Honkai: Star Rail’s 2.0 patch is a massive step forward for players who can access it

polygon.com:

Honkai: Star Rail’s 2.0 update forms another glittering jewel in Hoyoverse’s already illustrious crown of achievements. The new patch takes the already impressive base game — which pairs stunning animation with zippy turn-based combat — and kicks everything up a level. It introduces Penacony, a region that pairs an intriguing story of a dream world set on a former penal colony with an artistically ambitious world design that’s like a golden fever dream of a place, somehow capturing the feeling of a theme park and casino rolled up in one. Even smaller details, like the update’s minigames, show a level of polish and consideration not seen in previous Honkai: Star Rail versions or in Genshin Impact. The patch represents the culmination of years of Hoyoverse’s experience in game development, but there’s one problem: You’ll have to play a ton of quests to get to it.

Honkai: Star Rail is a free-to-play gacha game that follows a group of explorers called the Nameless who travel from planet to planet. Prior adventures have sent its protagonist, the Trailblazer, to desolate snowy worlds and to spaceships the size of entire cities. Now, with Penacony, you’ll be able to explore an entire city that you visit by going to sleep and connecting to it through your character’s dreams, Matrix-style. Overall, this dreamscape has the look of a gaudy, packed city that marries futuristic aesthetics with a sort of 1920s retro vibe. Its streets tower with giant, bulb-lit billboards and bustle with automated, floating transportation that looks inspired by a brass horn. Stroll down its mall and you’ll be treated to sights like human-sized champagne glasses and a ceiling covered with glowing celestial frescoes, and treats like floating ice cream and self-playing musical instruments.

The world appears to contain nods to Disney. Penacony’s mascot is an anthropomorphized clock that looks like it’s from a Fleischer animation and has a voice that’s eerily similar to the nasally tone of Mickey