Summary
Story-rich RPGs have a lot of room to expand on their lore through missions and other creative outlets, like collectibles and environmental clues. In the case ofHonkai: Star Rail, HoYoverse managed to insert bits of lore into various interactions within the in-game universe, and probably the most unique world-building the devs came up with is to utilizeHonkai: Star Rail’s wide range of consumables.
Consumables inHonkai: Star Railcan be used to heal and revive characters and buff their stats, among several other things. Many of these items are based ondishes that players can find in existingHonkai: Star Railworlds. Instead of plain healing and mana potions that RPG fans are familiar with, though, the HoYoverse title goes the extra mile with eye-catching consumable designs and interesting descriptions.
Honkai: Star Rail Sets the Bar High For Lore-Building With Its Consumable Items
As a relatively young game,Honkai: Star Rail’s story is still expanding as players follow the Astral Express Crew’s journey across the cosmos. What’s interesting about the game, as well as other HoYoverse titles, is that it doesn’t just depend on story missions and side quests to further the lore. Players can find out : Star Rail’s Aeons, worlds, and characters in other avenues, such as the description of consumables.
Honkai: Star Rail’s consumable items come from various worlds within the game, and their physical design is also inspired by the places where they came from. Penacony, for example, is a Europe-inspired world with savory and decadent dishes that people can find in many western countries, like Clockie Pizza and Hundred-Layer Sundae. Apart from the effects of the consumable items, their description also includes a short background giving players a glimpse of the world’s environment and the people residing there.
Description
Herta Space Station
Founded by Herta, the space station is where researchers from different worlds come to work and convene.
Jarilo-VI
A planet experiencing an Eternal Freeze due to the effects of the Stellaron crisis, which was neutralized by the Trailblazers.
Xianzhou Luofu
Inspired by Asian influences, this world is one of the six Flagships owned by the Xianzhou Alliance.
Penacony
Known as the Planet of Festivities, this Europe-inspired world is a dreamlike paradise with underlying mysteries.
Many RPG fans are used to consumable items only having straightforward descriptions to depict their benefits to characters, so the level of detail that HoYoverse put in to connect consumables to theHonkai: Star Railuniverse is quite impressive. These descriptions are a creative way to build intoHonkai: Star Rail’s lore, as they reference certain characters, places, and even legends within the game. It’s quite similar to howSoulslike games such asDark SoulsandElden Ringprovide players with lore snippets in the descriptions of armor and weapons. Players can also find lore-driven descriptions inHonkai: Star Rail’s Relic sets, Planetary Ornaments, and Light Cones, which often tease future characters and worlds.
Digestible Lore May Be the Way to Go
HoYoverse has successfully built a fan base that’s invested in its games' lore, no matter how convoluted it can get. One would argue that the depth of these games' stories could get too overwhelming for some, especially sinceHoYoverse established a multiverse forHonkai: Star Rail,Genshin Impact, andHonkai Impact 3rd.
While many players are fond of reading blocks of text to learn a game’s lore, having more digestible content like the descriptions of consumable items might be a great world-building tactic for more RPGs in the future, particularly live-service titles likeHonkai: Star Rail. It’s an effective way to offer substantial information without taking too much from players' time and attention.
