• Price: $59.99 USD (Switch, digital & physical); $69.99 (Switch 2, digital & physical – Game Key Card)
  • Add $10 for Switch 2 version:
    • Digital Deluxe Edition: $79.99
    • Digital Deluxe+ Edition: $99.99
    • Ultimate Edition: $169.99
• Developer: Nihon Falcom
• Publisher: NIS America
• Release Date: January 15, 2026

A review code was kindly provided by NIS America on behalf of Nihon Falcom. We thank them for allowing us to cover something they’ve worked so hard on.

Rated T; content warnings: gambling, anti immigrant sentiments, sex work & human trafficking (mentioned), suicide attempt (side quest), terrorism

The Arkride Solutions team has worked together for close to a year now, and they’ve been through a lot. They’ve taken down Almata, stopped the Gardenmaster from carrying out his plans, and gathered all 8 Geneses. Yet many mysteries remain as Calvard gears up for its first manned mission to space. Rean Schwarzer and Kevin Graham arrive in Calvard with different objectives, but each group will investigate the secrets behind the space program…and of the entire continent of Zemuria.

Similar to Reverie and Daybreak II, the game is split into different routes between Van, Rean, and Kevin in each act. As usual Van’s group starts out with a more general sweep of the capital before they inevitably run into trouble, while Rean and Kevin have specific reasons for appearing in the Republic.

We’ll see more familiar faces from the many countries surrounding Calvard, as well as NPCs we’ve helped before with 4SPGs. I was happy to see how Kisara, the graffiti artist from Daybreak II, was doing. The side quests are similar in format to the previous games, and they brought back Topic Quests from Daybreak II. Similar to that game, the alignment system only affects the story of the side quests instead of the main story like in Daybreak.

The stealth quests where you follow suspicious people and the hacking quests return in Horizon. I remember not liking the stealth sections in Trails in the Sky very much, but you can easily restart these quests if you fail in order to earn the SP associated with the task.

Of course there are also the monster elimination quests and the enemies in the main storyline. Somehow they manage to improve the battle system with every game.

For example, they changed the “Cross Charge” from the last game and made it the “SCLM Charge.” Previously activating this mechanic would swap your currently active character with another in your party for a special charge attack. This wasn’t great because I preferred to only use certain characters in the field (action) battle mode. Now the character you use stays the same as another character charges the enemy for this function.

You can activate a new mechanic called ZOC, which slows down enemies and increases the damage you deal – including stun damage. Using Awakening on a few specific characters provides them with stat buffs in both field and command battles.

Another new feature would be the Shard Commands, which are buffs and healing skills exclusive to your equipped holo cores, and that are powered by your Boost Gauge. They made things more interesting by giving certain enemies Shard Commands and the ability to get extra turns like you.

I think it’s great how they continue to add new battle mechanics to keep things fresh and exciting. There are some new enemy statuses that make them more powerful, and Aaron, Bergard, and Agnès all get really neat new S-Crafts.

When it comes to the leisure activities in between battles and quests, we get to fish and cook again, but they added a fun new feature that is hilarious and so on-brand for Van. I probably could’ve done without basketball again, but it is pretty entertaining watching the characters try to block each other.

I wasn’t a fan of the card game introduced in Daybreak II (I miss Blade and Vantage Masters from the Cold Steel games, and Pom! Pom! Party, which Nadia references). Thankfully they took that card game away and added new optional mini games in the form of Blackjack and poker, which I’m actually okay at. There is also a sportsbook/“bookie” in the entertainment district where you can place bets on events.

Overall I really enjoyed all the entertainment and exploration that the game has to offer. (Shinobi Punk: Izayoi was probably my favorite movie this time around.) Something I appreciate about the progression through the Calvard games is that we’ve been able to explore new cities in each one, and even new districts of previously visited cities such as Edith and Langport.

It’s very rewarding to see the character development across the 3 games. Something I especially love is the way that the main Arkride Solutions team keeps getting closer – to the point that they all feel comfortable poking fun at Van now (well, except for Aaron, who has given him grief over pretty much everything from the moment they met). The police and the Bracer Guild both seem to accept Van a bit more now.

Familiar faces such as Renne and Fie still help out here and there, and Arkride Solutions gets a new part timer who shows up when you least expect it. I love this new member of the crew; they have great interactions with the main cast, and even with the minor characters as well. (They have cool attacks and movement in field battles, too.)

The Connection Events are always one of my favorite parts of these games. There’s one with Judith I found amusing, but as usual the Renne events are really touching. And many of the events in Rean’s route made me tear up because of how much they’ve grown since the Cold Steel games. I loved hearing what the rest of Class VII has been up to since then.

In Horizon there’s a way to view all Connection Events in a single playthrough, which is fantastic. (Granted, you can technically save and reload to watch each one in a chapter, but we didn’t get the friendship points that way in previous games.) Additionally, there are special scenes you can watch using “Memento” items you find; some of them only make sense as you progress through the game.

As far as the main storyline is concerned, I must confess that I got a little frustrated at the lack of communication between the different factions and Arkride Solutions. It seemed like everyone but Van’s team is keeping secrets from the others. They’re given some information, but a lot of key details are left out.

I found it confusing how a certain part of the game that is initially required becomes optional for advancing the plot when I thought the scenes were important to the story. And while the main menu includes an Archives section like the other recent Trails games, I don’t know if the information provides enough context for certain discoveries in Rean’s route (for players who have only played the Calvard games).

Despite my critiques and occasional confusion, I still enjoyed the story. The Trails series does a great job of keeping me guessing and coming up with theories as to who the real villains are and what’s going to happen next.

I was not expecting the reveal at the end of Kevin’s initial route in Act II. They really keep you guessing on the motives of the different parties, and there’s some good foreshadowing that hints at the ending later on. The opening scenes of the finale gave me chills, and an unexpected twist blew my mind.

After roughly 100 hours completing the main story and all the optional content, the story ends on a cliffhanger. My main issue with Horizon is that the story feels somewhat disjointed, and I was disappointed at the lack of real interaction between the 3 groups across the routes.

I have so many questions about everything that happened, and so many theories to go with them. I’m sad that we can’t find out the answers right away because I’m just so curious about what’s going to happen next. Despite my issues with the way some things were handled, I really enjoyed getting to spend time with these characters again. As a huge fan of the series I feel really impatient yet also excited to play the next game in the Calvard arc (as well as Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter this fall).

8/10