When the CEO of a Vtubing company ends up murdered, the only suspects happen to be the six girls within the company. To solve this murder mystery we begin to delve behind the curtain of the Vtubing world, catch quite a few references, take a suspect to court and more in Lilien Games’ The Real Face of a Vtuber.
The Real Face of a VTuber – Gameplay
The Real Face of a VTuber is a psychological horror visual novel that peels back the curtain on the glittering world of online fame. You step into the role of a VTuber manager, guiding a rising virtual star through streams, private conversations, and unsettling behind-the-scenes moments. What begins as a lighthearted look at internet celebrity slowly spirals into something far more disturbing, as cracks begin to form between the avatar on screen and the person behind it.
As the story unfolds, your choices shape relationships, mental states, and the direction of the narrative itself. Dialogue-driven progression, branching paths, and creeping psychological tension keep you questioning what’s real and what’s carefully constructed. Blending modern internet culture with intimate horror, The Real Face of a VTuber delivers an unsettling narrative experience that lingers long after the screen goes dark.
The Real Face of a VTuber Developer: Lilien Games Publisher: Lilien Games Platform: PC (Steam) Release Date: 13 Jan, 2026 Price: $11.99 USD
Recommended – “The Real Face of a VTuber blends a clever murder mystery with sharp VTubing insight, offering fan‑friendly humor despite some underused characters, some rough formatting, and translation issues”
Celebrate 10 years of Foxhole with air-based warfare, paratroopers, and aircraft carriers with the latest free update.
[January 16th, 2026] – A new era for Foxhole willbegin on Feb 9 with the launch of Airborne, an update that expands the persistent online war into the skies. Airborne introduces air-based warfare, combining it with land and naval gameplay to create a seamless online battlefield. Prepare for aircraft operations, aviation logistics, paratroopers, a naval refresh, and a vastly expanded world reimagined with upgraded visuals.
As part of the Airborne update, players can build and operate squadrons of recon planes, fighters, bombers, and other specialized aircraft, taking part in air-to-air battles, bombing runs, and supply line disruption. Every pilot, gunner, and crewman is a player working in various roles. Aircraft are produced, armed, and repaired by player-based ground crews using production facilities, hangars, and airfields in the world.
The update also introduces paratroopers, allowing squads to deploy behind hostile lines to disrupt enemy logistics and infrastructure. Naval forces have received a refresh with new ships and the addition of the aircraft carrier, which enables aircraft to launch and conduct missions from offshore locations. These features are supported by new multi-region islands and expanded maritime areas, which increase the depth and scope of both naval and air engagements.
Key Features:
Air Warfare: Air-based operations with player crewed fighters, bombers, and other aircraft
Aircraft Logistics: Aircraft production and ground crew gameplay for repairing and rearming planes
Air Defense: Recon planes, radar installations, and anti-air emplacements for detecting and defending against air raids
Naval Update: New ships classes and aircraft carriers for offshore air missions
World Expansion & Visuals: New islands, maritime regions, and upgraded visuals
To coincide with the launch of Airborne and celebrate ten years of Foxhole’s development and over 62 free updates, the Foxhole Supporters Edition is also available, featuring a digital artbook, original soundtrack, in-game themes, supporter badge, and exclusive wallpapers.
About Siege Camp
Siege Camp is an independent game studio best known for Foxhole, the persistent world war game where players coordinate logistics and strategy across a living battlefield.
Global CBT Feedback Reflected as Launch Shifts to March; Controls and Combat Enhancements Underway
LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 16, 2026 – Netmarble, a leading developer and publisher of high-quality games, has released a developer note for its highly anticipated co-op open world RPG The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin, outlining key improvements identified through its recent closed beta test. Alongside detailing gameplay refinements based on player feedback, it also announced that the game’s global launch has been rescheduled from January to March to further enhance overall quality and polish.
Following the closed beta test conducted in late 2025, the development team has been actively refining multiple core gameplay systems based on community feedback. These efforts include improving the overall combat system with a focus on greater intuitiveness and clearer visibility that enhances character controls and responsiveness, and strengthening the overall convenience features to ensure smoother gameplay flow. The goal is to offer a more seamless and immersive co-op open world RPG that elevates both exploration and combat.
