Is Honkai Star Rail Related to Genshin Impact?

HoYoverse’s new game Honkai: Star Rail has been making waves among gacha enthusiasts. Genshin Impact players are also going along for the ride, with many players noticing the similarities between the two games including the art style, progression and a similar gameplay loop. This has led many to wonder if Honkai Star Rail is related to Genshin Impact.  

Is there a HoYo-multi-verse?

One of the biggest ways Honkai Star Rail is related to Genshin Impact is their publisher, Chinese video game development and publishing company miHoYo who relaunched themselves under the brand HoYoverse. Let's look to answer the question, is Honkai Star Rail related to Genshin Impact?

HoYoverse has confirmed these games are not sequels or prequels to each other. However, the worlds within Honkai, Genshin and Honkai Impact 3rd are all part of a shared multiverse called the Imaginary Tree. All three games exist parallel to each other. At the beginning of Genshin Impact, we see the Traveler landing in Teyvat following a battle with the Unknown God on another world. Fans have long speculated this too mean they fell from the world of Honkai: Star Rail due to the Traveler’s powers which strangely resemble the paths in Honkai: Star Rail rather than the Archons. Such revelations have led many fans to speculate about mega crossover events, like a possible Honkai Star Rail x Genshin Impact collab. 

Honkai Star Rail and Genshin Impact Similarities

Players of both games were quick to note that both games have similar anime-inspired character designs, grand set pieces, and beautiful sequences and particle-effect animation. Fans have also seen similarities in characters like Kafka and Rosaria, Dan Heng and Zhongli and Bailu & Qiqi. 

Both games also share a number of gameplay similarities including progression, gear system and the basic gameplay loop. Honkai has counterparts for many of the systems featured in Genshin. For example, Artifacts in Genshin are Relics in Honkai, working on the same principles. Similarly, both Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail are story-driven single-player games with daily missions to complete, EXP to grind out.

Like most gacha games both these games have a stamina gauge that can be refilled using different in-game items. The only major difference is Genshin’s  real-time take on gameplay versus Honkai’s turn-based combat. Both games are ultimately gacha games, with players having to roll/pull summons with a chance of getting common items or pulling a rarity. 

A final point of difference is the availability of the games. While Honkai: Star Rail is currently available on Android, iOS, and PC, it is not yet available on consoles. However, HoYoverse is soon releasing a PlayStation version of the game.