Honkai: Star Rail's main protagonist, the Trailblazer, is known for receiving powers from different Aeons. At the start of the game, they're a Physical-type Destruction character, and they evolve into wielding three more ability types as the story progresses. Honkai: Star Rail doesn't fail in diversifying Trailblazer's kit each time, which fits a lot of teams when needed.
One thing that Honkai: Star Rail hasn't done yet is give the Trailblazer alternate skins that they can sport during their adventures. The character gets small adjustments to their appearance whenever they receive a new kit, like The Watchmaker's hat for their Harmony form. But a full makeover, similar to Zenless Zone Zero's leaked Proxy skin, hasn't been done yet, which is a missed opportunity for Honkai: Star Rail.
Zenless Zone Zero’s Xbox Release Leaves One HoYoverse Title Out in the Cold
With Zenless Zone Zero's release on Xbox now imminent, there's still another major HoYoverse title that's not available on the platform.
Should Honkai: Star Rail Follow Zenless Zone Zero's Skin System?
Honkai: Star Rail is no stranger to releasing character skins, with the likes of March 7th and even Pom-Pom, who is an NPC, benefiting from this. As mentioned, Trailblazer has not received any alternate skins despite having the most variants among the roster. A skin system doesn't seem to be high on Honkai: Star Rail's priority list, especially since it also releases 5-star versions of certain 4-star characters, giving them all-new designs and ability kits.
It was teased recently that Zenless Zone Zero's Proxy siblings, Belle and Wise, will get their own skins in an upcoming update. It's a big deal because, technically, the Proxies aren't playable characters. Unlike Honkai: Star Rail's Trailblazer and Genshin Impact's Traveler, the Proxies can only be controlled while strolling around New Eridu, but they don't physically go inside Hollows with other Hunters. Considering that Zenless Zone Zero is also giving skins to other units, it's likely that the game has enough resources to customize select characters' appearances during big updates.
At the same time, this also shows that HoYoverse could implement a skin system for Honkai: Star Rail's Trailblazer if it wanted to. There's also merit to give the Trailblazer their own alternate skin because they're a key player in Honkai: Star Rail's story. It would be interesting to give Trailblazer skins that matched the worlds that they visited, similar to how March 7th's The Hunt form is dressed in Xianzhou Luofu garb. For instance, now that Honkai: Star Rail is in its Amphoreus chapter, Trailblazer could get a Greek-inspired outfit to go with their Remembrance variant. This would make sense because Trailblazer obtains Oronyx's Coreflame of Time in the story, turning them into a demigod with the help of the Chrysos Heirs.
Although Oronyx entrusts the Coreflame of Time to Trailblazer, the protagonist doesn't appear in the "Time" slot in "As I've Written." It's possible that another Coreflame holder will be introduced in the future.
Why Giving a Skin to Honkai: Star Rail's Trailblazer May Be a Bad Idea
On the other hand, it could be good for Honkai: Star Rail to not invest in Trailblazer skins--not yet at least. HoYoverse always makes sure that its games are optimized based on the players' preference, and many Honkai: Star Rail fans play the game on mobile because it's not fully open-world like Genshin Impact. The developer could be focusing its efforts and resources to building future worlds, which are bound to become bigger as the story progresses. Both Penacony and Amphoreus are proof of how Honkai: Star Rail innovates with its maps, so other features like a skin system could be taking a backseat for now.
Perhaps Honkai: Star Rail will give Trailblazer their own skin in a future update. What the game could do is put a changing room of sorts in their Astral Express room, which will also be a great way to make the room more interactive. Once players can change Trailblazer's outfit, they can add more personality to the character during their cosmic journey.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- April 26, 2023
- ESRB
- Teen / Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Simulated Gambling, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Publisher(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unity
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Turn-Based RPG
