Having launched to tremendously positive reviews – so much so that developer Hoyoverse is throwing a little weekend party to celebrate and giving away ten free pulls – Honkai Star Rail is one of the games that has gotten a great deal of praise for its main character, the Trailblazer – who stands out from Genshin Impact’s Traveler protagonist.
In a recent post on the Honkai Star Rail subreddit, the Trailblazer is quoted as saying, “The absence of the Paimon companion makes this game so much better than it would otherwise be.” Consequently, the Trailblazer’s dialogue is infused with a lot more personality, since they participate in conversations themselves, rather than through a proxy. Additionally, the writing style that is used in Star Rail is also more colorful and interesting than that of Genshin, which tends to play it safe often.
“Watching the MC being sassy and just being a goofball makes the character interactions and the overall story much more enjoyable for me,” Kiretsu says.
“I despise how we’re lucky in Genshin if the Traveler gets to speak even one line during an event. The Trailblazer actually having multiple speaking lines is a breath of fresh air,” Dragore adds.
“Paimon felt like a child that had to explain things to an even stupider child sometimes, it was so rare for characters to just interact like people in Genshin, even in casual group hangout scenes,” says MillionMiracles.
“I also love his/her flavorful choices of dialogues, ranging all the way from thoughtful and humble to silly and straight up a-hole sometimes,” tonyshark116 says of Honkai Star Rail’s Trailblazer.
Numerous players have come forward with specific lines that, um, characterize the Trailblazer in some way. There is a bit where the scientist Herta asks you to come to her lab, and you have two options: “Yes, ma’am” or “Beg me then.” Other moments provide fun breaks in the fourth wall, and this kind of stuff can actually make you curious for future dialogue options. It is even amusing to see that Paimon is prone to warn you about off-limits or unfinished areas in Genshin, as well as warning you about off-limits areas. Also, there is a truly sentimental interaction about hiding in a hotel wardrobe, and it has gone on to inspire fans to create artwork based on it.
My personal goals when writing the Trailblazer have been to make her a character that is honest, good-natured, and does not really know her own strength or understand much of anything about the world around her. In the end, she is an amnesiac who has been born through the magic of space. The dialogue supports this approach very well, and I must admit that I was surprised by how well it worked in this case. Despite the noticeable improvements to Genshin Impact’s writing that have come about since their recent patches, the game retains a very poor sense of personality, and that’s despite the fact that you could literally wring out every last bit of personality available in Genshin Impact’s Traveler. Honkai Star Rail on the other hand, is an RPG with the potential for actual role-playing.
