HoYoverse has announced the next pillar in its gacha gaming empire: an autochess tactics title named Honkai: Nexus Anima which blends the best of Pokémon and Teamfight Tactics into one beautifully presented package.
The company is currently recruiting for a Nexus Bond Test through 12th September which will allow fans to go hands-on with the title early and provide feedback. However, the test is currently only announced for PC and mobile, with no plans for a PS5 port just yet.
Given the popularity of HoYoverse’s various other titles on console, we’d be surprised if this doesn’t end up on PlayStation eventually, and we’ll update you as soon as we learn more.
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From a gameplay perspective, the exploration aspect appears to share a lot of similarities with Honkai: Star Rail, as you explore a beautiful landscape populated by colourful characters. The twist here is you’ll be encountering various creatures too and recruiting them to your ranks.
There seems to be a big emphasis on interactivity, with each creature playing host to a different minigame, ranging from shooting galleries to races. But each animal will double as a unit for an autochess combat system, which looks like the focus of the release.
HoYoverse has dabbled in this genre across both Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero recently, but we’d expect the gameplay to be much more involved here.
Autochess games work by seeing you place units onto a stage and then automating the skirmishes that subsequently unfold. Depending on your strategy, you’ll be able to assemble a team that overcomes your opponent.
Here’s what the official blurb says:
“Honkai: Nexus Anima is a brand-new creature-collector adventure strategy game in the Honkai series. In this world, Nexus is the unseen bonds woven between paired concepts, such as Love and Hate, Light and Dark, Life and Death, among many others. However, this balance is unexpectedly shattered when a sudden rupture severs those connections, scattering their remnant powers across the land in the form of Anima. From this fractured order, players embark on a journey: through missions and combat, they forge bonds with these Anima, unlocking abilities that reflect the unique concepts each embodies. Moreover, these abilities can be combined to create diverse battle tactics and influence how players explore and engage with the expansive overworld.”
This looks like a very fun concept to us, and with HoYoverse’s development budget behind it then it could be quite disruptive in the creature-collector space – especially if its art team can continue coming up with interesting anima designs, like the avocado glimpsed in the trailer.
Would you like to see this title released on the PS5? Have you played any auto chess titles before? Devise your strategy in the comments section below.