I'm someone who frequently attends various game concerts. However, limited by my personal scope of interest, most of the game concerts I've participated in have been small to medium-sized events. This happens to be the rhythm I'm familiar with. Even if the scale isn't huge, sufficient experience allows me to often grasp the direction of the event and control the emotional ups and downs. Sometimes, I can even predict the "encore" meant to be a surprise. I enjoy this sense of stability.
But I also enjoy the sense of the unknown.
The source of this unknown feeling naturally stems from the remaining few large-scale game concerts. The expansion of venue size, the doubling of audience numbers, and the increase in funding—elements only possible with top-tier IPs—have fundamentally changed the nature of these concerts, rendering my so-called experience insignificant. It's hard to imagine just how elaborate these concerts can get.
So, when I walked into the 2025 Honkai: Star Rail Concert, the role I played was no longer the familiar "Navigator" I usually assumed, but an ordinary "Passenger." To put it in Honkai: Star Rail terms—at that moment, I had become a "Nameless," embarking on a "Trailblaze Journey" with an unknown destination.
Following the on-site guidance to my seat, I found the venue nearly full upon arrival—I wasn't late; there was still plenty of time. The bustling scene was undoubtedly a product of enthusiasm.
Even though I wasn't in the front rows of the inner field, the official preparations were meticulous: each seat held a large bag of merchandise protected by plastic bags, with the most eye-catching item being the baseball bat-shaped light stick—a weapon used by the Trailblazer in the game, now set to flash appropriate colors under March 7th's central control at the venue.
Before the performance began, besides the usual chatter of the audience, bursts of "Oh~" could occasionally be heard. I understood that these were exclamations after successfully pulling desired characters in the gacha system at the venue, a common occurrence at game concerts, and something I often do as well.
But to my surprise, although I was just going through the motions with a "stingy single pull" at that time, devoid of any expectation, the result was a "hit," obtaining Dr. Ratio, who had just entered the banner—a first in my live event experiences.
Who asked me? No one did, but this was my moment of "winning it all," so how could I keep it to myself? Let me ask you, how did you know I pulled Dr. Ratio in a single draw?
At this moment, I am Elation!
This seemed like an omen, foreshadowing that things would begin to slip out of my control. And this instability brought by the unknown didn't take long to manifest—or rather, it arrived far too early.
Compared to the usual sudden surge of music, the opening of the Honkai: Star Rail Concert felt somewhat "unserious."
Accompanied by exquisite motion capture technology, Madam Herta made a grand entrance into the venue. Her first order of business was to signal her fan club to physically throw the "boring" conductor off the stage, taking over the baton herself. Of course, rather than attributing this to a lack of conducting skill, I'd prefer to believe it was a tragedy brought on by the conductor failing to shout the classic line, "Madam Herta is unparalleled! Brilliant beyond compare! Stunningly beautiful!" After all, the audience shouted it, I shouted it, and neither of us got thrown out.
The ideas of a "Genius" are always elusive. Logically, it's hard to understand why Madam Herta would drop a line like, "Conduct the whole thing? Are you kidding? miHoYo doesn't have that much clout," during the break after her conducting segment. But as a player of Honkai: Star Rail, past experience still conjures a thought in your mind: "Yes, that's right, that's exactly the vibe."
This natural resonance touched me more than the pure music itself. After all, being in the massive Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, one could anticipate the top-tier audio-visual effects. However, the arrangement and design based on characters and storylines often better reflect the "devotion" of the fans.
This sense of design permeated the entire concert.
When the music belonging to Argenti, the "Knight of Beauty," began to play and the roses in the familiar character PV on the big screen fully bloomed, I almost closed my eyes, ready to welcome the impending movement of "Beauty."
But the "twist" arrived at this moment. Argenti's portrait was sealed within a wanted poster. With a gunshot, Boothill made his appearance in Argenti's PV, turning the tables and engaging Argenti in a duel—a musical showdown between the "Knight of Beauty" and the "Galactic Ranger."
At that moment, besides the shock caused by this sudden situation, I also recalled the subtle atmosphere between these two characters who seemed to dislike each other at first glance but acted together in Penacony. Realizing this, I understood that miHoYo had once again "manipulated" me.
The part of the concert that stirred my emotions and thoughts the most was the recreation of the in-game battle against "Lord Sunday," enhanced by Robin's signature song, "Hope Has Feathers and Wings."
In addition to "Lord Sunday" being displayed on the big screen, the in-game scene of controlling the Astral Express to crash into "Lord Sunday" during this battle was faithfully recreated on-site using the latest AR technology: The Astral Express whistled out from the stage, circling around the audience, hovering above the venue, and finally, carrying a trail of light and shadow, returned to the stage to strike directly at "Lord Sunday." Whether dream or reality, both are parts of Penacony, and that恍惚 (trance-like) feeling at the boundary is precisely the sensation of being there in person.
As I looked around the venue, following the trajectory of the Astral Express, I saw countless rising and falling lights from light sticks. Like me, they were all "Nameless" in this concert.
But are "Nameless" limited to the audience inside the venue? Clearly not—the Oriental Sports Center is large, yet it can only accommodate ten thousand people, which is far from enough to meet the demands of all players.
Things are getting better.
Compared to last year's first-anniversary concert, the number of domestic offline sessions for the 2025 Honkai: Star Rail Concert increased from one to three, and the online live streams were expanded to cover almost all major domestic streaming platforms. Just the reservation count for the live stream on Bilibili's official dynamic page reached hundreds of thousands.