“We are grateful to everyone who participated in the CBT and shared valuable feedback,” said Do-Hyung Koo, the Executive Producer of The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin. “Thanks to your input, we are making meaningful improvements to ensure a more intuitive and immersive co-op open world RPG experience at launch.”
Throughout 2025, The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin garnered attention at major global gaming events including Summer Game Fest, gamescom ONL, Tokyo Game Show, G-STAR 2025, and The Game Awards. Fans were introduced to the game through multiple trailers and demo builds. In early November 2025, a global CBT was conducted, yielding strong feedback, with 95% of survey respondents indicating they would continue playing after launch.
Based on the hit Japanese manga and anime IP The Seven Deadly Sins, which has sold over 55 million copies globally, The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin lets players explore Britannia in a vast open world. It features tag-based combat, combination skills, and customizable teams using diverse characters and weapons. Multiplayer elements include forming parties for exploration or teaming up to defeat bosses.
To stay updated, follow The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin on its official YouTube, X, and Discord channels.
Founded in Korea in 2000, Netmarble Corporation is a leading global game developer and publisher. Through acclaimed franchises and strategic partnerships with top-tier IP holders, the company delivers innovative and engaging gaming experiences to audiences worldwide. As a parent company of Kabam, SpinX Games, Jam City, and a major shareholder of HYBE and NCSOFT, Netmarble’s diverse portfolio includes Solo Leveling:ARISE, Seven Knights Re:BIRTH, Raven2, MARVEL Future Fight, and The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com.
Wishfully Studios and Thunderful are showing off a never-before-seen location from Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf in a new video featuring 10 minutes of unedited gameplay. The highly anticipated cinematic puzzle adventures is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch in early 2026.
In the video, we follow Lana and Mui as they stealth and puzzle their way through Novo’s Northern Wastelands, only to discover it’s been turned into an endless Robot graveyard. Their journey concludes at a giant, mysterious wall bearing a familiar symbol. After sneaking inside, through dark sewers and murky waters, they discover something unlike anything they’ve ever seen on Novo before.
Key gameplay features that await players in Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf include:
Unique, Evolved Companion Gameplay: Experience Lana and Mui’s profound, evolving bond. Guide Mui with enhanced precision for deep exploration and collaborative puzzle-solving.
Solve Diverse & Clever Puzzles: Tackle a wider array of physics-based puzzles, including hypnotizing spectacular creatures and controlling new hybrid robots for unique solutions.
Master Stealth & Wit: Carefully navigate dangerous situations using refined stealth mechanics and tactical wit to outsmart foes.
Survive Challenging Action Sequences: Use your reflexes and master Lana’s new agility with wall jumps, run-slides, and faster movement to survive thrilling, dynamic action sequences.
Discover an Epic & Deeper Story: Immerse in a longer, more profound sci-fi saga. Confront Lana’s own demons and unveil the planet’s darkest secrets across stunning, diverse worlds, including new underwater chapters.
Return of an Acclaimed Composer: Experience Takeshi Furukawa’s critically acclaimed score, from the original Planet of Lana. His mesmerizing compositions seamlessly elevate every emotional beat and cinematic moment.
About Wishfully Studios Wishfully is the indie game studio behind the critically acclaimed Planet of Lana. With a passion for creating stunning artwork, deep storytelling, and innovative design, they consistently strive to make games that leave a lasting impact.
About Thunderful Founded in 2017, Thunderful is a video game publisher headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Thunderful offers third-party publishing, co-development services and publishing support services. The company has published and/or developed award-winning and critically acclaimed titles such as the SteamWorld IP, Planet of Lana, Viewfinder, LEGO® Bricktales, Lost In Random and more.
New video details a decade of stats from cult hit as studio celebrates anniversary and announces 60 Seconds! Souper Scavenger
Poznań, Poland – January 16th, 2026 – Robot Gentleman, the developers of the cult hit series, 60 Seconds!, have officially announced their next title. Selling over 6.5 million copies worldwide, the next installment in the popular game series is 60 Seconds! Souper Scavenger. This new spin-off will expand the 60 Seconds! Universe as Robot Gentlemen prepares for a major game release.
