MiHoYo's Creature Collector 'Honkai: Nexus Anima' Is Still in Development But It's Already Stealing Hearts

I still remember the electric jolt of surprise I felt last August when MiHoYo dropped that first batch of in-game footage for Honkai: Nexus Anima. As someone who has poured hundreds of hours into Teyvat and boarded the Astral Express more times than I can count, I thought I knew what to expect from the studio behind Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. A creature collector, though? That was a curveball wrapped in a Poké Ball, and I've been obsessed with it ever since.

The first thing that grabs you is the visual language. It's unmistakably MiHoYo—crystalline watercolor skies, anime-inspired character silhouettes, and lighting that makes every leaf and cloud look like it was hand-painted by a dream. But where their previous titles leaned into dramatic combat and sprawling open-world exploration, Nexus Anima veers into softer, cozier territory. The palette is drenched in pastels and candied hues, reminiscent of the latest Pokémon journeys, yet underpinned by the gacha studio's signature polish. You can almost smell the sugar-dusted donuts one of the creatures is allegedly tainted with. Tainted by what, exactly? The devs aren't saying, and I'm not sure I want to know. That vague mischief is part of the charm.

Officially billed as a "creature-collector adventure strategy game," Honkai: Nexus Anima invites players to bond with a menagerie of beasties that run the gamut from feline critters with nebula patterns in their fur to wobbly purple jelly-esque beings that look like sentient dessert. My personal favorites so far are a pudding-like puppy that could pass as Pompompurin's long-lost cousin—a nod only true Sanrio girlies will appreciate—and a sprinkle-covered bunny who totes around those mysterious tainted donuts. These designs don't just rely on cuteness; they hint at deeper lore, elemental affinities, and evolution mechanics that the community is already feverishly theory-crafting.

When the Nexus Bond Teaser—officially titled "Side by Side"—hit timelines, it came with a call to action that had me refreshing the registration page like I was sniping a limited-time banner. The first closed beta test recruitment ran through September 12, 2025, and was open to PC and mobile users across five languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean. More languages are promised for the future, but console players like me had to sit this one out and cheer from the sidelines. The selection process was, predictably, gacha-style luck-based. I signed up anyway, hoping my years of ritual pulling (facing C6 characters I never wanted) would somehow curry cosmic favor. Spoiler: it didn't. But a friend got in, and I've been living vicariously through their blurry, NDA-breaching whispers ever since.

From what I can piece together, the beta build emphasized exploration of a "charming little town" and the surrounding wilderness, where Nexus Bonds—the in-game term for capturing and befriending creatures—unlocked strategic possibilities beyond simple type matchups. There's talk of synergies that reward clever team composition, reminiscent of the elemental reaction system that made Genshin Impact so satisfying, but repackaged for a turn-based tactical layer. Think of it as a hybrid between Pokémon's collection loop and the deeper strategy of a mobile RPG, seasoned with MiHoYo's addictive gacha seasoning.

As of 2026, the official website still teases that the game is "under development, and subject to change." That's both reassuring and agonizing. No release window has surfaced, but the silence isn't necessarily a bad sign—MiHoYo has a track record of taking its time and delivering polished products that eat my free time whole. With the first beta wrapped, I'm expecting news about a second test phase any month now, hopefully with console support so I can finally pet that pudding-pup on my PlayStation.

What excites me most isn't just the creature collection itself, but the worldbuilding potential. The Honkai universe already spans alternate timelines, cosmic threats, and deeply emotional character arcs. Dropping a seemingly lighter creature adventure into that multiverse could be a Trojan horse for feels. Are the tainted donuts a metaphor for corruption seeping from the Sea of Quanta? Will my sprinkle bunny have to make a heroic sacrifice? I'm not sure my heart is ready, but I'm absolutely here for it.

The creature-collector genre is fiercely competitive—Nintendo's titan dominates, Palworld stole headlines with its survival twist, and upcoming titles like Aniimo are circling with fresh ideas. Yet MiHoYo's entry feels distinct. It marries the studio's expertise in live-service storytelling and character-driven content with a genre that thrives on attachment and discovery. If they can balance the gacha monetization with the purity of the "catch 'em all" fantasy, they might just have another billion-dollar phenomenon on their hands.

For now, all I can do is keep an eye on the official channels and keep my Primogems and Stellar Jade reserves ready to be converted into whatever nexus currency powers these bonds. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stare at that bunny with the tainted donuts again and imagine the day I can finally bring him home. 🍩🐇