Fun hybrid action and turn-based combat
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews
“The combat is probably the best combination of real time action and turned based combat I have seen in a JRPG game like this.”
Steam review · 115.8 h played ↗
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Overwhelmingly PositiveOverwhelmingly Positive · 95%Nihon Falcom2025JRPG · RPG · Adventure
−50%$59.99$29.99
US Steam price, checked 3 h ago
The verdict
A faithful, beautifully remade slow-burn JRPG with charming characters, a strong hybrid combat system and an emotional ending. Skip it if you dislike heavy dialogue, slow pacing or anime tropes.
Great for
JRPG fans who enjoy slow-burn, character-driven stories, worldbuilding and Trails newcomers wanting a starting point
Main risk
Very slow, dialogue-heavy pacing where little happens until the end, which is basically a prologue for the sequel
What players love
Lovable characters and strong worldbuilding
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews
“The writing is charming and sincere, the music is great and I really like how expressive the character models are.”
Steam review · 91.4 h played ↗
Faithful, well-made remake with QoL
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“the most faithful remake of any game that i've ever seen. unlike seemingly every other modern day remake, this game respects the original and aims to honor the original, rather than rewrite it.”
Steam review · 4.4 h played ↗
Great entry point for the Trails series
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“A great way for new players to get into the Trails series.”
Steam review · 60 h played ↗
Emotional, rewarding ending
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“Just finished this last night... what was that ending? I'm hooked, picking up 2nd chapter ASAP.”
Steam review · 65.4 h played ↗
Runs well, including on Steam Deck
Mentioned in ~1 in 21 positive reviews
“Performance-wise, I had no issues whatsoever. Stable 90 FPS at max settings with my 4070 and zero crashes.”
Steam review · 78.6 h played ↗
What players complain about
Generic, childish writing and tropey characters
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“the story has been utterly predictable and cliche at every step.”
Steam review · 38.4 h played ↗
Extremely slow pacing, little happens
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“If your waiting for the prologue to end. Spoiler alert, it doesn't, This entire game is just a prologue.”
Steam review · 7.2 h played ↗
Combat feels stale or poorly designed
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“Another annoying fact is while I play real time it sudden switches to turn based to kill off the beast completely ruining the immersion”
Steam review · 10.9 h played ↗
Too much dialogue and cutscenes
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“There is simply far too much unnecessary conversation, often dragging out scenes that could have conveyed the same information in a fraction of the time.”
Steam review · 56.7 h played ↗
Publisher issues: localization, pricing, DLC
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“The legacy patch added several mistranslations a year after release.”
Steam review · 72.9 h played ↗
Poor combat balance and grind
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 negative reviews
“Every boss encounter and even scripted side quests are overtuned.”
Steam review · 5.4 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: VerifiedController support33 GB
Minimum
OSWindows 10/11
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 5 1600
Memory8 GB RAM
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
Storage33 GB available space
OSWindows 10/11
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 5 1600
Memory8 GB RAM
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
Storage33 GB available space
More games to check
Other games we’ve read the reviews for
Septerra Core
Very Positive · 82%
+ Engaging story and characters
− Steam version broken on modern PCs
analyzed 1 h ago
WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones
Very Positive · 91%Early verdict
+ Great value as a free game
− Feels like corporate advertising
analyzed 4 h ago
FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time
Very Positive · 91%
+ Addictive, cozy gameplay loop
− Generative AI use by Level-5
analyzed 22 h ago
ANOTHER EDEN
Mixed · 67%
+ Great story and characters
− Endless, slow, repeated downloads
analyzed 1 d ago
Weekly digest
Fresh games worth a look, in your inbox
The most interesting games we’ve just analyzed, once a week.Once a week we send the most interesting games we’ve just analyzed: the verdict, top pros and cons, and what changed. No spam.
One email a week · unsubscribe in one click