Honkai Star Rail 2.0 Review: “Sets The Groundwork for Another Impressive Year”

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The release of 2.0 is an important milestone for the popular turn-based RPG developed by HoYoverse. With the update, the game introduces a new destination called Penacony, also known as the Planet of Festivities and the Land of Dreams. This is a completely new location, much like the Xianzhou Luofu flagship or Jarilo-VI. In addition to Penacony, the game kicks off its second year of content following its original release back in 2023. 2.0’s release sets in motion what is the beginning of another promising year of playable content, especially in terms of narrative.

Although there are limitations to the amount of content added with Version 2.0, with a lot of the story pushed into upcoming patches, this is one of the largest updates of the year. The arrival of Penacony not only brings the destination itself but an entirely new set of assets that allow the iconic location to take shape, as well as exclusive puzzles and gameplay mechanics that can only be found on the Planet of Festivities. The next updates in will build up on top of what was introduced with Version 2.0, both for gameplay and story.

Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 sets the stage for another excellent year.

The premise of an idyllic dreamland resort for the Astral Express is but a facade and this is exposed quite quickly when diving into the Penacony storyline. The presence of the Nameless in the Reverie Hotel does not come without complications, but there is a slow-burn element to how threats are presented. Players are gradually introduced to this entirely new destination and its particular elements, from goofy puzzle-like challenges to the colorful world design, both in reality and in the Dreamscape scenarios. Penacony is beautiful in 2.0, if not overwhelming in its design.

That is the intention, after all. The idea is to make players comfortable with their lush and brilliant surroundings, which obfuscates the deeper and darker truth of the story being told. What players see in the Dreamscape at first covers