Story Highlights
- Honkai: Nexus Anima’s story immediately pulls players into its mysterious shattered world.
- Stunning visuals and beautifully animated Anima make every exploration feel vibrant and memorable.
- Open-world exploration rewards curiosity with collectible Anima, hidden activities, and immersive environments.
Honkai: Nexus Anima is the exciting new game from HoYoverse, the creators of popular titles like Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact, and Zenless Zone Zero. Set in a broken universe once known as the Nexus, players will journey through different realms and build relationships with beings called Anima.
Honkai: Nexus Anima is a game with a captivating story, the ability to collect creatures, stunning graphics, and a unique mix of open-world exploration and auto-battler fights. I recently tested an early version of the game during its Evolution Test, and here are my initial thoughts.
Honkai: Nexus Anima’s visuals immediately leave a lasting impression
I was immediately captivated by the game’s stunning visuals – the world itself, the characters, and particularly their Anima companions. The character designs are excellent, and each one feels perfectly matched with its Anima. While the cutscenes aren’t long, they’re beautifully crafted and always left me eager to see what happened next.
The game’s environments are cheerful and calming, making it enjoyable to explore. I was particularly struck by the designs of the Anima – each one is visually distinct, and their look really shows what they can do and what kind of character they have.
The game’s animations are beautifully done, both when you’re exploring the world and during battles. Each character moves fluidly and their special abilities look fantastic. The animations that play when characters bond with each other feel magical and refined, and even watching the auto-battle system is satisfying – especially seeing the powerful ultimate attacks!
Similar to other games from HoYoverse, Honkai: Nexus Anima lets you speed up time, but it does so in a unique way. While the core idea is familiar, the execution feels new and exciting. The fast-forward effect is quick, visually appealing, and smoothly animated.
I was a little let down by the gacha summoning process – it doesn’t have any special animations. Both the Eidos and Anima banners feel a bit basic, and I was hoping for something more visually impressive. Hopefully, HoYoverse will add animations in the future to make summoning feel more exciting.
The Anima shows that they can be cute and dangerous
Starting the game with no prior experience, I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it played. Each Anima – the collectible creatures – has unique skills with beautiful animations, and you discover them while exploring the expansive open world through a gacha system.
Combining Anima creates automatic battles. You collect Anima and use them to fight against other Anima. If you win, you can form a bond with the defeated Anima. This system relies entirely on strategy – you’ll use your collected Anima to create a team that can beat your opponent’s team.
The game also includes lots of fun mini-games that you’ll find as you play. These little breaks from the main action – which involves racing, shooting challenges, and even destroying furniture – were a welcome surprise and added a lot to my enjoyment.
The open world encourages you to slow down and explore
The game features a large, open world that lets you take a break from the main story if you want. Finding and connecting with Anima – the game’s collectible characters – is made easier by the fact that they’re scattered throughout the world of Nexus, making it simple to improve your relationships with them. However, finding specific Anima isn’t always a sure thing.
It’s easy to try and connect with Anima, but there’s no guarantee you’ll actually be able to add them to your team. This makes the game challenging and prevents collecting creatures from feeling too simple. Like in Pokémon GO, Anima might run away if you fail to bond with them repeatedly. Don’t worry, though – they always reappear in the same spot, so you can try again whenever you’re ready.
It’s the little details that complete the experience
I especially liked that I could give my Anima any name I chose. It really made each companion feel unique and helped me build a closer bond with them as I played.
Music is central to both the game’s story and its open-world experience. It powerfully enhances emotionally charged scenes, adding depth to the narrative. While exploring, the music creates a calm and soothing backdrop that perfectly matches the peaceful environment.
Final Thoughts
I’ve really been enjoying Honkai: Nexus Anima and am becoming more and more impressed with it. The story is gripping, the character and Anima designs are varied and interesting, and the animation is gorgeous. The game offers a peaceful experience while you explore, but the auto-battles add a nice competitive edge.
I tested Honkai: Nexus Anima on an Android tablet and was really happy with how well the keyboard worked – it made playing much easier and more comfortable. After playing the Evolution Test, I can confidently say the game lived up to the hype! It’s fun from beginning to end, and I’m excited to keep playing as an Animaster.
2026-07-26 14:12