As the landing team embarked on their journey to the enigmatic and uncharted world of Amphoreus, it seemed like mostly smooth sailing for the Trailblazer. However, as the ship crashed to the ground, it became evident that Hoyoverse was determined to start Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 off with a bang. Will Amphoreus and Paean of Era Nova live up to the bar that Penacony has set?
Honkai: Star Rail has always been a madcap adventure that takes players to unique abstract locales deep with intriguing lore and heartfelt character interactions. This time around, the 3.0 update embarks on a journey that feels distinctly derivative of Greek mythology. While Hoyoverse's efforts mark one of their most ambitious leaps yet, with the entire two-part story-arc will be the largest story the team has put out to date, it's certainly feels like a love letter to players that have been clamoring for world building with a focus on historical lore.
Welcome to Amphoreus: Praise Be
Leaving Penacony behind has been bittersweet for me, as it was by far my favorite planet so far. The developers outdid themselves masterfully crafting the story and world with equal amounts of absurdity and loss. The story in Amphoreus hits distinctly different.
As the Astral Express seeks to replenish their Fuel and uncover the mysteries of this curious world, we're pulled into a vast world of Demi-Gods, Titans, and of course, a catastrophic plot that could end the world of Amphoreus entirely. You'll travel alongside Dan Heng, leaving March 7th in her quarters due to a mysterious illness. As this is a spoiler free review, you'll certainly want to see where this goes by playing the story to completion.
According to legend, twelve Titans created Amphoreus, and these obtusely mirror the pantheon of 12 Greek Titans, which means many players won't be completely lost on this concept. Unfortunately, the Strife Titan is hellbent on destruction and there's a rising black tide that you'll need to stop if you hope to help the people of Amphoreus and fix your ship so you can leave.
Honkai Star Rail is well known for a thoughtfully crafted story, but there were large swaths of Paean of Era Nova that didn't resonate with me due to how slow the pace felt due to the presentation of some story points. It felt far more like excessive prose than adequately moving the plot forward.
Don't get me wrong, the storytelling is completely on brand, noting exceptional characters and glorifying some choice moments through gorgeous still shots or beautifully animated cutscenes. It's those moments in the middle where history takes a front seat, driving a lore heavy wedge between you and your next task where it starts to feel a little heavy handed.
Eventually you will be presented with a storybook where you'll have written Amphoreus' Saga of Heroes, unlock additional pieces of the story as you complete missions, and earn rewards through the Genesis Chronicles and Flame-Chase Volumes, both of which you'll need to obtain Eidolons for the Trailblazer's new Remembrance Path.
It's Time Shifting Time
You learn early on in Amphoreus that you can interact with time in a novel way. Eventually, you'll be able to utilize the Path of Remembrance, a new power that allows the Trailblazer to draw strength from the past, which will grant you the power to rewind time. The power is mostly short lived, with some level-specific interactive baubles that can increase your time shifting abilities so that you can complete some puzzles.
You'll encounter a few level design puzzles not unlike previous updates, though this time you'll be introduced to a mechanical floating hand that can perform a series of functions such as creating a bridge, picking up items, and even punching boxes. A neat little trick is that the hand can also punch enemies on the map, so you can effectively clear the map of most enemies with a simple strike instead of going through any prolonged battle.
There are also spotlights that can distort time, either in the past or the future depending on which timeline you're in. Eventually you'll find cases where you can move the spotlight to different areas of the map, and it forces you to think fourth dimensionally, as you need to consider what needs to happen in the alternate timeline in order to bypass an obstacle.
The ability to roll back time provides ample opportunity for some novel puzzles that I can only hope Hoyoverse expands on as the story arc continues. You'll also have a few new activities that you'll need to master to gain access to some chest rewards. The Spirit Thief will nab a chest just as you're about to open it, and in order to get it back, you'll need to rewind time at the correct intervals. It feels a lot like a fishing game, where you're reeling in a purple amorphous blob.
The Golden Scapegoat is a unique 2D puzzle where you'll have an enemy mirroring your actions, and you have to outsmart them to meet your goal. Perhaps the most difficult new event puzzle is the Prophecy Table, which seems simple at first, but it can get difficult enough that they've added a hint feature to help you get by particularly tough ones.
The prophecy tablet requires you place shapes in the correct pattern, but if you overlap the shapes, it will negate the portion that was overlapped, which requires that you fiddle with multiple combinations to nail the right shape. As usual, Hoyoverse makes fun and engaging minigame puzzles, and I just wish I had more opportunities to play them.
It's Time to Put the Herta on Some Bad Guys
Version 3.0 introduces 2 new 5-star characters and a new path for the Trailblazer. Madam Herta, otherwise known as The Herta debuts as an Ice-Type Erudition character skilled in AoE damage. As I was given a press account to venture through Amphoreus, I was able to utilize her completely maxed out and her abilities are exceptionally effective on almost all of the enemies in Amphoreus (though most Ice-Types will be).
With a skill and Ultimate that can hit the entire field, and a strong follow up attack making use of her "Interpretation" ability, which grants a number of stacks of to enemies that she's hit previously. Her damage potential makes her a fantastic addition to the roster.
The second 5-star character, Aglaea will arrive on the second banner as the story progresses, so you won't be able to earn her at the launch of 3.0. As a Remembrance character, she will have access to her memosprite, Garmentmaker, which you'll also meet throughout the course of the story in Amphoreus. The Trailblazer will also gain the powers of a companion summon known as Mem, which you'll need to summon into battle for their assistance.
Mem will provide support in the way of energy regeneration, speed bonuses, a true damage buff, and they'll perform attacks as well. While Mem won't attack or have the opportunity for support on their own each round, having their power proc periodically adds another dynamic to boost your team.
The addition of Mem and memosprites will certainly add a new dynamic to HSR as they can attack, buff, and even take damage in battle completely separate from your other characters. It's like having an AI companion, and while there wasn't a case where mem took the brunt of an attack over other members of my party, memosprites open the door for some exciting party additions in the future.
Should You Come Back for Amphoreus?
Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 is a massive update that introduces the largest story arc in the game's history. While the story can be long winded in some areas, the puzzles are fun, the characters are interesting and you won't want to miss out on the inclusion of memosprites as companion characters will add plenty of variety to your team lineup.
While this update certainly lacks the same charm and whimsical tone of Penacony, Honkai Star Rail: The Paean of Era Nova is still well worth the cost of entry (free). The ample rewards for exploration and completion of Amphoreus ensure that it remains a must-play for Star Rail fans.
The content is based on early media access and may differ from the final version