60 Seconds! Souper Scavenger is a narrative-based runner where you run, jump, scavenge and survive. The McDoodle family has survived the nuclear apocalypse in the safety of their fallout shelter, but their troubles are far from over. Head out into a hostile wasteland as Mary Jane to collect that most precious of resources – soup! Avoid raiders, ill-parked bicycles, remains of a collapsed civilization, mutant marathons, and more as you speed through a procedurally generated wasteland. The game will also feature quests, unlockable characters and items to collect from the original 60 Seconds!.
The official announcement of 60 Seconds! Souper Scavenger comes as Robot Gentlemen celebrates its 14th anniversary and hot on the heels of the 10-year anniversary of their cult hit 60 Seconds!To mark a decade of 60 Seconds!, Robot Gentlemen has released a new video that breaks down some fun stats from their cult hit, including, of course, the number of soup cans collected by players. Fans can also join the team for their 14th anniversary livestream, taking place on Saturday January 17th at 5pm CET.
“We are excited to return to the 60 Seconds! Universe with 60 Seconds! Souper Scavenger and look forward to sharing more about the game and the other titles we have in development soon” said said Dominik Gotojuch, Founder and Creative Director. “As we celebrate a decade since our debut title, 60 Seconds!, and 14 years as an independent studio – which is no mean feat – we want to take this opportunity to thank our community. It’s your support that has made the last decade possible.”
About Robot Gentleman Robot Gentleman is an independent game developer based in Poznań, Poland. The studio is known for atomic dark comedy survival adventures 60 Seconds! and 60 Parsecs!. Following the success of the 60! series they have been developing new, unconventional projects, actively engaging with other creators, and supporting the art scene in their home city of Poznań.
New York City, January 16, 2026; Love and Deepspace, the sci-fi romance title from Infold Games, will celebrate its second anniversary with a limited-time pop-up event in Manhattan from January 16–18, 2026. The event coincides with the game’s latest in-game version update and arrives as Love and Deepspace surpasses 80 million players worldwide, marking a major milestone for the franchise.
Designed as the centerpiece of the game’s global anniversary campaign, the New York City activation brings Love and Deepspace into a real-world setting for players, media, and creators across the U.S. East Coast. Since its launch, the title has continued to scale rapidly, achieving 20.5% year-on-year growth in daily active users and demonstrating sustained momentum across global markets.
That growth has translated into chart-topping performance worldwide. Love and Deepspace has topped the App Store Top-Grossing charts in 41 countries and regions, spanning key markets across China, Europe, North America, and Japan, and has also reached No.1 on the App Store Free chart in 29 countries and regions, underscoring both its commercial success and broad player appeal.
Spanning approximately 5,000 square feet, the Manhattan pop-up transforms its venue into a cinematic sci-fi environment inspired by the game’s universe and characters. The experience is anchored by a 270-degree immersive light and sound installation, surrounding guests with cosmic visuals and synchronized audio that reflect the scale, emotion, and production values that have helped the title reach tens of millions of players worldwide.
The experience continues through a star-themed exhibition corridor featuring life-size standees of the game’s five love interests, including thermochromic displays and integrated interactive photo moments. Designed to balance visual impact with smooth guest flow, the corridor draws inspiration from previous international activations while introducing new elements tailored specifically for the New York audience. Dedicated anniversary photo backdrops invite attendees to capture and share their experience as part of the two-year celebration.
With more than 80 million players worldwide, strong year-on-year engagement growth, and chart-topping performance across dozens of global markets, the New York City pop-up serves as both a celebration of Love and Deepspace’s second anniversary and a statement of the franchise’s expanding cultural footprint.
