Trails Beyond the Horizon: Early Impressions From a New Player
Trails Beyond the Horizon: Early Impressions From a New Player
I went into The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon without playing the Trails series in order. After about 10 to 15 hours on PC, I wanted to answer one simple question. Is this worth trying if you are new to Trails.
Updated January 13, 2026. English release date: January 15, 2026.
What this is and who this is for
This is not a full review. It is an early look written from a new player perspective after about 10 to 15 hours. If you are looking for a full review instead of an early look, that is more like how we covered Marvel Cosmic Invasion in our full review coverage.
Trails is a series known for long running story arcs and big payoffs for veterans, so this article focuses on what it feels like if you are curious but not fully caught up.
My Trails context
I own Trails in the Sky, Trails of Cold Steel, and Trails of Cold Steel 3. I know what this series is. I just have not lived inside it the way longtime fans have. That is why Beyond the Horizon felt like a good test.
The 10 to 15 hour feel
The first stretch is overwhelming. You start with a full toolkit instead of a tiny moveset. At first I genuinely wondered if I was supposed to understand everything right away. The answer turned out to be no.
This is the same approach we took during our Moonlighter 2 early impressions coverage. You learn by playing, not by memorizing menus.
Combat
The hybrid system mixing real time field battles with turn based command battles is the backbone of the game. You are constantly shifting between movement, positioning, and tactical decisions.
City exploration and 4SPG missions
One of my favorite parts of these first 10 to 15 hours has been the investigation style side missions. They break up combat and make the city feel lived in.
This follows the same Worth A Try format we use when deciding whether something is worth checking out before fully committing.
Law, Gray, and Chaos
Choices push you toward Law, Gray, or Chaos. These do not radically change the story, but they influence reactions, rewards, and certain outcomes.
Story clarity for new players
You can feel that this world has decades of history behind it, but even after 10 to 15 hours I was not lost. I always understood what I was doing and why it mattered.
