In what is now our fourth “Unforgettable Gaming Levels” article, we’ll be diving into the fantastical and amazing dream world of Penacony from Honkai Star Rail.
So, a bit of background first.
Honkai Star Rail is a continuously evolving Free-To-Play JRPG that heavily leans into sci-fi and fantasy tropes. It’s also got an obvious anime-aesthetic. Because it isn’t some sort of complete, up-front-cost type of game, it is growing more and more with each monthly update. There’s really no way to tell how massive this game might become in the future, which is as exciting as it is daunting.
Regardless, the style of the game is to introduce some new quests every month, and then about three times a year introduce an entire new chapter. The launch of a new chapter is always an extremely momentous occasion, and brings with it tons of content to explore and experience. So far, the game has had three chapters. The first was the Herta Space Station, the second was the icy planet of Jarilo-VI, and the third was the massive space fleet civilization of the Xianzhou Alliance (think of the Citadel from Mass Effect).
However, a month ago, chapter four was added in the form of Penacony, the dream paradise. It’s a gigantic hotel that includes a special bed in each room that allows guests to dive their consciousnesses into the real Penacony, a 1920s-styled big city paradise. Or, I suppose, the big city is only one of 12 specially-curated dream worlds guests at Penacony can visit, but it’s the only one you get to go to yourself in-game.
It’s, admittedly, a little bit of a stretch to count an entire world as a single level for the purposes of an article like this, but given Honkai Star Rail‘s inherent design of breaking up the game into chapters, I still think it works. Even if that definition is a bit too broad for you, Penacony’s initial area, Golden Hour, is more than worth the accolade of being an Unforgettable Gaming Level all on its own.
Like I said, the entirety of Penacony drips with 1920s influence. From the outfits of the NPCs who wander about, to some of the slang and dialogue, to the glitzy and glamourous flapper-aesthetic of the various diners and clubs, to the extremely-jazzy big-band soundtrack. It all comes together into a marvelous package, and I must (because of course I have to) draw special attention to the music. Just take a listen to either one of the BATTLE THEMES or the GOLDEN HOUR THEME. Aren’t they both just fantastic tracks that really immerse you into the theme?
There’s so many neat world-building touches too. Like how there are advertisements everywhere for a special blend of soda, and also cash machines on every corner to really rub in the commentary that even in dreams you can’t escape consumerism. There’s a big gambling hub too, but also an ethereal opera house, an in-universe television show about a cartoon wolf man chasing down baddies, and plenty more besides.
When it comes to the main story of this level, it leans very heavily into the dream aspect of it all. There’s a big cast, and at no moment is it ever clear who exactly you can trust, or what the motives of an individual might be. There’s plot twist upon plot twist, multiple betrayals, crazy mind-bending dream shenanigans (like in Inception), and a heart-breaking and semi-disturbing ending. Of course, we’re still getting Penacony updates, so the story isn’t quite done yet.
However, like all of Honkai Star Rail, most of the fun lies outside of the main story. This isn’t to imply that the main story is bad in any way, but rather to commend the fact that Honkai Star Rail consistently has some of the best side content to ever be included in any video game. Penacony is no exception in this regard.
It’s hard to wrap your head around the full scale of what you can do in Penacony. You can utilize phone booths to peer into the dreams of your fellow party members. You can bounce around in puzzle-styled pinball minigames, or break your brain with the mirror-and-platform puzzle minigame. You can play slots, shop, and search around corners for secret stickers to decorate your Penacony guest book. You can morph yourself into the aforementioned cartoon guy to perform stealth missions (dream world, remember?).
And then you’re granted the ability to peer into people’s hearts, and the world just explodes.
Every single NPC (yes, all of them) can now be tinkered with by changing their base personality from happy, to sad, to angry, to content. Not only does this literally change their voiced lines and interactions with you, but it also opens up new fluff dialogue you’d otherwise miss. Of course, plenty of side quests lean into this aspect too, and many of them have branching outcomes dependent upon how you chose to influence the mind of the relevant NPCs.
Just make sure that, in the process of exploring these levels, you don’t get lost in the twisting and sprawling labyrinths of the dream world, that involve you running on the walls and ceiling, or stumbling through secret entrances hidden all throughout the resort. Feel free to test your mettle against a bevy of wacky enemies themed after the consumerism influence, like soda-throwing monkeys, fizzy-pop dogs, and even a chef T-Rex!
Now, to dip a little more into seriousness, there’s a lot of layers to Penacony, and its those layers that, when peeled back, give way to the best it has to offer.
For starters, let’s look at the name. PENaCONy. It’s short for Penal Colony. This pretty, flashy little dream world isn’t the paradise it presents itself as. It’s a dressed-up nightmarish purgatory for the vast majority of its ‘guests’, disguised as a happy-go-lucky wonderland so that those trapped in its thrall remain oblivious to how truly they are constrained. I mean, there’s a reason certain individuals have the power to change hearts like you are gifted, and it isn’t for wholesome reasons (which you can pick up on while doing the smaller side quests).
Penacony’s darkness becomes apparent in four specific side quests, and it is in those side quests that this level really shines. They are, without a doubt, some of the absolute best side quests in any video game ever, and hit on some emotional beats that will resonate for a long time after seeing them through to the end.
There’s the Oppenheimer parallel, which features a man who invented a galaxy-obliterating superweapon out of hubris, and has hidden himself away in Penacony to avoid the crushing guilt. It’s not quite so straight-forward a story, though, and as you play through his life in flashbacks you get to experience every little bit about how he was pushed along by peers, left to rot in the moment of (you actually have to press the ‘fire’ button yourself in a rather distressing and unavoidable sequence), and then taken advantage of.
Or how about the quest with a famous celebrity who let the fame and adoration get to his head, until it was eventually too late to take back the biggest mistake of his life. He also has to reconcile with how his fame impacts his fans, and the unhealthy levels that fan-adoration can go to if left unchecked. It’s pretty heavy stuff, and feels pertinent to modern day celebrity-worship woes.
There’s the quest about the little girl who was next-in-line to inherit the throne of a vast kingdom, and found herself accelerated onto the throne due to a violent coup-attempt that kills her parents. Thrust into power while still young and vulnerable, the little girl went on to become a paranoid and distrustful queen who nearly brought her kingdom to ruin, and then she fled to Penacony and had her mind wiped to escape from her past. Free of the shackles of her trauma, she’s a kindhearted saint in Penacony, but when her past comes calling, how do you as the player choose to help her cope with it all?
And, of course, much discourse online has praised the story of Cocona, and rightfully so. It’s…exceptionally profound stuff, and deeply moving. I absolutely cried by the time the quest ended (and I teared up during that celebrity one too). It’s about a girl who teeters dangerously close to the edge of despair after one too many unfortunate setbacks all at once, and it’s one of the most visceral interpretations of depression I’ve ever seen in a video game. It’s actually pretty beautiful, but is equally heart-breaking too.
There’s a lot to Penacony. Frankly, there’s a lot to Honkai Star Rail as a whole. It’s a jam-packed game that’s only going to get more massive with time. I, for one, can barely contain my excitement. These developers have proven time and time again that they are capable of crafting some truly unforgettably amazing stories, and constructing fantastic levels that I savor exploring every inch of. I can’t wait for the next update to come!
The Contrarian Corner 