About Love and Deepspace
As part of the acclaimed Mr. Love series, Love and Deepspace blends cinematic storytelling, real-time 3D interactions, and romance-driven gameplay in a futuristic sci-fi setting. Players take on the role of Deepspace Hunters, battling unknown threats while forging emotional connections with five Evol-gifted heroes. Since its global release on January 18, 2024, Love and Deepspace has captivated over 80 million players around the world. Slogan: Traversing Deepspace, Be With You
Cinematic and Gameplay Videos Showcase the Next Evolution of the Arknights Universe
SHANGHAI — Jan. 16, 2026 — Global publisher GRYPHLINE is ramping up to the launch of its highly anticipated 3D Industrial RPG Arknights: Endfield with the release of two brand-new trailers. During today’s developer livestream, GRYPHLINE premiered the official release trailer and the ‘New Horizons’ gameplay trailer, providing a detailed look at the world of Talos-II before the title’s official launch. The release trailer features cinematic animations set against the high-octane original anthem “We Are Empire” by rock band STARSET, while the ‘New Horizons’ trailer highlights the game’s vast industrial landscapes, specialized operators, and unfolding mystery.
Arknights: Endfield is set to launch on Jan. 22, 2026, on PlayStationⓇ5, PC via the official launcher and Epic Games Store, and mobile devices via Apple App Store and Google Play Store, as a free-to-play title with in-game purchases. It is the latest entry set in the popular Arknights universe, and has already garnered more than 35 million pre-registrations worldwide. To celebrate the milestone, all community rewards and special gifts revealed during the livestream will be available for players to claim starting on launch day.
Arknights: Endfieldintroduces a new frontier storyline and a world built around exploration, strategic real-time combat, and base-building. Players command squads of up to four Operators, combining skills, elemental synergies, and coordinated tactics across fast-paced encounters. The story follows the Endministrator (Endmin) – a legendary guardian awakened from a ten-year hibernation to lead Endfield Industries from their orbital headquarters, the OMV Dijiang.
On Talos-II, players harness the Automated Industrial Complex (AIC), a system used to architect integrated production networks and power grids across the wilderness. As the Endmin, players must manage these facilities while defending the Civilization Band from organized raider clans and investigate the origins of their self-commissioned “Zeroth Directive”.
Arknights: Endfield leverages the latest graphical technologies, including native 120 FPS support, realistic snow-stepping, environmental puddle reflections, and more. Players can also toggle NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution and Frame Generation independently. The title includes plug-and-play support for both PlayStation (DualSense & DualShock) and Xbox controllers with haptic feedback for a premium, tactile experience.
GRYPHLINE is the global publishing brand of HYPERGRYPH, headquartered in Singapore, with branches across multiple countries and regions. Our mission is to bring unique and high-quality gaming experiences to players across the world. As the trusted global publishing partner of HYPERGRYPH, we are responsible for releasing titles including Arknights: Endfield, Ex Astris, and POPUCOM. We are also expanding into more areas of global publishing, launching the official player community SKPORT, and actively engaging in investments and IP licensing to grow our global business. More information can be found here on the official company site www.gryphline.com.
[Indonesia – January 16] – The streets of New Rise City are officially open. Indonesian indie studios SeblaccSoft and YSY Softworks have launched Bail Force: Cyberpunk Bounty Hunters, a high-octane action roguelite where enemies learn from every move, today on PC via Steam.
Built as a fast, high-pressure action roguelite, Bail Force: Cyberpunk Bounty Hunters challenges players to survive a city that actively pushes back. Combat is tight, aggressive, and constantly shifting, blending classic 2D arcade responsiveness with modern roguelite pacing where every slash, shot, and dash matters.
At the core of the experience is Bail Force’s Adaptive Combat System, a mechanic that ensures no strategy stays safe for long. Enemies dynamically analyze how players fight and evolve in real time. Favor ranged weapons and foes will close the distance. Lean too heavily on melee or evasive play, and enemies will shift their positioning and behavior to counter it. Rather than static encounters, each run becomes a constant tactical back-and-forth as New Rise City learns from the player.
Runs are supported by a modular Add-On Upgrade System, allowing players to customize weapons, movement, and abilities mid-hunt. Add-Ons provide passive bonuses and active enhancements that enable powerful synergies, last-second pivots, and risk-reward experimentation as challenges escalate.
As an action roguelite, Bail Force: Cyberpunk Bounty Hunters is built for replayability. Procedurally generated city hunts remix layouts, enemy encounters, and combat scenarios so no two runs play quite the same. Each hunt offers new challenges and opportunities to refine tactics against ever-adapting enemies.
