Honkai: Star Rail 4.5 takes the Trailblazer's journey to Astropolis as Planarcadia faces catastrophic events. Read on to learn everything we know, our review of this chapter, and more.
Overview
What is Honkai: Star Rail?
Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based RPG that pairs strategic, party-based combat with an ongoing sci-fi fantasy epic. As the Trailblazer, players journey across worlds, meet a growing cast of unique characters, and build teams around different combat Paths and elemental synergies. Alongside its battles, the game offers exploration, puzzle-solving, side content, and regularly expanding story chapters that gradually weave together its larger, interconnected universe.
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Honkai: Star Rail Story Review [4.5 To Roll the Stars in Astropolis] | Short but Sweet Mission Makes for a Stellar Trailblaze
Slower Political Intrigue After Planarcadia's Catastrophe
We're back once again after the catastrophic events of Planarcadia, and this time, while the stakes surrounding the fate of the planet only continue to rise, Honkai: Star Rail 4.5 takes a slightly slower approach. After the action-packed arc of the previous update, we now get to sit back and watch—or rather, participate in—the political machinations surrounding the IPC and the Aeons.
4.5 is great, but it ultimately left me wanting more, especially when the story's runtime is noticeably shorter than previous updates at only around three to four hours. Of course, the experience will be longer with Robin's arc in the Trailblaze Continuance, but for the purposes of this review, I'll be focusing solely on the main Trailblaze Missions.
So, without further ado, let's get on with it.
WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS FOR 4.4 & 4.5 TRAILBLAZE MISSIONS BELOW.
The Nameless Step Away From the Catastrophe for the First Time
After finally defeating Asat Pramad and ultimately saving Himeko from sacrificing herself, we're left with no choice but to flee Planarcadia. Deep beneath the planet, the Leviathan continues to awaken, threatening to destroy Planarcadia and everyone living on it in a way that immediately reminded me of Eternals, where a god is literally waiting to emerge from inside the planet.
But of course, the Nameless wouldn't be the Nameless if they simply left a planet in danger to defend itself. So, in true Honkai: Star Rail fashion, the Astral Express crew is once again separated from one another.
This time, however, the separation feels different. The Trailblazer, March 7th, and Sunday aren't simply taking another route through the same catastrophe. Instead, they're leaving Planarcadia entirely to head to Astropolis, where their mission is to ensure the planet's refugees arrive safely and, more importantly, ask the IPC for help containing the situation.
This is where 4.5 immediately feels different from what HSR usually does. For the first time, we're stepping away from the catastrophe rather than running directly toward it. Instead of being at the center of the world's destruction and looking for a way to stop it ourselves, we're forced to leave it behind and trust the people who stayed. The stakes feel less immediate from a gameplay perspective, but more ominous narratively because we're no longer there to see whether our friends are safe.
It's also the first time we're transporting refugees from one planet to another entirely, which makes the separation from Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng feel even more significant. In a way, it feels as though the responsible adults are passing the mantle to us kids (I know they’re probably in their 20s/30s, but the Trailblazer and March 7th are not trusted adults).
That feeling is especially difficult to ignore after the events of 4.4, where Himeko's death was not just a hypothetical possibility but a reality we had to confront and change. Even though we saved her, knowing that there was a version of events where she died makes the decision to leave her behind all the more unsettling.
The IPC Turns Planarcadia Into a Political Bargaining Chip
This gives 4.5 a totally different vibe because, yes, it slows down the action, but it also shows a different side of HSR. One that we already know is there, but rarely get to experience so directly: The political maneuvering of the IPC.
We've always known that the IPC is willing to get its hands dirty. We've seen its influence, its power, and the way it operates across the universe, but experiencing firsthand just how coldly the organization can treat an entire planet when there is something to gain is a different story. That also makes the timing of this arc particularly effective.
After coming from a catastrophic event where the fate of Planarcadia was already hanging by a thread, with our friends still back on the planet and potentially facing another life-or-death battle, what exactly are we supposed to do? Convince the IPC to use the power of Preservation to seal Planarcadia once more and delay the Leviathan's awakening.
