Star Rail's Amphoreus is poised to break a recent setting pattern

Honkai: Star Rail will release version 3.0 to players in January. With a rich new world, Amphoreus, and a roster of at least ten new characters, fans should be excited Honkai: Star Rails future.

Although the Astral Express is supposed to have stopped at planets along the Star Rail, Amphoreus is distinctly different from the previous stops the train has visited. While Amphoreus is not all that different from other settings in Honkai: Star Railit represents a return to form for the game.

Amphoreus, the Eternal Land

Amphoreus, also known as the Eternal Land, is Honkai: Star Rails latest plane. The new environment is inspired by Greek and Roman mythology and will introduce several new NPCs and playable characters. Honkai: Star Rail hasn't revealed much information about Amphoreus' design, but leaks claim the planet will have a time-bending mechanic called Thermae, a sort of ancient Greek and Roman hot spring.

The Greek influence on the Amphoreus is evident in the limited images published publicly of it Honkai: Star Rail. In the Golden Epic trailer released on November 22, Greek patterns, gold and blue accents, pillars and a flowing river depicted with voice-over mentioning the River Styx are shown to viewers. Also, some of the new characters join Honkai: Star Rail the Amphoreus has Greek influence in its design, such as Aglaea, who carries a golden layer.

The new Amphoreus characters not only reference Greek culture and mythology in their design, but also in their names. For example, Hyacine may be a reference to Hyacinth, a lover of Apollo who was murdered. While details like these characters' kits have yet to be revealed, brief descriptions of the characters in the aforementioned trailer also leak them to Greek mythology. Tribbie, described as a three-faced messenger who travels between doors, may be a reference to the three-faced goddess Hecate, who is associated with crossroads.

Amphoreus is not the first setting inspired by mythology. The characters of Xianzhou Luofu are influenced by Chinese mythology similar to the characters of Amphoreus. However, Amphoreus itself differs from its predecessors Xianzhou Luofu and Penacony in an important way.

Amphoreus vs its predecessor

Penacony, the pre-Amphoreus setting, is actually a huge space station that hosts the Reverie Hotel. The two small Alderson discs orbiting Penacony may make the station feel more organic, as they contain land masses and water masses. But Penacony remains an artificial landscape.

Similarly, Xianzhou Luofu is one of the six flagships owned by Hexafleet. This massive starship stands out as a jewel among the Xianzhou Alliance's fleet for its medical facilities and trading centers. Although the Xianzhou Luofu was available at launch, this spaceship and the Penacony are the latest settings with playable characters that Honkai: Star Rail players have been able to enjoy.

Organic vs artificial

This makes Amphoreus feel like a return to form, as the setting is a physical planet, unlike the artificial environments of Penacony and Xianzhou Luofu. With Amphoreus in Honkai: Star Rail in version 3.0, it will be interesting to see if other aspects of the game go back to basics in the update. Yet Amphoreus will break this setting pattern by simply being an organic environment rather than a space station or starship.

One could argue that a planet has more flexibility in terms of design than a space station or spacecraft. Honkai: Star Rail subverted the typical tropes of a space station by having the Penacony house the Reverie Hotel and its complex dreamscape, but the interior Xianzhou Luofu follows the stereotypes of a spaceship closely. Pictures of the Amphoreus may be scarce, but it seems Honkai: Star Rail benefiting from the natural environment of its recent environment.