Threaded through every run is a dual-protagonist narrative set in a dystopian metropolis ruled by crime lords and corporate enforcers. Players step into the boots of two elite bounty hunters: Angel, a driven student out for revenge, and Lea, a sharp-edged survivor chasing her next big payout. Their missions collide as both track the most dangerous crime lord in New Rise City, with choices, combat tendencies, and protagonist selection shaping branching story paths and multiple endings.
Bail Force: Cyberpunk Bounty Hunters is out now on Steam for $9.99 USD, launching with a 20% discount for a limited time. Step into New Rise City today and follow SeblaccSoft and YSY Softworks.
ABOUT YSY SOFTWORKS
YSY Softworks is a global PC game developer & publisher focused on Japanese ACG culture, creating visually stunning anime-style games. Their mission is to provide engaging gameplay, beautiful graphics, and unique storylines that transport players to imaginative and immersive worlds. With a diverse range of games, they are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in game development.
ABOUT INDIE.IO
indie.io is home to over 100 of the world’s best independent video games and developers. Our platform was built to provide independent developers with the resources, services, and management tools needed for success. Through collaboration and passion, we strive to cultivate a diverse and vibrant gaming landscape that resonates with players and creators alike!
Meet Yuria and Evie: First Glimpse at BAKUDO’s Fearless Protagonists
Tokyo, Japan – January 16th, 2026 – Shueisha Games is proud to announce that the competitive sci-fi hyperball sports boss-rush action game BAKUDO will launch its new demo in February 2026, on PC via Steam. This news also introduces new character visuals for two protagonists, Yuria and Evie, offering a first look into the world of BAKUDO and its heroes.
Playable Combat Demo Coming February 2026 The first playable combat demo for BAKUDO is set to launch online in February 2026, giving players worldwide their first hands-on experience with the game’s ball-based boss-rush combat. Previously available only at offline events, this demo will include a basic combat tutorial, a tutorial boss battle, and an early-stage boss encounter, and is designed to showcase early combat mechanics. The demo will continue to be refined as development progresses, with exact release timings to be announced soon via Steam and official social channels.
First Look at Key Characters Striking new character visuals offer a first glimpse into the dynamic world of BAKUDO, introducing protagonist Yuria and her key ally Evie. Yuria enrolls in an elite academy dedicated to BAKUDO competition, driven to uncover the truth behind her missing father as she faces intense challenges and forms lasting bonds with those around her. Among these bonds is Evie, a genius inventor whose exceptional skill in developing BAKUDO equipment and outgoing, cheerful personality makes her a central figure in both the story and gameplay.
2025 Global Milestones In 2025, BAKUDO saw major growth, with Shueisha Games announced as the game’s global publishing partner. Its debut trailer at The Mix Summer Showcase has over 550,000 views, and its demo showcased at events including Bilibili World, BitSummit, Gamescom and G-EIGHT, receiving enthusiastic responses from players thanks to the game’s unique blend of competitive ball sports and high-tempo action gameplay..
“We’re thrilled that BAKUDO has surpassed 50,000 Steam wishlists in just two months since our first trailer release,” said Jonathan Wang, Producer at Shueisha Games. “This milestone shows the amazing support and enthusiasm from our community. We sincerely thank everyone for their continued interest and encouragement as we move forward!”
About BAKUDO BAKUDO is a sci-fi boss-rush action game fusing high-octane ball-sport mechanics with exhilarating combat. Enroll at an elite BAKUDO academy and clash with formidable opponents as you uncover a major conspiracy. When determination is put to the ultimate test, you must tip the scales of destiny.
About SAYIL GAMES SAYIL GAMES was founded in late 2022 by five university friends who came together as an independent game team driven by a shared passion for creating memorable gaming experiences. As both developers and players, we are committed to conveying the emotion and impact of games through our own creative efforts. Our debut title, BAKUDO, is currently in full-scale development.
About Shueisha Games Shueisha Games, founded in February 2022 and headquartered in Tokyo, is an enthusiastic and experienced team responsible for the planning, development, and sales of many titles for consoles, PCs, and smartphones.
