Honkai: Star Rail

The Astral Express is a train, and its route crosses the galaxy. Honkai: Star Rail is HoYoverse's space fantasy RPG: you ride that train from world to world, chasing the Stellaron — objects that seed disaster wherever they land — and gathering the companions each stop adds to the crew. Some faces will be familiar if you know the Honkai games; none of the knowledge is required.

Every stop is a different genre wearing science fiction clothes. A space station where dangerous Curios are sealed away; a planet locked in eternal winter; a vast starship hunting abominations; a planet of festivities that runs on sweet dreams; a land where destiny hangs by a thread. The story gives you choices, and the cutscenes are rendered with the kind of budget usually reserved for anime series, backed by full voice acting in several languages.

Combat is turn-based and proud of it. Teams are built around character paths and elements, and fights reward reading the enemy and sequencing abilities — weakness breaks, ultimates timed mid-turn, follow-up attacks chaining off each other. Swapping your lineup for a boss is the game, not a failure state, and the roster keeps deepening as the journey adds worlds.

It is free to start with optional in-game purchases, including randomized character pulls, so the gacha rules apply: set a budget if you chase favorites. For players who want an RPG with a real story, real strategy, and a train window view of a dozen strange worlds, this is the current standard.