Honkai: Star Rail Is Heading to Astropolis — Is Version 4.5 Its Biggest Change Since Amphoreus?

Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.5 sends the Trailblazer to Astropolis, a major IPC stronghold, as the game begins a new chapter following the events of Planarcadia. (Credit: Image courtesy of HoYoverse)

The Astral Express Is Heading Somewhere Very Different

Amphoreus was enormous. Introduced in Version 3.0 in January 2025, its Trailblaze Mission stretched across Versions 3.0 through 3.7, making it the largest single story arc in Star Rail's history and the vehicle for introducing Remembrance as a playable Path. Version 4.0 then moved the story into Planarcadia, a vibrant, entertainment-focused world shaped heavily by IPC influence — and HoYoverse teased Astropolis at the very start of that arc, saying the 4.x story wouldn't stay confined to a single planet. Now that promise is being kept. After the Express crew's victory over Lord Ravager Asat Pramad in Planarcadia, a crisis involving the Voracity plunges the region back into danger, and the Trailblazer departs for Astropolis in search of the strength needed to help. After spending so much of Star Rail's recent history inside sprawling, planet-sized arcs, is HoYoverse finally making the Astral Express feel like it's traveling again?