Honkai: Star Rail Wins 2023 TGA Best Mobile Game — Players Call It "Picking the Least Rotten Apple From the Barrel"

One TGA Best Mobile Game award, two types of players: those counting their free Stellar Jade, and those counting how many nominees they've never even heard of. On December 8, 2023, Honkai: Star Rail snagged the TGA Best Mobile Game title — but the comment section turned into an absolute comedy show.

TGA officially announced all five 2023 Best Mobile Game nominees: Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Honkai: Star Rail, Monster Hunter Now, and Terra Nil. Star Rail ultimately took the crown, making it miHoYo's first game to win the award in its debut year — a notable milestone considering how long Genshin Impact had to wait.

The original poster couldn't help but throw shade: "The other four mobile games honestly aren't that great either." Brutal, but the comment section almost unanimously agreed. One player who actually checked out gameplay footage of the other nominees concluded: "Star Rail being #1 is genuinely fair."

Rather than debating the award itself, players were far more invested in a simpler equation — Stellar Jade +800! Many calculated the total freebies should now hit 1,600 gems, and started pressuring the devs to drop the next planet ASAP. As one commenter put it: "If you absolutely have to pick the tallest dwarf, it's gotta be Star Rail." Another was even more blunt: "Picking the least rotten apple from a barrel of garbage."

Of course, Star Rail fans also couldn't resist taking a dig at their sibling game — "Dunked on Genshin — best mobile game in year one" perfectly captured the spicy rivalry between miHoYo's own titles. Against the chorus of forum noise, one player deployed an archaic literary flex: "The forum may scream, but it cannot drown out the sound of GOTY! The sound of Best Mobile Game, unmasked!"

Not everyone was celebrating, though. One commenter fired shots: "Between TGA and [certain fan groups], one of them has to be braindead." Others pointed out they hadn't even heard of half the nominees, implying the lineup itself lacked prestige. The most savage take came from someone citing a dead precedent: "Apex Legends Mobile also won this award — and then it shut down." Using a former winner's death as a roast against the award's credibility? That's a certified hell-meme right there.

Controversy aside, Star Rail players have already pocketed their Stellar Jade rewards. And perhaps the most fitting summary from the comment section captures the community's mood perfectly: "There really weren't many decent mobile games released this year..." Star Rail won — but the victory feels more like showing up to an empty battlefield.