Is this enough?
Not yet.
Just as the Astral Express travels between countless planets, fans of Honkai: Star Rail are spread across the globe. And every player is important to Honkai: Star Rail.
Thus, miHoYo organized offline viewing parties around the world, and the overseas online live streams covered nearly 10 languages—just thinking about the logistics feels incredibly complex.
Before heading to the event, several friends who hadn't managed to grab tickets told me they planned to watch the online live stream. As it turned out, they didn't miss out at all.
At the concert venue, countless cameras and lenses moved up and down, left and right, following the progress of the program—a massive effort made for the online live stream.
The actual effect was indeed surprising. Besides the clear visuals, the camera work for the concert live stream was quite professional. Amidst the dense barrage of comments, I could also feel the high spirits of the online audience, no less enthusiastic than those of us present at the venue.
This is what miHoYo has always been doing, a difficult but necessary task. Naturally, the results were good, with audiences both online and offline, domestically and internationally, praising the concert endlessly. The importance of the player community to miHoYo and Honkai: Star Rail goes without saying, and this was truly a two-way street.
At the concert venue, miHoYo also brought two fan-created songs from the player community onto the big stage: Jingliu's character single "Sword and Snow" by a domestic creator, and the Dr. Ratio fan creation "Dr. Ratio's Metaphysical Bathing Theory" made by overseas fans. Incorporating fan creations into the official concert was a practice established during last year's first-anniversary concert and is a distinctive feature of the Honkai: Star Rail Concert compared to other game concerts—all of which relies on a vibrant official and player community, neither of which can be missing.
As the concert progressed, a question lingered in my mind regarding the flow of the program. During last year's first-anniversary concert, the content was arranged according to the game's main storyline, progressing from Herta Space Station through Belobog and the Xianzhou Luofu, finally arriving at Penacony. However, this year's Honkai: Star Rail Concert seemed not to follow this pattern, appearing much more free-form.
Why make such changes? I did ponder this question. As I reflected on my experiences with Honkai: Star Rail over the past two years and the concert's program, a phrase gradually became clear in my mind: "The train will eventually reach the next station, but what about the stage? What about us?"
This is a line from one of my favorite works, Revue Starlight. At this moment, although the situation is completely different, I have gained a new understanding of this phrase:
The stage remains, and so do we.
Indeed, the Astral Express will eventually reach the next station. Whether it's Penacony or Amphoreus, neither will be the endpoint of the Trailblaze Journey. In the future, we will surely head to new destinations and embark on more adventures.
But the footprints we leave behind won't disappear, and the people we meet won't be forgotten upon departure. Honkai: Star Rail has never been a game that treats stages and characters as disposable.
I still remember version 2.5, when we returned to the Xianzhou and participated in the "Stellarum Arena" with Luka from Belobog; I remember the official announcement during the second-anniversary livestream that we would return to Penacony in the upcoming version 3.8 for the "Finality Mission"; and even now, we often need to return to Herta Space Station to participate in testing the familiar "Starlight Litany."
Every journey is important, every character is important. The Trailblaze Journey moves forward, but not always in a straight line. And these memories will remain, just like the shutter March 7th pressed for the entire audience during the intermission, and just like the 2.4 million physical art books given away for free during the second anniversary... Every memory is part of "the meaning of Trailblazing."
This is also the source of my sense of belonging to Honkai: Star Rail—a mutual support and achievement between the game and its players. It is precisely because of this virtuous cycle that the Honkai: Star Rail Concert could spare no expense in pushing its own limits, resulting in a presentation that combines both design sophistication and high specifications.
Just as I was preparing to leave after the performance ended, a sudden burst of golden light from the big screen halted the movements of all audience members. The shock lasted only an instant; we all knew what it was, but no one expected it to be revealed so unexpectedly at the concert's conclusion.
The owner of the golden light was "Saber." Yes, that "Saber." After the collaboration between Honkai: Star Rail and Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] was announced last year, the collaboration artwork and some details were revealed for the first time at this year's concert, with the collaboration event officially launching on July 11th this year.
It wasn't over yet.
Appearing alongside "Saber" was another collaboration character, "Archer," known to fans as "Red A." He will be given away for free to players who log in when the event launches—just like Dr. Ratio in the past.
Cheers rang out endlessly. This was the players' most direct feedback to the collaboration.
Just as the warmth of the collaboration had yet to cool, another PV was projected onto the big screen. This was a brand-new PV. Even with familiar miHoYo characters like "Blade" and "Kiana" making appearances, it was hard to say for sure what exactly it was.
This is a "new Honkai IP title."
When this appeared on the screen, the venue erupted into deafening cheers after a brief silence—nothing excites miHoYo players more than this, even if it remains a complete mystery for now.
And with that, the 2025 Honkai: Star Rail Concert officially came to a close. As I mentioned at the start, I could hardly predict every segment of the concert, yet miHoYo repeatedly delivered shocks amidst this uncertainty, demonstrating to me what constitutes a "top-tier gacha game concert."
Whether it's Honkai: Star Rail or the "Honkai IP," they will inevitably move on to the next station.
But in the end, let me once again say those words that were shouted in unison countless times at the venue.
May this journey lead us all the way...
"Alright, little gray-haired one, stop getting sentimental. Just come back next year, okay? Hehe."