While the highly anticipated release of the remake of the original Trails in the Skyis just around the corner, what can’t be understated is the fact that we’ll soon be fully caught up with Japan when Trails Beyond the Horizon launches early next year. NIS America had the game at their booth during PAX West, and while it’s just a taste of what’s to expect, it’s shaping up to be another worthy entry in the storied series.
The demo featured at PAX was super brief. What we played seemingly took place in a dimension seemingly related to the Marchen Garten in Trails through Daybreak IIand had us using two separate parties–the first of which consisted of Van, Feri, and Bergard. The purpose of the demo was really to put some focus on changes to the battle system.
But I have to mention this — when I was playing, I was a little embarrassed because it didn’t look like I knew what I was doing. I had a rough time utilizing the camera, kept pressing the wrong buttons to end up in the wrong menus, and I was just a mess. The reason I looked like an absolute newbie was because I had gotten used to all the control changes found in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. Again, this is not the game’s fault at all, but if you’re a junkie like me that also spent time in 1st Chapter‘s demo, you’d probably struggle with the controls too.
The PAX demo runs you through the game’s battle system, which despite two nuances, still feels the same. Not necessarily a bad thing.
Getting back into the demo, if you’ve played any of the Trails games in the Calvard arc, you’ll be in familiar territory. Trails Beyond the Horizon still makes use of the hybrid battle system found in the last two games that emphasizes weakening enemies in action while finishing them off in turn-based. We only had like 15 minutes to play this short demo, but this game seems to add two “new” things, and it’s tough to say whether they’ll make a significant difference to most players.
The first of which activates a setting where the screen goes monochrome and everything moves more slowly by pressing R3 down. From here, you’re able to get more hits in. The second of which is an adoption of Trails of Cold Steel III‘s “Brave Orders” system under a different name. Brave Orders give your team temporary buffs that really do affect the tide of battle, but considering this is a demo, it’s hard to tell what kind of impact it’ll actually have.
It was fitting that the Brave Orders were tied to the second party in the demo that consisted of Rean, Altina, and Kevin–a team that’s ridiculously OP. The game didn’t really mention why Rean is back, or any real details of the Gralsritter’s Father Graham, so it’s just stuff shrouded in mystery for now.
Trails Beyond the Horizon is slated for release on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, and Switch 2 in January of 2026, so it definitely looks like JRPG fans will be starting the year on a high note.
While the highly anticipated release of the remake of the original Trails in the Sky is just around the corner, what can’t be understated is the fact that we’ll soon be fully caught up with Japan when Trails Beyond the…
While the highly anticipated release of the remake of the original Trails in the Skyis just around the corner, what can’t be understated is the fact that we’ll soon be fully caught up with Japan when Trails Beyond the Horizon launches early next year. NIS America had the game at their booth during PAX West, and while it’s just a taste of what’s to expect, it’s shaping up to be another worthy entry in the storied series.
The demo featured at PAX was super brief. What we played seemingly took place in a dimension seemingly related to the Marchen Garten in Trails through Daybreak IIand had us using two separate parties–the first of which consisted of Van, Feri, and Bergard. The purpose of the demo was really to put some focus on changes to the battle system.
But I have to mention this — when I was playing, I was a little embarrassed because it didn’t look like I knew what I was doing. I had a rough time utilizing the camera, kept pressing the wrong buttons to end up in the wrong menus, and I was just a mess. The reason I looked like an absolute newbie was because I had gotten used to all the control changes found in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. Again, this is not the game’s fault at all, but if you’re a junkie like me that also spent time in 1st Chapter‘s demo, you’d probably struggle with the controls too.
The PAX demo runs you through the game’s battle system, which despite two nuances, still feels the same. Not necessarily a bad thing.
Getting back into the demo, if you’ve played any of the Trails games in the Calvard arc, you’ll be in familiar territory. Trails Beyond the Horizon still makes use of the hybrid battle system found in the last two games that emphasizes weakening enemies in action while finishing them off in turn-based. We only had like 15 minutes to play this short demo, but this game seems to add two “new” things, and it’s tough to say whether they’ll make a significant difference to most players.
The first of which activates a setting where the screen goes monochrome and everything moves more slowly by pressing R3 down. From here, you’re able to get more hits in. The second of which is an adoption of Trails of Cold Steel III‘s “Brave Orders” system under a different name. Brave Orders give your team temporary buffs that really do affect the tide of battle, but considering this is a demo, it’s hard to tell what kind of impact it’ll actually have.
It was fitting that the Brave Orders were tied to the second party in the demo that consisted of Rean, Altina, and Kevin–a team that’s ridiculously OP. The game didn’t really mention why Rean is back, or any real details of the Gralsritter’s Father Graham, so it’s just stuff shrouded in mystery for now.
Trails Beyond the Horizon is slated for release on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, and Switch 2 in January of 2026, so it definitely looks like JRPG fans will be starting the year on a high note.
by Danreb Victorio
