| Honkai: Nexus Anima | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Register & Pre-Order | Review |
Honkai: Nexus Anima is an auto-chess game with characters from within the Honkai universe! Read on to learn how it plays, what it’s about, and everything else we know so far.
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Honkai: Nexus Anima Gameplay
Autochess, Aspects, and Augments
Honkai: Nexus Anima is structured as an autochess game, where players, known as Animasters, command teams of creatures called Anima in duels. Once units are placed on the board, combat happens automatically, in a format similar to Teamfight Tactics and other autochess titles. Resource management is involved, as players decide when to upgrade units, purchase new ones, or adapt to their opponents’ strategies.
Footage shared by HoYoverse also suggests that Animasters themselves play an active role, with possible abilities that can influence playstyles, and the option to switch between different Animasters mid-match as indicated by interface icons for characters like Nanafey and Kiana.
Moreover, the game has several systems that shape combat. Units have Aspects such as Hate, Light, Memory, War, or Pride, which appear to function as affinities or factions that grant synergies when multiple Anima of the same Aspect are deployed.
Alongside this, each Anima possesses a Trait, including Striker, Protector, Blaster, or Mastermind, which likely determines their battlefield role, similar to the way classes operate in other autochess games. For example, Protector could function as tanks, Strikers as melee attackers, and Masterminds might affect positioning or buffs.
Players will also be able to purchase Augments or special power-ups that enhance units for the rest of the match. These are not tied to specific units or items, but rather are choices presented to the player at certain rounds in the game.
Typically, in autochess, these appear at predefined rounds, often after a player battles another. They usually show up at the start of a new stage, such as after the first few rounds of a match, and can reappear multiple times throughout the game. When an augment round occurs, the player is presented with a choice of three options, each with a unique effect. These effects can vary widely; based on the gameplay footage, some can provide coins for purchasing more units and grant passive buffs. These can also create synergies between units that would not normally exist.
Collecting and Exploring with Animas
A creature-collecting system underpins the unit roster. According to job postings and the Nexus Bond Test questionnaire, players will be able to capture and collect Anima with unique designs, including Puddlipup, a dog-like pudding creature; Bunmareen, a jellyfish-bunny; Scorscythe, a dragon with a bladed tail; and Chocllamour, a llama with affection for all things. Whether this system will operate through a gacha system or a direct capture mechanic remains unconfirmed.
Each Anima also seems to double as a companion in exploration outside of combat, with several demonstrated as mounts: Damasque was shown galloping through streets, Frigull allowed gliding from rooftops, and an unknown dragon-like Anima carried the player through the air.
Exploration extends across open environments called "Planes," with the seaside town of Iia serving as one of these hubs for many activities.
Players can create and customize their own avatars, which travel alongside their Anima. The world features interactive activities, including minigames tied to Anima abilities. Demonstrations have shown a racing mode, a third-person shooting sequence, and an event where an Anima demolishes a house.
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Honkai: Nexus Anima Story
All things were once connected through a vast network known as the Nexus. A cataclysm called the Sundering severed this bond, collapsing the world and causing the Aspects that held it together to fracture. From these scattered remnants arose 81 separate universes, now known as the Planes.
The Aspects are the fundamental principles of existence—both philosophical and scientific—that served as the foundations of the world. In the Old World, they existed in pairs such as Light and Dark or Life and Death, with their balance maintained by rulers called Sovereigns. In the New World, however, these concepts exist as singular entities, each governed by a Novarch, who presides over one of the 81 Planes. Blade from Honkai: Star Rail, for example, is identified as the 22nd Novarch.
The fragmented energy of the Nexus also gave rise to beings of pure essence known as Nexus Anima. These entities are now central to the world’s conflicts, summoned and commanded in duels called Nexus Battles. Individuals who command them are known as Animasters, each depicted alongside their companion Anima. Confirmed Animasters include Nanafey, a young girl featured as the game’s poster character; Maple Manybell, Deputy Arena Master of the seaside town of Iia; and Kiana, described as a “Planestrider” and a returning character from Honkai Impact 3rd.
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