Honkai Star Rail's Planarcadia story explores the chase for internet fame

Honkai Star Rail's worlds can look and feel wildly different, but lead game designer Chengnan An says their themes start with the stories and characters the team wants to introduce. That approach has led to Planarcadia, a destination whose focus on clout and internet fame gives the space-faring RPG a way to examine issues much closer to home.

In an interview with Pocket Tactics, An described Planarcadia's theme as “clout is king.” The world is also significant to the Astral Express crew: it is Himeko's homeworld and the place where the train restarted its journey. Its similarities to the real world make the pursuit of attention feel more familiar than the setting's cosmic scale might suggest.

“We developers also want to explore some more modern-day issues together with our players through the stories,” An said. He connected that aim to Planarcadia's portrayal of people seeking clout and others watching it happen.

A world's theme has to move the wider story forward

An said a new destination is not conceived simply around a cultural look. He pointed to the Xianzhou Luofu as a way to introduce the opposing paths of The Hunt and Abundance, while Penacony's invitations created an opportunity to bring more factions into Honkai Star Rail's cosmic story. Planarcadia's online-fame theme is another example of a setting doing narrative work beyond establishing a backdrop.

That takes considerable lead time. According to An, developing the concepts for an entirely new world takes more than 15 months, after which the team can build characters and scenes around its core idea. He said planning only one update ahead would not give the team enough room to keep its stories and characters connected. He did not disclose the setting planned for version 5.0 or beyond.

Why a playable Aeon is a support character

The interview also addressed Aha, the first of Honkai Star Rail's godlike Aeons to become playable. An said Aha was a fitting choice because she is the most human-like Aeon. Her role in battle was designed around supporting other characters rather than overwhelming the combat system with the power associated with an Aeon. The Elation path's Aha Instant mechanic similarly gives other characters a chance to take the spotlight.

An also explained why recent updates have included new versions of familiar characters alongside entirely new faces. Players need time to get to know a new character, he said, and introducing too many at once could make it harder to form a connection with them. That does not mean the team lacks new ideas: An said it has more than ten unreleased characters at any given time. He hinted that players might see some long-awaited characters in the next year, but named none.

Version 4.8 is set to bring a crossover with fellow HoYoverse game Zenless Zone Zero. Astra Yao and Ellen Joe are due to visit the Astral Express, while Kafka and Robin will head to Zenless Zone Zero's New Eridu. An said Kafka's fast-paced fighting style made her well suited to an action game, while Robin's career as a singer made a visit to another world feel natural.