Genshin Impactis a game that very quickly became almost a household name overnight. The game’s world of Teyvat, the story of the Archons, exploration, combat, and the colorful cast of Vision users drew in a huge crowd almost immediately, and a large portion of that original fanbase still plays it to this day. However, the newest Mihoyo (now HoYoverse) game,Honkai: Star Rail, is the new hotness on the scene and it follows a similar format gameplay-wise except for one major detail,Honkai: Star Railis turn-based combat rather than active combat.
RELATED:Great Games with Long Co-Op Campaigns
Regardless of the gameplay differences, both titles have players taking control of a magical self-insert ‘protagonist’ of sorts with the Traveler inGenshinand the Trailblazer inHonkai. And, while these two (technically four) characters serve the same purpose, they’re vastly different characters overall, so let’s look at just a few of the ways the Trailblazer is already in the lead.
8Diverse & Visually Stunning Weaponry
While the Traveler can alternate between different Elemental properties such as Anemo, Geo, Electro, and Dendro, the weapon they use remains the same. They use this pretty standard-looking shortsword that seems like it popped right out of the tutorial area for anyFromSoftwaregame. Quite honestly, it’s one of the most boring-looking weapons an MC has used in any game for quite a long time, despite the fan theories players have made about why it looks this way.
Meanwhile, the Trailblazer already has two different weapons to pick from, each with its own unique visual flair. Forthe Physical Element Destruction Path Trailblazer, they use a baseball bat with some constellation or space-themed particle effects. Andfor the Fire Element Preservation Path Trailblazer, they use this molten lance that seems to constantly be at its peak heat almost like a sun in the form of a weapon. Not only is a baseball bat a hilarious weapon for a protagonist to use in a space setting, in general, but it’s also somewhat iconic for pastHonkaicharacters with stoic personalities and grey hair to use baseball bats.
7One’s A Trash Gremlin & The Other Is Pretty Normal
Next up on our comparisons let’s talk about the personalities of both of these characters. Both the Traveler and the Traiblazer follow the standard format for an MC in any party-driven action game where they’re primarily silent and stoic so that players can easily ‘insert themselves’ as the protagonist of their party of characters.
But, while the Traveler is more like aFire Emblem protagonist in that their personality is pretty non-existent or stepped on by Paimon’s dialogue, the Trailblazer is a total oddball. Even if players don’t explore andencounter the Trailblazer’s hilarious secret fascination with trashcansor read any of their incredibly-flirty texts to other characters, there are just a lot of moments where all three of the dialogue choices players have for the Trailblazer are different flavors of chaotic.
6Confidence & Contrived Manner Of Speaking
The ‘texting’ aspect ofHonkai: Star Railis another aspect that makes it easier for players to relate to their cast of characters.Genshin Impactis set in a fantastical medieval-like world, so there aren’t really phones that people are using to call and text each other.
RELATED:The Best Hidden Achievements In Games
However, everyone has a phone inHonkai, and the Trailblazer texts quite a lot. Whether this is to check in on a friend from a planetthe Astral Express space choo-choo trainhas already finished helping or simply to flirt with Himiko while on an assignment, the Trailblazer talks like a normal person. And, when players do choose the more ‘unrestrained’ options for a response text, the Trailblazer uses so much confidence when saying them that most times it still actually pushes the conversation forward. Meanwhile, the Traveler almost never talked at all and if they do attempt to say anything weird or unique, Paimon is typically the only one to really ‘respond’ to it.
5Raw In-Universe Power Levels
Time to get into a tried and true favorite when comparing anime-aesthetic characters, let’s start discussing power levels. Granted, Mihoyo fans have gotten to see a lot more of what the Traveler is capable of over the course of the game’s numerous content, boss fights, and story updates, whileHonkai: Star Rail(at the time of writing this) really only has two ‘major’ boss fights.
RELATED:The Best Crossplay Games to Play Right Now (June 2023)
Still, given what players know about Aether and Lumine in the lore of Teyvat and what they’ve seen of Caelus and Stella, it’s clear that the Trailblazer is just a more powerful being. Not only is it still unclear if the Trailblazer is actually human, but they’ve got a Stellaron shoved in their chest (thanks Kafka), which is a world-ending device created by Nanook, the God of Destruction of their world. Meanwhile, the Traveler is a heavily nerfed god/deity from another universe that has slowly been getting their abilities back at a snail’s pace.
4No Jumping Vs Limited Stamina
Moving on to probably the most noticeable mechanic difference between the two games, outside of the combat, the stamina and jump systems. InGenshin Impact, traversal is a large part of the core gameplay loop. Players are meant to climb everything to find collectibles, almost like a never-ending Tears of the Kingdom-style Korok Seed hunt However inHonkai: Star Rail, players don’t even get a jump button.
They can only run, attack, use their character’s Technique, or interact with objects/people. But in exchange,HSRplayers don’t need to ever worry about running stamina, one of the biggest banes against playingGenshin Impact. Granted, this is more of somethingHSRhas overGIinstead of a Trailblazer vs Traveler comparison, but technically this means the Trailblazer is great at cardio while the Traveler is ‘just okay’.
3Switching Elements On The Trailblazer Is A Breeze
Efficiency and convenience are everything in a mobile game, especially one with so many daily tasks. If something mundane takes a needlessly long amount of time to do, and players will have to do it often, then it can become really frustrating. For example, to switch elements inGenshin Impact, players will need to travel to any nearby Statue of the Seven to do so, which is an added menu and a loading screen’s worth of time.
Meanwhile, to switch both elements and Paths inHonkai: Star Rail, players just need to go to the Trailblazer in the Character Menu. Here they can switch between the two configurations with ease, making it faster and more convenient than the Traveler’s method.
2Aeons Are So Much Cooler Than Archons
BothGenshin ImpactandHonkai: Star Railhave very deep and intricate settings/stories for mobile games (their two ‘universes’are also canonically connected as well).GI’sworld of Teyvat, the Visions, and the lore of the Archons are all incredibly interesting. However, with just the little bit ofHSR’sstory that has been released so far, the setting already seems cooler. Aeons, in particular, are much more interesting than Archons simply because they’re so diverse and represent entire concepts.
While Venti is the Archon of Freedom, he’s just a little bard boy in terms of appearance. Meanwhile, Aha, the Aeon of Erudition inHSR, is a literal sentient mass of masks with different expressions. Additionally, the concept of getting an Aeon’s ‘gaze’ from across the cosmos and that’s how people end up on their Paths is just so much cooler at a base level than an Archon ‘recognizing’ a specific person and granting them a Vision. Given the fact that more than20+ characters are already in the works forHSR, if the leaks are actually true, there are a lot of potential instances for even more Aeon lore to be uncovered as well.
1No Paimon, Just March 7th
And finally, let’s end the comparisons with a pretty polarizing take, the fact that the Trailblazer is better than the Traveler simply because the Trailblazer doesn’t come with Paimon as a package deal.
While some people love Paimon and others really hate her, there are a lot of scenes where Paimon directly talks over the MC or responds to the MC’s dialogue option instead of the intended recipient, which can make a lot of conversations with NPCs feel unimpactful.
Meanwhile, the Trailblazer has March 7th as the ‘Paimon’ comparison character and March 7th is great as both a likable characterand a fantastic unit in a team comp. While she has a lot of the same pros and cons as Paimon, the Trailblazer and March 7th are kindred spirits in a lot of ways and there are some hilarious momentsin certain NPC questlineswhere it feels like the two of them are sharing the same brain cell.
Honkai: Star Railis available now for PC and mobile devices. PS4 and PS5 versions are in development.