Easy, right? Just get the necessary people to agree to the petition. After all, if the Leviathan fully awakens, the consequences could extend far beyond a single planet and potentially endanger the entire universe.
Except the IPC doesn't see the situation as simply as we do. Some factions believe the Leviathan could be turned into a weapon. And from their perspective, Planarcadia itself—and everyone still on it—is simply collateral damage in exchange for something potentially far more valuable. Saving the planet isn't just about fighting a god-like being anymore. It's about convincing the people with the power to help that doing so is actually worth their time.
This gives 4.5 a different kind of tension. There may be fewer explosions and fewer large-scale battles, but you're never allowed to forget that the real catastrophe is still happening somewhere else. The political maneuvering on Astropolis isn't detached from the events of Planarcadia; every conversation and every decision carries the weight of knowing that while we're busy convincing the IPC to act, our friends are still waiting for help.
For players who have grown used to Honkai: Star Rail solving its biggest problems through a climactic confrontation, this slower approach can initially feel like taking a step back. But that is precisely what makes it interesting. 4.5 turns the usual question of "How do we defeat this?" into something much more frustrating. It lets the nameless ask "How do we convince someone else to help us defeat this before it's too late?"
The Trailblazer is Ready to Kill
But of course, our Nameless hero isn't about to sit there and accept that the only thing they can do is wait. The Trailblazer has always been someone willing to get their hands dirty, and 4.5 once again reminds us that they're not above doing the wrong thing to make sure the right thing gets done.
See, here's a useful tactic if you don't actually want to address a problem: Delay. Delay. Delay. Especially when the issue you're delaying is on a time limit. And that's exactly what some factions within the IPC try to do to us. Rather than outright rejecting the petition and taking responsibility for their decision, they bury it under delays until there might no longer be anything left of Planarcadia to save.
Fortunately, we're way past our tipping point. So, with Asat Pramad's severed head in our possession—yes, we have his head—the Trailblazer threatens to use it against the people who orchestrated the elaborate ruse to delay our petition. If the IPC refuses to listen through proper channels, then fine. The trailblazer would make sure the consequences of ignoring them become someone else's problem.
And wouldn't you know it? After threatening them, we finally get the attention of the big boss, one of the IPC's seven department heads.
This is probably one of the biggest reasons why I enjoyed the slower political direction of 4.5. It doesn't suddenly turn the Trailblazer into a diplomat capable of sweet-talking their way through every situation. Instead, the solution still feels distinctly them. We may not be solving this particular problem with a weapon, but that doesn't mean we're going to politely sit around while everyone else plays politics.
It also makes the arc feel satisfying because we're not simply watching the IPC control the situation while we wait for the story to move forward. We get to push back. We get to remind these people that the Trailblazer and the Nameless may not have the same political power, but we have enough leverage—and enough willingness to cause problems—to make ourselves impossible to ignore.
And that's pretty much the main gist of 4.5. Rather than another action-packed journey through a collapsing planet, it takes us away from the battlefield and into a political conflict where the enemy isn't necessarily someone we can fight. Instead, it's an organization that has the power to save an entire planet but needs to be convinced that doing so is more worthwhile than exploiting the catastrophe.
It's a different side of HSR’s story, and while the slower pace won't necessarily give everyone the same adrenaline rush as Planarcadia's previous chapters, I found the change of direction refreshing. The problem is that just when we’re finally getting somewhere, 4.5 ended and left me wanting much, much more.
Astropolis Has Its Own Problems
Of course, the IPC isn't the only thing standing in our way. Astropolis has its own problems, too. The Imaginaes also exist here, but they're treated as secondary citizens, while the planet itself largely feels like one giant nepotism hub. (ehem, Asta.) Even the diplomats have their own interests and allegiances to consider, making it clear that getting the IPC to help Planarcadia isn't simply a matter of presenting the facts and waiting for the obvious answer.
