Honkai: Star Rail has confirmed that one of its playable characters has been killed, and that is an extremely exciting decision for the game’s future.
Summary
- Honkai: Star Rail takes a risky yet positive step by permanently killing off a beloved playable character, showing depth and consequences in its narrative.
- Honkai: Star Rail seems to follow in Honkai Impact 3rd's steps by adding emotional depth and relatability to the story, making the overall experience better.
- Honkai: Star Rail's willingness to embrace permanent character death sets it apart from Genshin Impact, which has yet to take similar bold storytelling risks.
Honkai: Star Rail killed off a playable character in the game’s story and that decision is a risk that may actually pay off in a very positive way. The turn-based RPG by developer HoYoverse, the same creators of Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd, was released in April. Since its original launch, the widely popular title has taken a few bold steps in terms of narratives, and the most recent patch, also known as Version 1.3, may just have hit a pinnacle in that aspect within the game’s early stages. The new update has basically confirmed that a popular character has died.
This article contains spoilers regarding Honkai: Star Rail 1.2 and 1.3’s main story quests and events in the Xianzhou Luofu arc, as well as the main stories for Honkai Impact 3rd and Genshin Impact.
In the previous patch, Version 1.2, players move toward the end of the Stellaron crisis on the Xianzhou Luofu and discover that Tingyun was actually a puppet of sorts for Phantylia in Honkai: Star Rail. Phantylia the Undying is one of the seven Lord Ravagers of the Antimatter Legion and a huge villain in the entire lore of the game. When she reveals herself walking in Tingyun’s body, players witness one of the most shocking scenes in Star Rail: Phantylia twists Tingyun’s neck backward and lets the Foxian’s body collapse – the body later disappears and Tingyun’s fate is shrouded in mystery and uncertainty.
Tingyun Was Treated As Dead In Honkai: Star Rail
It just so happens that Version 1.3’s “Obsequies Performed, A Long Road Ahead” mission basically confirmed that Tingyun was killed off permanently in Honkai: Star Rail. In fact, the entire plot of the main story mission in Version 1.3 revolves around communicating to key members of the Luofu that Tingyun has died and gifting them items that Tingyun had carefully picked out for them. The story ends with a special Foxian ceremony that resembles a funeral. Tingyun’s body is still missing and Yukong pledges to fly a starskiff again in order to uncover the definitive truth behind her ally’s fate, but Tingyun’s death seems rather permanent.
Why Tingyun’s Death In Honkai: Star Rail Is Actually Great
Although the death of Tingyun is a rather sad and tragic event in the main story of Honkai: Star Rail, it is actually a great occasion for the overall narrative of the game. The fact that a beloved playable character can actually be killed off confirms that the turn-based RPG has more depth than ever. This makes the adventures that the Trailblazers take on much more frightening because there are now very damaging consequences for their actions – or, in this case, the villains. There are real and tangible risks involved in solving Stellaron crises across the galaxy. Not only villains and unnamed opponents are killed, but allies and friends.
Honkai: Star Rail is a space fantasy, but the fact that it killed off one of its most popular characters, who is fully playable, confirms that it is mature enough to step away from superficial storytelling. Tingyun’s death shows that the game is ready to delve into places where emotional involvement is crucial to the development of the story itself and that not everyone is safe from having their life erased in the blink of an eye. In fact, with Tingyun’s passing, even core story characters like Himeko, Welt, March 7th, and Dan Heng seem to be at risk under Star Rail’s writers.
Permanent death is a fantastic narrative mechanism to employ in several types of stories, especially in action-infused fantasies like Honkai: Star Rail. It often gives meaning to the journeys of the protagonists, showing exactly what they are fighting for. It also gives depth to sacrifice and shows that they are not immune to punishment for their actions. Even if set in a fantasy universe, death makes stories and characters much more relatable and, in doing so, makes the overall story better. This is because deaths like Tingyun’s stimulate emotional involvement, first by creating affinity and then inspiring grief.
Of course, there is still a chance of Tingyun being encountered either safe and sound or imprisoned, prompting the Trailblazers to save her from doom. Nevertheless, the current implication of her permanent character death in Honkai: Star Rail leads to the aforementioned emotional depth in the game. If Tingyun, one of the most popular playable heroes in the game can die, literally anyone else (except Blade, apparently) can also be killed.
Honkai: Star Rail May Follow Impact 3rd’s Steps
If the other main game in the series, Honkai Impact 3rd, is of any reference, then Honkai: Star Rail may be going down a very positive path. The action RPG is well-known for its deep character-driven storytelling, often boosted by character deaths. One of the most notable ones in the game is the sacrifice of Murata Himeko in a confrontation against the Herrscher of the Void. This conflict is burdened with emotional depth, and it drastically affects the development of the main character, Kiana, who is left without her main mentor.
Himeko’s death, in fact, is the trigger to the path that leads Kiana to become the best Valkyrie in Honkai Impact 3rd’s story. While Tingyun’s death in Honkai: Star Rail may not have been as grand as that of Murata Himeko in the sister game, it may set the stage for future deaths that can have a similar effect on the Trailblazer or other members of the Astral Express.
Genshin Impact Still Lacks The Courage Of Honkai: Star Rail
While Honkai: Star Rail has made a bold move by confirming a major playable character death only months after its release, Genshin Impact seems to lack that courage, even if it is moving toward its third year of content with Version 4.0. Though the popular RPG has seen its fair share of deaths, these were exclusively of villains or secondary characters. They helped build primary characters, but not as much as if actual allies to the Traveler were sacrificed.
Kazuha, for instance, could have died when defending the Traveler from Raiden Shogun’s Musou no Hitotachi. Of course, he lives on to be a hero, but that fact alone could have had a profound impact on both the Traveler and Raiden Shogun as characters. It is early to tell since Genshin Impact seems to be hinting at a major character death coming soon, but so far, Honkai: Star Rail has proved to be better at creating an emotional high by making good use of Tingyun’s death.
