Herta (Honkai: Star Rail)

Design and voice acting

The first version of Herta players encountered was a remotely controlled puppet, introduced at the start of the main story in version 1.0. This puppet looks like a young girl, while the real Herta’s face stayed hidden until later game updates. Across the Herta Space Station, many inactive puppets can be found, and their outfits reveal spherical joints at the shoulders, wrists, and knees, marking them clearly as artificial. In combat, this puppet fights with a hammer that looks far too large for its small frame. The real Herta’s design was first hinted at in official art for a version 2.6 event. miHoYo later announced that the real Herta would become a playable character under the English name "The Herta," distinguishing her from the puppet form. This name came about because Herta disliked the Intelligentsia Guild’s suggestion of "Herta Prime," feeling that title created an unnecessary separation between herself and her puppets. On January 7, 2025, a trailer titled "Stars, Silent as Enigmas" debuted, opening with the omnipotence paradox. It covered Herta’s academic achievements, the origin and purpose of her puppets, and hinted at a future storyline where she meets Nous, the Aeon of Erudition. Three days later, an animated short called "The Herta’s Magic Kitchen" showed her daily cooking routine. On January 14, a character trailer named "Geniuses in the Universe" featured multiple Herta puppets with varied appearances. The Herta became playable the next day with the release of version 3.0.

Appearances

Herta was a child prodigy whose intellect was evident from an early age. She cracked numerous scientific challenges, authored a study on reversing aging, and managed to capture and contain a Stellaron—a dangerous, magical object in the game known as the "Cancer of All Worlds" for its ability to devastate entire civilizations. She also rescued her home planet, the Blue, on nineteen separate occasions and visited Nous, the Aeon of Erudition, twice. To safely store the Stellaron and her collection of curios—valuable research items she prized highly—she constructed a space station and gave it her own name. The game's main story begins when the Antimatter Legion attacks this station. Seizing the chaos, the Stellaron Hunters, a criminal group led by Elio, targeted the Stellaron kept there, stole it, and implanted it into the body of the Trailblazer, the protagonist. After the attack ended, Herta noticed that the Stellaron remained stable inside the Trailblazer and that they could attract the attention of Aeons. Because of these traits, she invited them to participate in her "Simulated Universe" project and to stay at the station for her research. In a possible side path during the prologue, if the protagonist chooses to remain at the station instead of joining the Astral Express, they initially become Herta's test subject. However, she quickly grows bored with them, and under the supervision of lead researcher Asta, they eventually spend the rest of their life working as a researcher.

Reception

Herta has been well-received by both players and critics, with fans expressing their appreciation through activities like cosplay. In the game's story, she is introduced early on as the unseen leader of the Herta Space Station and a member of the Genius Society. Rather than appearing in her real body, she operates through multiple puppets modeled after her childhood self. As an Emanator of Erudition, her power comes from Nous, the Aeon of Erudition, and she is deeply engaged in studying the Path of Erudition, seeking to understand the nature of divinity. This focus on questioning over answers reflects a trait common among geniuses. Through Herta, the game introduces cosmic-level power; as an Emanator who explores the universe's deepest secrets, she possesses immense intellect and strength, ranking among the most powerful beings in the game's universe.

The character's appeal is often linked to the contrast between her youthful, girl-like appearance and her mechanical puppet body. Her clothing reveals spherical joints at the shoulders, wrists, and knees, making her identity as a puppet immediately clear. This visual design gives her a blend of mechanical and puppet-like qualities, rather than just making her a cute girl. In combat, she wields a large hammer that seems oversized for her frame, adding an exaggerated, intuitive appeal to her design. As the owner of the Herta Space Station and a genius scientist, she comes across as lacking empathy and behaving in unconventional ways. While her puppet form looks cute, her words and actions are unpredictable. This contrast makes the voice lines for her follow-up attacks especially memorable and has inspired fan creations and memes.