Which is also what makes Astropolis itself so interesting. It's essentially a hub where different species, factions, and political interests all come together, and 4.5 gives us a chance to actually see how all of these different forces interact. Instead of introducing another planet with a singular identity or conflict, we're seeing a place shaped by the people and interests that pass through it.
There's something fascinating about watching how differently everyone approaches the same situation, especially when Planarcadia's fate is hanging in the balance. Some see it as a humanitarian crisis, others see an opportunity, and some are simply more concerned with how its destruction might affect their own interests. It turns Astropolis into a proper political hub, where every faction has its own agenda and nobody is quite looking at the bigger picture in the same way.
The Seed of Die Will Sprout Soon
There's also a particularly concerning seed planted through Asat Pramad's severed head. Because despite being a Die, his head is still sentient, still capable of thinking, and, more importantly, still capable of plotting.
This isn't just a corpse we can parade around as evidence against the IPC; we're carrying around the remains of someone who was actively trying to bring about the destruction of an entire planet and potentially the universe. And of course, after discovering we have it, the IPC takes the head from us.
Do I need to spell out why that’s bad? Because while the ending of 4.5 may have prevented the IPC from getting the weapon they originally wanted out of Planarcadia, they still walked away with a weapon. We know exactly what some of these factions are willing to do with the Leviathan, so handing them a sentient Die with Asat Pramad's knowledge, memories, and capabilities opens up an entirely different can of worms.
Who knows what they're going to do with him? Experiment on him? Extract whatever information they can? Figure out how to reproduce what makes him so dangerous? At the very least, the IPC now has access to something that we clearly did not want them getting their hands on in the first place.
That's what makes the ending of this chapter so ominous. We might have stopped one catastrophe, but we haven't exactly walked away with a clean victory.
Singular Perspective This Time Around
Another noticeable thing in 4.5 is that it stays much more firmly within the Trailblazer's perspective. Yes, we still get glimpses of what's happening elsewhere and occasionally see the perspectives of characters far from us, but we're no longer actually playing as them.
This does contribute to the shorter runtime, especially compared to previous updates where jumping between different characters could give us entire sequences away from the Trailblazer. But personally, I think it works in 4.5's favor because it gives the story more room to develop our relationship with Nihilux.
And just as I thought back in 4.0, Nihilux has really grown on me. I was right to trust my gut and want her on my team because there's something about her that I've found incredibly easy to get attached to. She's mysterious, she's difficult to read. And throughout 4.5, I kept thinking, there's clearly much more going on beneath the surface than what she's willing to show us.
And when the reveal finally happened, let’s just say I was clutching my pearls. So, whatever complaints I may have about how quickly we got there, I'll give 4.5 this: it got me. I didn't see that particular twist coming, and seeing that suspicion I'd been carrying since 4.0 finally turn into something much bigger was a very satisfying payoff.
Temporary Victory Leave Me Eager for 4.6
While 4.5 doesn't end with us defeating some big bad singular villain, we still manage to thwart the IPC's cruel plans—for now—and buy Planarcadia more time to complete the Phantasmoon Games. And honestly, I think that's a fitting way to end an arc like this.
We didn't save the day by overpowering someone. We simply managed to keep the clock from running out.
Planarcadia is still in danger, the Leviathan is still there, the IPC still has its own plans, and now Asat Pramad is in their hands. In other words, we've won enough to breathe, but certainly not enough to relax. And with everything 4.5 has set up, from the political mess in Astropolis to Nihilux and whatever the IPC plans to do next, I for one can't wait to see where 4.6 takes us.
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Honkai: Star Rail Product Information
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| Title | HONKAI: STAR RAIL |
|---|---|
| Release Date | April 26, 2023 |
| Developer | miHoYo |
| Publisher | Cognosphere Pte., Ltd. |
| Supported Platforms | PC, Mobile, PS5 |
| Genre | RPG, Adventure |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Teen |
| Official Website | Honkai: Star Rail Website |
