Honkai Impact 3rd has been around since 2016 and hasn’t aged particularly well compared to later games from the developer. The stiff translations and the clunky dated combat in the early game make it difficult to get into in 2024. But thankfully, HoYoverse doesn’t want to leave its beloved project in the dust. Last year, HoYoverse announced Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 would launch in late February; fast forward, it’s here, and we’ve put it through its paces to report on what you can expect when playing on your favorite Android gaming phone.
Below, we’ve recorded the 28 minutes of gameplay footage to help you understand precisely what to expect from Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 on Android.
Despite this meaty update (version 7.3) looking brighter and somewhat flashier than the base game, Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 is not a new game. It’s an update. So you can’t just download a dedicated Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 app and get instance access. Instead, you’re expected to grind a little of the base game to access the new story and planet: your account must be level 30, and it requires completing all the tutorials. On a fresh account, that will take around half a day to a day, depending on if you use stamina refills. Based on my own experience, the fastest way to gain account levels is to play the story chapters and finish all the tasks in the Starter’s Manual.
But the good news is that you don’t need to complete or understand Kiana and Mei’s story to hop into Part 2. Part 2 offers a new cast of characters and is set on Mars. The game puts you in the shoes of a different protagonist, the Martian Dreamseeker; the story also takes place after a time skip. No prior knowledge is needed to play Part 2, and that’s a massive plus for newcomers. But be warned that there will be returning characters and some references to the main game, so spoilers are inevitable.
Part 2 revitalizes the combat system; the game emphasizes aerial combat while adding another layer of strategy using the Astral Ring system (similar to the ELF system). All team members will enter an enhanced state that allows a simultaneous re-cast of bursts. When you’re trying to maximize damage, you will aim to charge up the Astral Ring gauge in every situation.
It’s night and day when you move from playing the first five chapters in the base game to a more punchy, responsive combat style in Part 2. Every skill and basic attack feels like it has weight, and the overall dynamics feel similar to the combat in Zenless Zone Zero.
Swapping between your units matters. The game lais out pre-existing synergies for each situation. For example, Coralie was my go-to for breaking shields (fortitude gauge) and being my finisher; Senadine was essential for grouping up monsters for the rest of my team, while I had Helia deal with the flying enemies with her guns. You get a real sense of camaraderie since everyone has a well-defined role. However, in the earlier parts of Impact 3rd, every time I received a new addition, I had no idea how to incorporate them into my main story team; this is not the case so far in Part 2.
Another quality-of-life change compared to early levels of Impact 3rd is exploration. Running from point A to B is the bread and butter of every early-game level in Impact 3rd. Anytime you encounter a platform, you walk to a blue portal, and the game automatically jumps for you. The levels were not interactive, and any weird gimmicks, like piloting mechs, felt overly clunky. But Part 2 introduces a jump button, introducing consequences like falling off platforms. There were also grapple spots that aided your traversal. Plus, there is a lively town hub you can visit in between missions. Overall, the exploration is a humongous step up from what you’ll experience in 1.0.
Town hubs re-appear in Part 2 and are more livelier than ever. You can interact with any of the city folks, buy cosmetics and pick up collectibles.
After re-downloading the app and starting over on a new account, I can confidently say that Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 is a great entry point for new players. This is not to dismiss the legacy the base game has left behind; the story arcs of Kiana and Mei will forever touch our hearts. But for a gacha game where you have no idea where to start in team building and worry about pulling on the wrong banners (for account value) — Part 2 takes that pressure away entirely. You can simply focus on the new Mars characters while collecting all the resources given for free. And you’re not obligated to play through 7 years of story content to catch up, either. The only downside is that you can’t immediately jump into Part 2 without actually playing the first few chapters (of the base game) — which forces you to experience the game’s growing pains.
But if you’re looking for a very punchy action RPG to download on your gaming phone, check out Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 by installing the game through the Play Store widget below.
