This year's The Game Awards was a showcase of exciting things to come in the gaming space. One of the announcements was for Honkai: Star Rail's upcoming world, Penacony. The teaser also surprised fans with a new character named Acheron.
Acheron was one of the many Honkai: Star Rail characters that were leaked in the past. Not much is known yet about Acheron and her story, but there have been rumors that she will be Honkai: Star Rail's version of Honkai Impact 3rd's Raiden Mei and Genshin Impact's Raiden Shogun.
Acheron is a member of the Galaxy Rangers. She has long dark purple hair, pink eyes, and wields a sword that looks like a katana. Initial leaks claimed that Acheron would be a Lightning character following the Path of Nihility. This would mean that her abilities would inflict damage over time (DOT) and/or apply debuffs onto enemies called Curses.
Acheron's abilities could still change in the coming months, as Honkai: Star Rail hasn't confirmed these details.
According to Honkai: Star Rail lore, the Galaxy Rangers are a voluntarily formed righteous group following the Path of The Hunt that travels the cosmos to uphold goodness and justice. The group rose to fame after the successful assassination of Lord Ravager Zulo.
Another prominent mission was when a lone Galaxy Ranger thwarted the experiments of Genius Society member Dr. Primitive. After this mission, the Galaxy Rangers gradually faded out of sight. It's believed that Dr. Primitive was responsible for their disappearance, but if Acheron is still around, it's possible that she was the unnamed Ranger who went after Dr. Primitive's experiments.
Honkai: Star Rail has many characters that also exist in other HoYoverse titles, like Bronya, Seele, and Himeko. They may have the same names and appearances, but they have different backgrounds. The games aren't directly connected, but HoYoverse previously confirmed that they exist in a multiverse. So, players can expect more character crossovers.
The characters that exist in Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd are different versions of Raiden Mei. Just like Acheron, they both have dark purple hair and pink eyes. Raiden Mei and Raiden Shogun have lightning-based abilities, and are also proficient in sword fighting, just like the Galaxy Ranger.
The similarities don't stop there, as Raiden Mei, Raiden Shogun, and Acheron are voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro in the Japanese dub. Although Acheron's English dub was revealed to be Allegra Clark, instead of Raiden Mei and Raiden Shogun's VA Anne Yatco, many HoYoverse fans are fully convinced she's part of the "Mei-verse." Likewise, Yatco has showed her support for Clark's new role.
Acheron's character banner doesn't have an official release date yet. It's likely that she will become playable sometime next year. Fortunately, players will soon encounter her once they start exploring Penacony, either in Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.6 or Version 2.0. It will be interesting to see what role Acheron will play in Honkai: Star Rail's greater story, and how she will help or hinder the Trailblazers' adventure. It's also likely that players will see more connections between Acheron, Raiden Mei, and Raiden Shogun.