It is hard to believe that there would be a time that not only would the Western releases of The Legend of Heroes franchise manage to catch up to the Japanese releases of this incredibly lengthy franchise, but that the game’s that helped kick it off would be getting remade at the very same time. A few months ago we reviewed the fresh remake of Nihon Falcom’s Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter and now here we are, visiting the most recent release in a story featuring characters and plot elements spanning all the way from that very first game twenty-two years ago. It’s not often that a video game sequel requires full knowledge of its predecessors, and in many ways The Legend of Heroes tried to do that with Daybreak, but now that everything has gathered together in The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon, players best be ready for the most character packed, lore heavy, game of the franchise since Reverie.
Story
If it wasn’t clear from the opening, it is not recommended to play Trails Beyond the Horizon without beating both Trails Through Daybreak and Daybreak 2 first. In fact, even the game’s included “recap” of events that players can view is very limited compared to what actually happens in the games and the countless different factions and players involved in the plotlines, let alone the brief info it gives of other characters. This becomes immediately evident as the story kicks off with Arkride Solutions’ Van Arkride taking part in a special “training” simulation to test out new ways to use the “Shards” weapons systems alongside a number of other allies. This includes Kevin Graham (Trails in the Sky), and Rean Schwarzer (Trails of Cold Steel) and a few of each of their compatriots also joining in on this practice exercise. Combining these three major players into one large group wasn’t just coincidence however, it was all orchestrated not only to advance the weapons tech of Arkride Solution’s Agnes’ father’s tech, but also to help them bear witness to the next “great step” for humanity.
Agnes’ father and president of Calvard announces and kickstarts the Project Startaker. A mission that consists of three phases to try and help achieve manned space flight. Before the gathering of every big shot the initial test went off without a hitch and when the second phase manages to deploy an unnamed dummy mech into space while Van, Kevin, and Rean, and all of their companions were enjoying some downtime with the best and brightest, it wasn’t long before eventually the third phase of the project, actually sending an astronaut into space for the first time ever, would be happening. The only problem is, there are far more sinister forces at work in the form of unknown forces moving behind the scenes, remnants and resurgences of Ouroboros, the mysteries of Agnes’ Genesis device that remains unsolved, and eventually to make matters worse, the story splits into three separate storylines along the way, each following a main character and cast of its own each trying to solve one or more of these mysteries along the way.
To say that The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is as dense of a plot the franchise has ever had would be something of an understatement. The introduction of the prologue might be a bit on the slow side and even the first act that serves as a way to introduce the vast amount of characters that will be in the game and help freshen players back up to the mechanics of the game world but nearly everything beyond that point will feel like players are being steeped in countless developments, twists, and even more mysteries from almost every angle.
It is interesting to note that while each character route is handled fairly well, they don’t quite feel like they all have the same level of impact, especially in regards to character development. For the most part Van’s storyline feels like retracing the past and learning more about things that have already been in development while helping to expand only some of the cast members, and leaving those in dire need of development still lacking. On the flipside, it does feel like Rean is once again given the special treatment here as as not only does Rean manage to pull together quite a few familiar faces from the past, the most out of the entire cast, it also happens to feature some of the biggest revelations before things start really kicking off in the latter half of the game. Along these same lines, Kevin’s route features plenty of intriguing and interesting details that feel like they’ve been underexplored before and seeing how these characters handle these mysteries was easily one of the best parts of the split storyline.
One thing that is worth mentioning, and while we won’t go into detail here to avoid spoilers, is how The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon manages to come to a close. Fans of the franchise have seen wars come to an end through bombastic means in other story arcs, cults and their demonic gods being eliminated in others, but here the story leaves players hanging with a massive question mark as to where the story can go from here. Again, while avoiding specific details, the events that play out in the latter half of the game have global consequences, especially for the land of Zemuria. This type of cliffhanger is unusual even for a Legend of Heroes game, making the wait for the next one all the more dire considering this is the first time English players have caught up with the Japanese audience.
