Fighting off Pandemic Stress With Honkai Impact 3rd
How Genshin Impact’s sibling is helping me de-stress with its addicting combat and design
When you’ve been in lockdown for over a year, constantly changing hobbies becomes commonplace. Games, activities, and former interests seemed to lose their shine when the outside world is in shutdown. So I went searching for something new. Something fun. Something that wouldn’t cause me too much stress during this stressful time in our lives.
I can happily say that I found just that in a game.
Honkai Impact 3rd is a peculiar game, although not so strange for fellow Genshin Impact players. However, despite the surface level similarity, the difference between these two games is enormous.
Genshin Impact has a giant world, with deep stories rooted in magic. Religion, parallel universes, inspirations from cultures of our own planet, etc. are part of the environment created for this game. Honkai is a little more cyberpunk. Using technology as its main element, its lore has origins on Earth itself, without creating distant universes, and ends up exploring a possible image of what our future could be.
Coincidentally or not, the beginning of my journey with this mobile game ended up being just when there was the launch of the crossover between Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd. Characters like Fischl are available to play and I think this brought me a positive familiarity for this early game.
In this piece, I’ll compare both Honkai Impact 3rd against Genshin Impact, but most importantly, the positive impact it has left on me during this tumultuous time in our lives.
The Gacha Effect
With the Gacha system being a very notable element in Genshin Impact, miHoYo did not miss the opportunity to include it within Honkai.
There is a relationship between the Gacha system and your characters. One of the notable differences I spotted in Honkai is that all the characters are female. The so-called “Valkyries” fight against the robotic forces of the Honkai for a safer world, the characters a part of this military power. Unlike Genshin, where we find gods, bartenders, explorers, funeral parlors… in short, a multitude of professions, here we only differentiate the Valkyries by their ranks, ranging from B to SSS.
I’m not complaining. All of the Valkyries are absolutely beautiful and, from what I’ve experienced so far, easier to get a hold of in a round of Gacha. This is all thanks to the numerous of ways to get involved in the game’s Gachas.
However, not all that glitters is gold. This was the element that has caused me the most confusion so far, as the entire Honkai Impact 3rd interface can be visually polluting. There is not one centralized location for all Gachas. Rather, there are several links and sublinks that connect to different events. To this day, I never am sure which way to go to find all the gimmicks in the game’s menu. Playing as my own devil’s advocate, we have access to many benefits because of its diverse interface.
Another neat feature present in the game is the ability to interact with our own Valkyries inside the dormitory.
It’s something similar to Genshin’s house system, albeit more simplified. You can decorate and allocate residents to dorm spaces, as well as interact with their super cute miniatures. Even if it doesn’t have much variety of furniture or decorations, it’s a fun addition to an equally fun game.
The Protagonist & Gameplay
Just like in Genshin Impact, the gameplay revolves around the adventures of Aether and Lumine, the two brothers that are given to us as initial characters. However, in here we follow the story of Kiana Kaslana. Unlike the twins, Kiana is an extremely charismatic protagonist, and she immediately drew me in.
She’s a character that we get to learn more about as you proceed further into the game. She comes from a family whose name carries weight among the Valkyries, certain family members (her aunt and father) well-known characters in the game.
What struck me about Kiana was that the developers put a good deal of attention and affection into its protagonist compared to that of Genshin’s protagonists both in backstory and abilities.
Kiana has many outfits, attributes, and evolutions that make her a very desirable character to have on the team. Unlike Genshin, Aether and Lumine are the first to be abandoned when someone completes a team of four new characters. In fact, this composition of alternating characters is also part of Honkai’s gameplay. However, in Honkai, the most we can unlock is a team of three Valkyries.
The game consists entirely of fights and combos. So far during my playthrough, I have not experienced any open-world gameplay. This is a notable difference compared to Genshin, as there are no worries about collecting, map locations and, of course, the very exhausting character farming.
Many of the items needed to evolve the Valkyries are obtained from the missions themselves or from co-op expeditions. In short, it’s not very complex, and the items for each Valkyrie are basically the same.
There is something also called the Stigmata that plays a role in gameplay. They basically function like the Genshin Artifacts (used to improve some of the character’s attributes), but their names standout. They’re dubbed after famous characters in the real world, such as Shakespeare, Dracula and Elizabeth Báthory.
This is just a unique and subtle touch that makes Honkai Impact 3rd a favorite game of mine. Here are real life references and amidst a gameplay that is easy to sink my teeth into, just the right amount of challenge, but in no way agonizing. With over a year of pandemic stress, this game became my go-to for de-stressing and easing my worries.
Exciting Combat and Dazzling Visuals
Inside Honkai, skits are much less elaborate than Genshin and less annoying. Something that deeply disturbs me is how long and extremely exhausting dialogues can become.
However, Honkai purposely is more action-focused and oriented. Dialogue is not at all drawn out and the Stages are divided into 5–10 minutes events. Everything happens quickly and is energizing, making it hard to be bored when playing.
But in no way is story sacrificed or lost because the game isn’t heavy with dialogue. There is a good flow of fresh stories and content, such as Yae Sakura. While I won’t spoil the story, I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far in my playthrough.
However, for me, I’d say the visual appeal really is a big factor in why I continue to play Honkai. The character designs are gorgeous and I get to play from a cast of strong, courageous women.
A Global Community
There are a good deal of neat features in Honkai and if I had the chance, I could write an essay on them. For the sake of brevity, I wanted to mention a community building feature in the game: Armadas.
These are clubs where you can earn benefits and special coins by joining them. It’s similar to a guild system that you see in RPGs. Special missions are available for each Armada and you can even request a donation of resources within your club. This helps create an absurd sense of community, the chats always active and filled with players. This makes it easier for new players to receive help from more experienced players. You can even strengthen friendships through support in-game during Stages or on Expeditions.
It’s a neat feature for those who want to find an online community and play with others. In Genshin, there is a multiplayer and co-op feature, but I never felt the same level of global community as I do in Honkai. To be honest, you can achieve more in the game through the power of social networking.
Final Thoughts
Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd are different works from each other. Genshin requires a lot of hours of gameplay and investment. While Honkai I can play in bursts, each Stage manageable and be completed in a timely manner.
It’s not a complex game in gameplay, and its only downside is the confusing interface, which leaves everything very little explicit to the player.
Above all, it’s a game that has personally helped me with anxiety, especially as it’s so frenetic and dynamic. It’s something I recommend for avid gamers who want to have a good mobile experience. Sometimes I sit on the bed or couch during the weekend and spend the day (or just an afternoon) comfortably venturing through the battles between Valkyries and Honkai.
The gameplay can come across as repetitive, as the game is mostly combat-focused, but it’s exactly why I reach out to this game to fill the momentary spaces of free time in my life.
If you’re looking for some fun entertainment and low gameplay complexity, I’d recommend Honkai. It’s a fun game that will take your mind off the worries of the world when you’re in need of a breather.
