Although Honkai: Star Rail has been available for almost six months now, miHoYo continues to support its predecessor, which will get its biggest update ever next year. In February 2024, the company will overhaul Honkai Impact 3rd into a Part 2 version, which will see new and expanded story elements grafted in and combat and other gameplay mechanics totally revised.
In terms of the gameplay, miHoYo will leverage what it has learned from Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail to make things more reactive. Key to this are upgrades to enemy diversity and capabilities to ensure they provide greater, more intelligent challenges. Alongside that is that playable characters can now jump, which allows for more combat strategies. The centerpiece, though, is the new Astral Ring mechanic, which enables multiple characters to use their burst skills simultaneously.
The story, meanwhile, will get a soft reboot. The initial version of Honkai Impact 3rd took place on Earth and the moon, and Part 2 will introduce Mars as a new world that is rich with its own culture and nature. Alongside the new setting come new playable characters and NPCs. All of these changes will be integrated into the existing story.
Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 will continue the story of the original version, which sees you playing as the Captain of the Valkyries, a group of women who are the only ones capable of fending off the apocalyptic threat posed by the Honkai. Although the two games share some characters and themes, Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail aren’t directly connected, though they take place in the same multiverse along with Genshin Impact.
The game originally released in China in 2016 before arriving in other regions over the following two years. It is currently available on mobile devices and PCs, where you can get it either via the bespoke launcher or the Epic Games Store.
