Roskachestvo has identified manipulative mechanics in Honkai: Star Rail, Guild of Heroes, and several other games
The Russian Quality System's Center for Digital Expertise examined ten mobile games for mechanics used to extract money from gamers. It was found that such tactics are employed in each of them—the only difference being how strongly the games manipulate audience behavior.
Honkai: Star Rail
Games examined by the Russian Quality System include:
- Genshin Impact;
- Honkai: Star Rail;
- Grand Mobile;
- Vampire’s Fall: Origins;
- Guild of Heroes;
- Dragon Raja;
- Tower of Fantasy;
- Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds;
- Echocalypse: Scarlet Covenant;
- Once Human.
In its study, the Russian Quality System categorized manipulative mechanics into three groups: light engagement, habit and pressure formation, and aggressive monetization.
For example, daily rewards and time-limited events were classified under light engagement mechanics, while waiting timers, fear of missing out, and fake socialization fall under habit and pressure formation. The expert list of aggressive monetization tactics includes, among others, gacha, loot boxes, resource scarcity, and opaque currencies.
It is reported that the developers of Vampire’s Fall: Origins employ manipulative mechanics particularly actively—they incorporated 22 of the 28 possible mechanics, including tying progress to currency and rewards for watching ads. Honkai: Star Rail and Guild of Heroes shared second place, with 21 manipulative mechanics each.
The Russian Quality System emphasized that the organization does not intend to seek a ban on games with manipulative mechanics. However, it believes gamers should understand what they are playing. In its view, developers should note in store descriptions what users may encounter.