This game seems to be a simple virtual world, but in fact, it is just a microcosm of human desire. In the 3.3 version of Collapse: Star Dome Railway, two new characters, Feng Jin and Sai Feier, appear, outlining a false splendor and emptiness, as if wandering in an endless abyss, making people unable to help but explore, but dare not get deeply involved.
Feng Jin, as her name suggests. She is a memory fate character with wind attributes. At first glance, she gives people a sense of indifference. Her skill mechanism is simple and clear, mainly focusing on speed increase and treatment, as if she is a gentle guardian of life, bringing a glimmer of hope to teammates. However, this light, seemingly warm, is actually cold and lonely, like the white snow falling in the sky, neither tepid nor hot, but extremely deserted. People may think that she is a gentle savior, but in this virtual world, who can really be saved from these symbolic brilliances?
Feng Jin’s healing power seems to be more of a comfort for the past. Her acceleration ability helps teammates catch up with the rhythm of the battle, but what can they do after the acceleration? Her existence is like an ideal illusion, reminding you that everything can get better, but it does not provide substantial changes. You rely on her and look forward to her, but you can never get real relief. This is the sadness of Feng Jin, and also the sadness of the players.
Let’s look at Sai Fei’er. She is a quantum-attributed character with the fate of nothingness, with the ability to chase and crit. Her skill mechanism is quite unique, full of variables and threats: every attack may trigger a chase, and every chase may cause additional damage. Sai Fei’er brings a cold sense of power, like a sharp knife designed to cut through all obstacles. She doesn’t seem to care about the existence of others. She is more like an uncontrollable violence, with extreme simplicity and self.
However, Sai Fei’er’s coldness does not come from her ruthlessness, but from a deep understanding of nothingness. In this game world, players fight for their own desires, and Sai Fei Er is the embodiment of this desire. Her power is a naked self-expression and a violent aesthetic. Her attack is like a reckless behavior in society. Every time she exerts her strength, she completely denies the past. Her enhanced state is like the invisible pressure in the game, pushing players to constantly break through their limits without providing any comfort. While she makes you feel powerful, she also makes you realize that all power is based on emptiness and meaninglessness.
In the game, whether it is Feng Jin’s treatment or Sai Fei Er’s violence, they seem particularly alienated. They are not to fill the vacancy, but to make you feel deeply powerless again after a short period of satisfaction. Like every job and every interaction in modern society, it seems that it can never fill the emptiness in the heart. What we pursue is nothing more than a short-lived illusory satisfaction and an unattainable eternity. And these characters are the epitome of this interweaving of nothingness and desire.
The recharge package on the Treabar platform, called “All-in-one gift package”, looks like a treasure chest that provides all satisfaction at first glance. You only need to buy it once to get enough ancient dreams, which seems to allow you to have everything immediately. But how are these so-called “all-in-one” different from real life? It is the same for us. On the road of pursuing desires, we get one “gear” after another, but what can these “gears” bring us? In addition to endless repetition and fatigue, what is left?
Players may think that these gift packages are for “enhancing the experience”, but what is really improved? The satisfaction of the game, or the endless emptiness behind it? What are we looking for in the virtual world, a sense of accomplishment, or a resistance to the powerlessness of reality? Every recharge, every upgrade, seems to tempt players to pursue an untouchable perfection. Just like those of us who are chasing dreams, every step is moving towards an unattainable goal, and the goal is getting farther and farther away from us.
In general, the existence of these characters and gift packs is not to bring about real changes. They are just a part of the game design, reflecting the helplessness and desires in our lives. Players are just pawns in these virtual worlds, and the so-called “new characters” are just to make us realize again that we can never communicate with the emptiness in our hearts.
Feng Jin and Sai Feier are not only new characters in Honkai Impact 3, but more like metaphors for the desires and illusions in reality. Whether it is the gentle Feng Jin or the cold Sai Feier, they are representatives of our pursuit of our own fantasies and emptiness in this world. And Treabar’s gift packs are like those superficial temptations in life, always provoking your inner desires when you need to be satisfied the most, but in the end, nothing is left.