I’ve been a fan of the Trails franchise for a long time. Nihon Falcom’s RPG series sets itself apart from many others, weaving a tale across many games via a living and breathing continent. You experience the history of an array of characters through the journey of a different protagonist and their allies during each trilogy or saga.

Trails Beyond the Horizon is the latest game in the timeline and is a follow-up to Trails Through Daybreak II. It continues the stories from Van Arkride, as well as characters such as Rean Schwarzer and Rufus Albarea from previous games. It connects in that regard not only to the Trails of Cold Steel quadrilogy, but also to the Trails into Reverie storyline, bringing all the current plots into one current point.

In terms of gameplay, Trails Beyond the Horizon plays very similarly to things like Trails of Daybreak II and the more recent release of Trails in the Sky 1^st Chapter remake. Not only does it offer strategic turn-based fights, but it has also refined the real-time systems that have become more common since Trails Through Daybreak. Both systems work together to create a combat system that feels complex, versatile, and lets you choose how you want to approach (most) combat situations.

The story is accompanied by beautiful visuals and a great soundtrack. The Trails franchise always excels in crafting a beautiful story in each entry, both visually, auditorily, and through the story it tells. The characters that join you in Trails Beyond the Horizon (both new and familiar) are interesting, creating a lush and enthralling experience. Using three protagonists and interweaving storylines really helps to encapsulate the reasons that Nihon Falcom’s Trails franchise has been so successful over the years.

There is a large array of side content as well, from the Grim Garten, which allows you to build a custom party and take on an evolving dungeon, to simpler things like fishing, basketball, and other mini-games. If you really want to spend time with it, doing everything that Trails Beyond the Horizon has to offer, I can see people getting well into 100 hours or more. A simpler playthrough that doesn’t take on all the side content will likely be a 40-60 hour affair, depending on your investment.

The PC version plays very well, with an array of options for both high-end and low-end systems. There are also a variety of accessibility features to help bridge the gap for people, including difficulty options both for real-time and turn-based action. As a fan who has played the franchise from the very beginning, Trails Beyond the Horizon is a shining example of how far the series has come.

For a story that is the culmination of Van Arkride’s saga, as well as the continuation of stories picked up in Trails Into Reverie, Trails Beyond the Horizon is a fantastic experience. Because of this, though, I would say it isn’t the best entry point in the series. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out if you’re interested, though.

In fact, I would say that if you are an RPG fan, Trails Beyond the Horizon is a great way to kick off 2026. It likely won’t be on anyone’s end-of-year “Best of” lists, but it is a fantastic RPG anyway.

A PC Review copy of Trails Beyond the Horizon was provided by NIS America for the purposes of this review.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

Trails Beyond the Horizon

$59.99

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Beautiful visuals
• Great storyline bringing 13 years of stories together
• Refinements to the combat of Trails Through Daybreak II
• 100+ hours of content
• Lots of accessibility and technical options

Cons

• Not great for newcomers