- Honkai: Nexus Anima’s story immediately pulls players into its mysterious shattered world.
- Stunning visuals and beautifully animated Anima make every exploration feel vibrant and memorable.
- Open-world exploration rewards curiosity with collectible Anima, hidden activities, and immersive environments.
Honkai: Nexus Anima is the highly anticipated HoYoverse game that brings a whole new experience from the makers of Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact, and Zenless Zone Zero. The game is set in a shattered universe that was once the Nexus, which will take us to travel each fragmented plane to forge bonds with more Anima.
The game offers an intriguing storyline, creature collecting, breathtaking visuals, and a blend of open-world exploration with auto-battler combat. As a tester of the beta version of Honkai: Nexus Anima during the Evolution Test phase, I had been given the chance to experience the wonders the game offers, and here’s my first impression of the same.
From the very beginning, I was enthralled by the visuals of the world, the characters, and especially the Anima. The characters are very well designed, and each one pairs perfectly with their respective Anima. There are plenty of cutscenes, and although they are relatively short, they are beautifully made and constantly left me wanting to see more.
The environments are bright and peaceful, making exploration feel relaxing and carefree. The Anima designs are one of the things that surprised and impressed me the most. Every Anima has its own unique appearance, and its design reflects its abilities and personality.
Honkai: Nexus Anima visuals (Image via HoYoverse)
The animations during both exploration and battle are effortlessly stunning. Each Anima has exploration skills that are smooth and seamless to use, while the bonding animations feel mystical and polished. The auto-battle visuals also add a satisfying sense of impact, especially the ultimate animations of the playable characters.
Just like other HoYoverse games, there is a way to fast-forward time. However, Honkai: Nexus Anima approaches it differently from its sister titles, making the mechanic feel fresh while still being intuitive. Its unique style of fast-forwarding is swift, stylish, and well-animated.
One thing I was slightly disappointed by was the lack of summoning animations for the gacha system. Both the Eidos banner and the Anima banner feel somewhat plain, and I had expected a proper animation sequence. Hopefully, HoYoverse adds one in the future to make the experience feel more exciting.
The Anima shows that they can be cute and dangerous
Jumping into the game, I had no previous knowledge of the gameplay and was surprised but also impressed by the flow of the game. Different Anima have different skills that you can use during exploration, and the animation for each skill is smooth and seamless. The creature collecting aspect is implemented into the open world exploration as well as the gacha mechanics.
Honkai: Nexus Anima gameplay (Image via HoYoverse)
Forging a bone with an Anima introduces the auto battle gameplay. Using the collected Anima, you battle it out with other Anima, and once you defeat them, you have the chance to forge a bond with the Anima. As this gameplay stands on strategy alone, you use the collected Anima and make a formation that can effectively defeat the enemy’s formation.
Throughout the game, there are many other mini games that we are welcome to enjoy. These were small additions I discovered through the story, and I genuinely enjoyed how they broke up the gameplay, which consists of racing, shooting contests, and furniture-destroying activities, to name a few.
The open world encourages you to slow down and explore
The open world aspect is a huge part of the game and offers a small respite from the story should you need a break. Many different Anima are shattered across the planes of Nexus, and this makes leveling up your Anima’s rapport very easy. Collecting Anima is simple but also not guaranteed.
Honkai: Nexus Anima exploration (Image via HoYoverse)
Battling to forge a bond with an Anima is straightforward, but successfully obtaining one is never guaranteed. This gives the game a nice sense of challenge instead of making creature collecting feel too easy. Similar to Pokémon GO, Anima can escape if you fail too many bonding attempts. Thankfully, they respawn in the same location, so you can always come back and try again later.
It’s the little details that complete the experience
One feature I personally enjoyed was being able to rename my Anima however I wanted. Giving your companions custom names makes them feel much more authentic to my liking and manages to create a stronger connection throughout your journey.
The music also plays a huge role in both the story and exploration. It shines the most during emotional story moments, where it adds even more weight to the narrative. During exploration, the soundtrack perfectly complements the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere of the open world.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Honkai: Nexus Anima has captivated my attention, and my opinion is increasingly positive about this experience. The story is enthralling, the Anima and character designs are diverse, and the animation is beautifully done. The game gives a relaxing atmosphere during exploration and a more competitive vibe with the auto-battle combat.
As someone who tested the game on an Android tablet, I was pleasantly surprised by its keyboard support, which made the overall gameplay experience much smoother and more comfortable. Based on my time with the Evolution Test, Honkai: Nexus Anima certainly lives up to the anticipation. It is an enjoyable experience from start to finish, and I can’t wait to continue my journey as an Animaster.
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