I've been playing this game since launch, played through the Belobog and the Xianzhou arc, and didn't really put much thought into the story as at best they're just "good" and serviceable and at worst (The Xianzhou arc, in particular) a complete mess.

Penacony however, blows them out of the water completely. I actually started to really care deeply about the story and characters (and unironically got addicted to the game). I didn't plan on writing a review of this game ever, since I thought there wouldn't be anything really incredible. I was completely wrong, ever since 2.0 the writing is actually really great?? I didn't expect this after the Xianzhou arc at all. Ever since, they've announced that HI3's writer (that wrote the best arcs in all hoyoverse) would be handling this game, starting from Penacony. You could really feel the jump in writing quality from that point onward.

I really like most of the twists and especially the ending. Though I do see people complain regarding the mystery aspect of Penacony, mentioning that it is too "enshrouded in mystery". I honestly really like that aspect, as they do enforce a "show, not tell" kind of writing from and especially at the beginning, though I do agree that some payoffs of that are quite underwhelming like "Death".

Overall, the Penacony arc as a whole have been nothing short of impressive, there is still 2.3 left as an epilogue to wrap up this arc, but the story itself is honestly up there with HI3 Flamechasers arc for me in the hoyoverse. It may have been convoluted with some pacing issues somewhere along the line, but it managed to pull through and gives justice to all the characters in the end, including the MC (TB), with a very peak climax of a final act. I'm glad they actually give the TB a huge moment to shine while showing their worth and not just make them a punching bag for other characters to shine instead.

While I think the firsts two acts of Star Rail are mediocre at best.

Penacony is beautifully written with great characters, amazing and engaging story moments, and a beautiful final message that will stick to you for a long time.

Peakcony