After much anticipation, the moment finally arrived.
At 2:00 p.m. on the 21st, Honkai Impact 3rd rolled out its update.
At the exact same time, Tencent's Girls Odyssey entered open beta.
Truly, Tencent lived up to its reputation.
Even after blatantly copying, players still rushed to download.
There was no helping it—the population was simply too large. Not everyone used Weibo, not everyone scrolled Douyin.
But at least 90% of the country used Tencent's messaging apps.
And with those two platforms, Tencent never lacked traffic.
So, within the first hour of launch, Girls Odyssey still achieved explosive downloads.
Meanwhile, across Douyin, Bilibili, DouSha and countless other game streaming sites, everyone was buzzing about these two titles.
Some streamers focused on Honkai Impact 3rd, while others dove into Girls Odyssey.
At this moment, a Douyin streamer named "Fallen"—primarily known for single-player games—decided to download both.
His fans knew well: even when Honkai Impact 3rd was at peak popularity, he hadn't touched it.
The only reason he was trying both today was because his fans kept pestering him.
What could he do? He spoiled his fans too much.
"Mods, ban anyone starting flame wars in chat."
"Let me make one thing clear upfront—I'm not a miHoYo fan, nor a Tencent fan. I'll be judging these games purely from a neutral, passerby perspective."
"I won't hype or bash either. Just sharing my personal thoughts."
As he spoke, Honkai Impact 3rd finished updating.
"Since Girls Odyssey is just starting its open beta, it still needs to download."
"And I pre-installed Honkai 3rd yesterday, so we'll try this one first."
"Give it about half an hour, and Tencent's game should be done downloading. Then we'll test it out too."
By now, Fallen had launched Honkai Impact 3rd and registered an account.
Just like every new player, the first thing he saw was an animated short film.
Then came the tutorial.
"No wonder people say miHoYo's basically an anime studio. This short film's quality is insane. If this were a full anime, I'd actually watch it."
"The hit feedback feels perfect, the character models are flawless… wow, these visuals are stunning. Wait—seriously? This is a mobile game?"
He hadn't even finished the tutorial yet, and Honkai 3rd had already blown him away.
He never expected this.
"I'm not even an anime fan, but this art style… damn, I love it."
As he spoke, the tutorial wrapped up.
But to his surprise, the screen suddenly went black.
Even many veteran players were confused.
They remembered that after the tutorial, the game normally handed control over freely.
Why a black screen now? Did it bug out?
Before Fallen could curse, a mature, commanding female voice came through his headset:
[Priority must be given to handling interference from Schicksal. They've already dispatched agents to Shenzhou… Do not let them disrupt me!]
Immediately, suspenseful music swelled.
Then, another female voice followed:
[The whereabouts of K423 hold greater importance to Schicksal. So… let them chase after him instead.]
[Perfect~ They're in for quite the surprise~]
As the dialogue ended, the music quickened, heavy bass pounding like a heartbeat straight into Fallen's chest.
On screen, Kiana appeared, dual pistols in hand, her expression grim. In fleeting flashes behind her, Rita, Otto, and Raven appeared like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows.
The entire short radiated suspense.
Fallen's attention was instantly locked.
He didn't understand what the short was trying to convey, but the music pulled his emotions along, rising and falling with each note.
As the score built toward a climax, the music suddenly cut.
A Bagua diagram appeared onscreen.
Then the music shifted—fiercer, sharper, carrying a sense of aggression.
Fallen didn't know music theory, couldn't describe it properly.
But the key change, paired with a sudden Valkyrie illustration, sent goosebumps all over his skin.
[Every move you make—I've already foreseen.]
With Fu Hua's voice, she appeared: single ponytail, monocle, heroic and fierce.
[Shenzhou Starchasm Nyx.]
[Valkyrie Fu Hua · Starchasm Nyx.]
Seeing this, Fallen was floored.
This music—this reveal—was too cool!
He stole a glance at the chat barrage, which was flooded with:
[Fu Hua!] [Hubby!]
He nodded in agreement. This girl was so badass, calling her "husband" wasn't an exaggeration at all.
The video shifted to combat footage of Fu Hua's Starchasm Nyx battlesuit.
Every punch and kick carried the essence of Chinese martial arts.
"Damn… this character is so cool!" he blurted without thinking. "I get it now—this must be the version promo video."
"Honestly, this is a great setup. Right when you log in, you're shown the new update's main content. And this promo video—unlike most trailers—doesn't make me want to skip. It's actually hype!"
Before the video even ended, as Fallen was giving commentary, the music shifted again.
[Do you want me to avenge you~?]
[Please… my other self~]
Onscreen, two adorable girls appeared—yet seemingly the same person.
Fallen instinctively hit pause.
The text revealed the girl's name: Seele.
"'Stygian Nymph'? 'Two souls, one body'?" Fallen muttered. "Ah, I get it—this girl has two personalities."
"From the voices, looks like one's innocent, the other's… yandere?"
He explained while glancing at chat. The barrage was filled with:
[Seele… slurp slurp] [So cute!] [miHoYo truly understands me]
Fallen: "..."
"…Okay, I admit—I like this girl too."
Next came Seele's combat showcase.
"Whoa~ two fighting modes? And they didn't split her into two separate characters to sell? miHoYo really doesn't know how to make money…"
His words made chat explode.
[You're worse than Tencent at milking]
[Capitalist brain 666]
...
"Haha, just kidding. Having two modes must be her unique selling point."
"The video's over. I really like both of these characters. Next up—it's gacha time. Let's see how miHoYo's pull rates are."
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