Honkai: Star Rail version 4.0 update is here. After averting world-destroying crises and watching our friends and family suffer, a world connected to Elation seems like quite the vacation. Although we probably would have said the same thing about Penacony until it all collapsed. It’s definitely not going to end like this, is it? (Yes. We’re all a little traumatized at this point.)

So it’s a journey to Planarcadia. Welcome to a world where the Masked Fools gather and discuss… Well, whatever it is, the Masked Fools think it’s important. The domain of high spirits, Planarcádia, is a silly (and somewhat dark) place. You know what they say about what’s behind every smile. It is also Himeko’s homeworld – the place where she repaired the crashed Astral Express.

MMOBomb got the chance to take a first look at the new update of the free-to-play ARPG. Claro, we won’t delve too deeply into the whole story. In this house we don’t believe in spoilers.

What everyone already knows is that the Astral Express family’s next destination is Planarcadia, and that they are visiting during the Phantasmoon Games at the invitation of the IPC, which oversees the planet. Specifically, Pearl, one of the Ten Stone Hearts, is tasked with caring for Planarcadia. As you can probably imagine, there is some tension between the followers of Aha and the followers of Qilpoth.

Add The Hunt, a bit of Harmony and The Trailblaze to this mix and things are heating up. We don’t just talk about the games. As always, everyone has their own agenda. And there are also puzzles to solve.

So what can we tell you about the new update without being too vague? As you might expect, almost everything on this planet is silly. There really is a happy moon who probably suffered brain damage in his head from the rocket hanging in the sky. (I like to think that the moon is inspired by the 1902 French silent film “A Trip to the Moon,” which features a moon that looks equally silly but slightly more frightening.)

The city is full of “Imagenae”, creatures from paintings come to life and are integrated into everyday work. It’s a bit like inventing an imaginary friend and telling him that he needs to get a job. Oh yeah, and the Nameless are really that famous. It’s a small problem.

Since this is a silly world, getting around is equally silly. The small Mario-esque platforming levels shown in the special are a fairly standard way to get from one place to another in the world, including the Masked Fools hangout The Tavern, which is quite a bit larger than any decent tavern should be.

There are other platform games too. Players will find consoles in each of the zone’s main areas. These are for the Star Rabbit game. These can be played at any time. No entanto, players can only play in Hell mode initially. There is a cheat mode, but it must be unlocked by collecting small, jelly-like, cube-shaped creatures known as nameless Wispae.

The update also introduces two story-focused side content, both of which were featured in the special program. The first is a dice/card game that is fairly easy to play. During the game, each player receives a character card with hit points and attack and defense values. Roll the dice and try to achieve the highest dice rolls possible to attack your opponent or defend yourself against the attack. The mode also features a number of modifiers to make things a little more interesting. Aside from the story content surrounding the game, players can challenge NPCs in the wilderness as long as they have the marker above their head.

The other content concerns a group of troublemakers known as Furbos: imagenae who try to make a living as paparazzi. It is up to the Trailblazer to help them. Claro, both activities offer some rewards, including Stellar Jades and Lightcones. So it’s worth doing them.

What would a new Honkai: Star Rail update be without new banners? As we know, we get some Elation characters, starting with General Yao Guang, Seer strategist and leader of the Xianzhou Yuque. The other is Sparxie, a very popular live streamer on Planarcadia. As Elation characters, both are subject to the “Aha Instant,” an effect that causes them to use their Elation ability and cause other characters on the team to enter the “Certified Banger” state that lasts for two turns.

Of course I had to test this and put both Madam Yao and Sparxie on a team along with the Trailblazer and Sunday. Then they all went to beat up the Sunday boss, because we all like to torture Sundays. After messing around with buffs a few times and abusing Sparxie’s ability, the enthusiasm abilities kicked in and it was all over. I didn’t even really have time to ram the train into Sunday’s face.

I should note that in this case I used fully loaded E6 characters with fully superimposed light cones. No entanto, I forgot to use a Cone of Light, Relics, or Eidelons on Sparxie on my first attempt, and she still flattened him when the Exhilaration skill showed up. I firmly believe that these Elation characters are not to be trifled with.

The update also boosts Black Swan and the OG Sparkle. Unfortunately, I haven’t actually played any of these characters and can’t really give an informed opinion on how the changes feel compared to before. And while the update includes plenty of events, we weren’t able to try them out because they’re only available after the update launches.

All in all, updating to version 4.0 is a bit of a hassle. The main story gave me a few laughs, and I did the same when I tried out some of the side content. But it wasn’t all giggles. Some serious things are happening in Planarcadia. There will be some real shocks and surprises. And it was there in this update. Although they (majoritariamente) just added to the mystery.

After experiencing Penacony and Amphoreus, I am prepared for trauma at some point. But not immediately. For now, just have a good time on this deeply strange planet that makes Penacony seem almost normal.

**note: The images in this article are from the beta client and may have changed in the live version.**