Developed By: Nihon Falcom
Published By: NIS America
Category: RPG
Release Date: 01.15.26
Price: $59.99
Like clockwork, it’s that time of year where Trails fans are treated to a new installment that will keep them occupied for dozens of hours. Trails In the Sky 1st Chapter held that title for the past few months, but Trails Beyond the Horizon now holds the spotlight. The series is already one of the greatest storytelling achievements in gaming, but how does this one make it even better.
I’m not going to do a full deep dive like I did with Trails into Reverie. If you’re a newcomer, I’d advise against starting with this one because you’d be skipping nearly 1,000 hours of gameplay. At least play through the Daybreak duology. If you’re a Trails veteran, you already have extensive knowledge of the world, story, characters, and gameplay. I’ll recap briefly but I’ll mostly be going over the new stuff and the Switch 2 capabilities.
The game takes place shortly after Trails Through Daybreak II and follows the progression of the Calvard space program during the days leading up to the first manned launch. As with previous installments, there’s no shortage of political intrigue and conflict. I personally love this, but it appears there’s way more story and dialogue than previous titles.
This might cause some people to dislike the pacing, but it’s mostly like this because of the different routes. As with Tails into Reverie, the game consists of three distinct routes that are connected, but not directly. The bulkiest of the three routes is led by Van Arkride, the protagonist of the Daybreak games. The remaining routes were surprising because they brought back certain characters.
I was not expecting to see Rean Schwarzer lead another arc. He’s my favorite Trails character and I even liked his English performance so much that I interviewed the voice actor. The third route follows Kevin Graham. The overall story found across the Trails series is already so grand and well-written, but seeing everything come together again was sweet.
The rest of the game revolved around intense combat. The game features a mix of real time field battles and classic but detailed turn-based battles. The turn-based mode is for tougher battles and is very similar to how previous games operated. However, there’s a new feature that allows you to slow down enemies. The real time battles allow you to quickly erase smaller enemies without breaking a sweat.
The game also looks and sounds great. It’s the first new game in the series that’s been developed with the Switch 2 in mind, and it shows. Character designs are great, especially the new models for older characters. Animations are solid, both in handheld and docked. There were a few minor FPS drops here and there but the game looks great on the Switch 2. As always, the soundtrack and voice acting are phenomenal.
Overall, Trails Beyond the Horizon is a huge step in the right direction for the series. The stakes are as big as ever, and the grand scale of world building and character development continue to outpace what most story-driven RPGs can only dream of. Is it the best Trails game? No, but it’s still a huge achievement that makes up an even larger achievement. The game could take you anywhere between 60 and 90 hours but if you’re a fan of the series, you’re going to enjoy every second of it.
4.5/5
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