Is Honkai: Star Rail similar to Genshin Impact? Major differences and similarities explained

sportskeeda.com:

The latest game from developers HoYoverse, Honkai: Star Rail, aims to deliver a unique role-playing experience for all players worldwide, based on characters from the Honkai Impact series of gacha games released prior. Honkai: Star Rail is from the parent company that released the beloved free-to-play anime RPG, Genshin Impact.

As such, many similarities are bound to be found as the game shares much of Genshin's DNA in its world-building and gameplay elements.

Read on to learn more about the two titles' similarities and differences.

While the games undeniably share many similarities in both the gacha and gameplay sections, Honkai: Star Rail puts in enough changes to keep the formula fresh and unique while also being true to the setting and cast of the Honkai universe.

The significant points of interest (and division) between the two games are explained below:

1) World Design:

Both games feature a completely explorable game world.

While Genshin has a completely explorable open world, Star Rail differentiates itself from the former by being slightly more restrictive - players can still freely explore hubs and sections of the spaceship. Still, the exploration scope is somewhat limited in comparison.

2) Combat:

Perhaps the combat design is the most significant change between the titles.

While Genshin is more of an action-adventure title, Star Rail is wholly turn-based. Players must make strategic decisions based on their character skills and the enemy moves before proceeding with battles.

Both titles feature regular attacks, special skills, and an ultimate that charges up over time. Much like Genshin, Star Rail also features an elemental alignment system (Fire, Ice, Quantum, and Imaginary, much like Honkai Impact 3rd) but with a twist