrounding the Phantasmoon Games. Most of the story revolves around the concept of the “imagenae” and “wishpower” as well as the duality of Planarcadia – 2D and 3D, alternative existences, things being not what they seem to be, and more.
Naturally, the protagonist gets immediately dragged into the Phantasmoon Games – the ancient ritual of the Mourning Actors to draw Aha’s attention, now warped beyond all recognition into a festival of hype-grab, miracle-making and pure clout-chasing. Eight supplicants, eight masks, battle royale for people’s attention, and a chance to have your miracle happen through the power of the Aeon of Elation.
The would-be participants are as varied as their origins, from the General of the Xianzhou Alliance to the IPC Stonehearts, locals and even the Stellaron Hunters. While Blade and Silver Wolf did not receive much attention this time, it’s obvious that they will play an important story going forward, as will the rest of this dramatic line-up, including Yao Guang, Pearl and Evanescia.
Speaking of the latter, a pink-haired ageless schoolgirl that is a self-admitted observer? I hope we’re not having a repeat of Cyrene here. As Evanescia herself points out, the most interesting thing in the story is the relationship between the characters and the factions. The little threads that connect heroes to events, organizations, and each other.
The problem with observers is that all of their connections exist in theory and are potential. Think of Cyrene, she had potential connections to other Chrysos Heirs, to Evernight as a fellow Child of Anasrava, and to the Garden of Recollection as an Emanator of Remembrance. How many of them actually panned out? That’s right, none. She still remains in her “potential woman” cocoon – perhaps to change during November 2026, marked in the Amphorean calendar, perhaps to stay that way.
I hope that Evanescia moves beyond the curse of an observer and only ever interacting with the protagonist, spouting cryptic vague hints of the things to come.
The first two participants are Sparxie, who stole the mask that was supposed to be “ours”, and the Trailblazer with the mask created by Evanescia. Shortly following them are Sunday, who got his mask from Yao Guang; Pearl, Ashveil and Silver Wolf that received their invitations from the IPC.
That leaves two unknown masks: the pink fox-themed one that seemingly belongs to Evanescia (but I feel a catch since it’s too obvious) and the octopus/Cthulhu-like wooden mask that belongs to the unknown Supplicant, potentially the copycat serial killer.
Underneath the sheer hilarity and insanity of the events, the fans duking it out in the streets and the wishpower swelling under the full Phantasmoon, there is a much darker, more anxious and uneasy undercurrent.
Phantasmoon Games have appeared unusually early – only 15 years after the previous ones. Additionally, not all Supplicants have noble wishes to ask of Aha and equally righteous rules they abide. After all, the Games are chaotic by their very nature, and it is not unusual for the bystanders to come as collateral when Supplicants crash in their battle royale.
Sparxie and Sparkle gave the Trailblazer that first taste of how things could really be without harming others too much. But what followed is the real deal: the return of an old urban legend, a participant of the last Phantasmoon Games that decided to chase not hype and popularity, but fear, and had done so by massacring almost 200 people total.
Or, perhaps the increase in the wishpower gave life to an Imagenae/Aberrant, brought forth by the collective remembrance of those events? After all, you cannot participate in the games twice. Regardless, we have a killer on our hands and a detective driven by vengeance – all coming in Version 4.1.
One thing that immediately makes Planarcadia look preferable to Amphoreus is the fact that it is connected to the many factions within the cosmos. The Anti-Destruction Alliance and the latest events on the planet naturally draw the attention of the IPC, the Nameless, the Galaxy Rangers, the Fools, and many others, making it feel like an actual part of the galactic community and restoring that space-traveling adventure vibe. In many ways, Planarcadia feels more like a continuation of Penacony rather than Amphoreus.
Overall, Version 4.0 is the strongest initial patch that Honkai: Star Rail released just yet. The game continuously works on improving its presentation, always perfecting the camera work, cutting the flowery endless dialogues to something more digestible, giving the protagonist more voiced lines, and so on.
The story is also easy to follow but engaging from the very beginning, only dragging on during the World’s End tavern section and the endless mini-games that were required as a part of the main quests. The IPC and Yao Guang are playing their own games, and Sparkle finally got the attention she was denied during the Penacony cycle, even considering the sudden onslaught of the extra memories from V3.8.
However, not all characters seem to have changed in the wake of the latest events. Whereas the Garden of Recollection seems to be going through a shakeup, the IPC is attempting to seize the opportunity, and even the Xianzhou is considering taking the next step with the God-Slayer Protocol, our very own protagonist had been reset to the factory settings of “thrill-seeking chaotic raccoon”.
I’m not saying that Stelle or Caelus should have been depressed through the entirety of the new planet until we see the resolution with Amphoreus, but it would have been interesting to see the Trailblazer act more guarded and solemn before getting swept off their feet with pure Elation. Not only did the Trailblazer just go through a lengthy journey on Amphoreus, but also restored their memories of a very close call when it came to Firefly’s death. But… no biggy, right, even when their friends get abducted and potentially placed in harm’s way?
Another thing that I’m not particularly impressed with at the moment is the new playable Path, Elation. Mostly because I feel like we’re in for a repeat of the Remembrance: a path that is generalist enough to include all possible roles, be it sustain, DPS, sub-dps, or support, and that heavily incentivises building the full team of new characters. Oh, and don’t forget grabbing their Light Cones while you are at it since there aren’t many alternatives anyhow. Needless to say, the future endgame buffs for the foreseeable future will be heavily shilling the new units and the Path of Elation altogether.
The thing that drives me insane the most is Aha Instance. After playing the Sparkle + Sparxie + Yao Guang in the Currency Wars, I’m more than ready to skip the entire Path and spend the pulls to vertically invest in my favorites instead. The sound and the visual design of the extra action is atrocious, and I hope HoYoverse adds some kind of skip button to it. Even if I end up enjoying the heroes of the new Path, I simply cannot deal with Aha Instant going off in-battle.
Overall, despite the delay, I’m quite excited to see where things are heading with Planarcadia. One thing I hope for is that this vibe that we’ve encountered – the feast among the famine, elation covering the darker, creepier underbelly of the Phantasmoon Games – will continue on in the future patches. I have loved the beginning of Penacony, which had started similarly enough: a murder mystery in the world of dreams. But by Version 2.2, HSR had abandoned that approach and swapped to a philosophical opposition with Sunday and the Order.
Planarcadia feels like a loveletter to all things geekery: anime and manga, oldschool games and comics, tropes and memes, and even your usual social media brainrot. Let’s hope Aha’s planet will ahaha until the end – or, at least, until we go to Astropolis in the 2nd half of the cycle as revealed during the dev stream.
P.S. Caught in the NPC Jail AGAIN. Isolde and Cecilia in ZZZ, Jeht in Genshin, and now Kuchiba? When I get you, HoYoverse, when I get you…
