One of the biggest mobile launches of 2023 is Honkai: Star Rail, which was also released for PC and PlayStation 5. A turn-based RPG, Honkai: Star Rail is a sequel to 2016’s Honkai Impact 3rd and easy to pick up and play and delightfully hard to put down.
For those who enjoy Honkai: Star Rail and are looking for similar games to keep the good times rolling, there are plenty of titles to follow up with and broaden players’ horizons. From mobile ports of timeless classic RPGs to newer games carrying the genre into a new generation, there is something for every Honkai: Star Rail fan. Here are the best games like Honkai: Star Rail RPG fans should check out.
Genshin Impact
Let’s get one of the more obvious choices out of the way first, with developer MiHo Yo’s other enormously successful mobile game, Genshin Impact. Though not a turn-based RPG like Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact has a lot of the same design sensibilities and immersive appeal. Genshin Impact takes place in the fantasy world of Teyvat, which is divided into seven kingdoms, each ruled by a different elemental god as the player searches for their lost sibling.
An ambitious experience for mobile users, Genshin Impact rewards exploration and provides an epic story divided into chapters set in each of Teyvat’s kingdoms. While the optional microtransaction mechanic can be a bit tedious at times, Honkai: Star Rail veterans should be familiar with their presence. Genshin Impact is one of the most popular mobile games worldwide, and its success comes from its sweeping environments, accessible gameplay, and gorgeous design as the ultimate in mobile fantasy world-building.
Reverse: 1999
Another popular turn-based RPG for mobile devices coming out of China this year is Reverse: 1999, developed and published by Bluepoch. Beginning in the final minute of 1999 in London, the game has the world revert into a steampunk fantasy realm as timelines converge as the clock nears midnight. Making friends from multiple eras, the protagonist Storm sets out to learn what exactly happened and defend this odd pastiche reality.
Though turn-based like Honkai: Star Rail, Reverse: 1999 revolves around a card-based combat system for its combat mechanics. Player characters are linked to six different elements, dubbed Afflatus in the game, each with their own weaknesses and strengths as parties of three take on opponents. Cards can then be upgraded as decks are built to optimize the Reverse: 1999 experience, adding a whole new level of depth to the captivating mobile game.
Chrono Trigger
1995’s Chrono Trigger is not only one of the best games ever released for the Super Nintendo but one of the best titles in the RPG genre overall. The game features a group of adventurers who travel throughout history to prevent a cataclysmic incident from coming to pass, exploring everything from the prehistoric era to a post-apocalyptic future populated by humans and sentient robots alike. Players recruit a whole host of characters, battling the extraterrestrial monster Lavos, who seeks to harvest Earth’s energy for himself.
In addition to spawning an entire franchise, Chrono Trigger has been re-released on a variety of platforms, including the PlayStation, PC, and modern mobile devices. The mobile release is upgraded and optimized, taking advantage of the more advanced hardware capabilities with its overall technical presentation. These changes underscore just how well Chrono Trigger has aged over the years in comparison to its contemporaries, as it remains one of the best RPGs on the market nearly 30 years after its initial launch.
Sea of Stars
One of the best games launched in 2023 is the turn-based RPG Sea of Stars, released for PC and all modern gaming consoles. Set in a fantasy realm, the game follows protagonists Valere and Zale as they tap into the powers of the sun and the moon to combat a fearsome alchemist known as the Fleshmancer. This escalating use of magic causes the creation of an entire multiverse, with Valere and Zale recruiting friends along the way to help them defeat the Fleshmancer once and for all.
Sea of Stars is an overt love letter to the turn-based RPGs of the 16-bit era, bringing in Chrono Trigger and Xenogears composer Yasunori Mitsuda as a clear musical nod. Sea of Stars masters the tricky balance of evoking nostalgia without coming off as dated, with a presentation reminiscent of the era it’s celebrating but lushly and immersively rendered for modern audiences. A triumph of the genre and a strong reminder of its continued viability, Sea of Stars is a must-have for any RPG fan.
Final Fantasy VIII
Over 35 years since its launch, Final Fantasy remains very much the gold standard in RPGs, with a franchise continuing to reinvent itself in new and exciting ways. A number of classic Final Fantasy titles have been ported to mobile devices in the past several years, including the perennially underrated Final Fantasy VIII. Originally released for the PlayStation in 1999, Final Fantasy VIII has a mercenary named Squall take on a twisted sorceress at the head of a military regime.
Any game released in the shadow of the iconic and genre-defining Final Fantasy VII was going to face a high bar of expectation, and this was very much the case for Final Fantasy VIII. With a refined combat system and memorable characters, Final Fantasy VIII is one of the strongest entries in the long-running franchise, if not the strongest overall. Remastered for modern consoles in 2019, this revamped iteration of Final Fantasy VIII was ported to mobile devices in 2021.