If there was anything that was an issue with the way the story was handled, is that despite pulling together so many familiar and returning faces to not only join the story in a partial way but also as playable characters, they don’t actually interact with characters from other story arcs too much. Outside of the initial prologue that sees everyone gather together, a bit of intermission here and there, and the mostly optional Grim Garten dungeon that can see characters fight alongside one another that never have a chance to otherwise. This is partly due to the way that the storyline splits amongst the cast members and while it is understandable that trying to juggle such a massive cast is quite the challenge, seeing some more interactions between the members would have been a delight for longtime fans of this long running franchise.
Gameplay
In many ways The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon still plays the same as the first two Daybreak games with players still needing to spend time exploring the world, taking on and completing side-quests and the occasional investigation if they happen to be playing as Van, taking part in mini-games, and of course obtaining plenty of loot and gear to customize the team with. As mentioned before, the game is broken up into story segments following each of the three primary party leaders of Van, Rean, and Kevin who all have unique content of their own.
The combat gameplay is also mostly the same, though a few extra tweaks have been made to keep things interesting. Similar to the first two Daybreak games and the remake of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, players will have the option to fight against enemies in open-field action based combat to freely dish out damage and dodge incoming attacks. This is a great way to eliminate smaller foes and now players can even cast “Quick Arts” after dealing enough damage to target elemental weaknesses and even charging up a “heavy attack” that can stun an enemy while dealing heavy damage. Players can choose to kill enemies in action combat if they wish but sending out “shards” when enemies are stunned not only deals additional damage but also transfers the game into its turn-based RPG style combat that is far more controllable and gives players a number of more options to work with. Interestingly enough, players can even withdraw their shards at any time to transition back into action combat if they wish to.
In the turn-based combat players can have access to their full line-up of Arts, Crafts, and use items during their turn as well as lining up attacks to target the most enemies at once or standing near allies to chain attacks together. Similarly S-Crafts remain as powerful as ever. The turn based system maintains most of the same mechanics as before though a few new elements have also been included here that also play a role into the action combat as well. The first of these is a “ZOC” mechanic that during action combat slows time and gives the player’s party a damage boost and in turn-based fights works to not only Double Shard Boost the current character, giving them extra turns or immediately casting Arts, or offering impressive buffs to dish out a lot of damage.
Other new elements in the turn-based combat come in the form of Shard Commands. Shard Commands take a large portion of the Shard Boost meter but can temporarily provide party wide buffs to the entire party such as increasing overall damage, restoring health and providing shields, and more. Awakenings are another new, but slightly more limited, mechanic in action combat as only a select few characters that have special modes, such as Judith and Van, can power up and transform into a powered up version that most fans should expect and is a great way to annihilate smaller enemies or lay into mid-bosses or even bosses themselves before triggering the turn-based battle.
Other than that most other elements remain the same as ever. Players can equip various types of Quartz into a character’s Orbal gear to obtain special buffs and unique Arts specific to a certain element and of course standard equipment as well. It is worth noting that, despite this now being the fourth game to feature “action” based dungeon combat, the game’s camera still struggles to keep up with the action, especially with characters that have wilder attack patterns. Plus, the longer players battle it out using the game’s action mode the more they will notice that most enemies will have incredibly poor AI or only a few simple attacks, making fighting some enemies actually more challenging to fight in turn-based combat than action, which shouldn’t be the case for an RPG such as this one.
As mentioned briefly before, Trails Beyond the Horizon does bring back the randomized dungeon system but this time around it is called “Grim Garten” due to… circumstances. The dungeon still is the best way to obtain strong items and power up characters and use teams that otherwise are impossible throughout the game and see a few interactions that players wouldn’t see due to the way teams are split up. It is a great addition to carry forward, even if it feels rather lazy overall, but at least adding new ownership and a few extra elements does bring a fresh twist to the location.
Audio & Visuals
Trails Beyond the Horizon continues to show how Falcom has improved over every release with more details added to the already countless characters and the fancy looking action during special moves and the more action packed cut scenes. It is also nice to note that it is nice to see a large number of older characters get an updated look or completely redesigned in a few cases. The monster designs and the environments that players will travel through are fairly interesting but there are some low quality textures in some dungeons.
NIS America has provided an English voice track to accompany the original Japanese dub and it appears that they have managed to retain all of the original English voice actors. The dub is handled nicely and will be familiar to longtime fans though those that prefer the original Japanese will find it readily accessible. The soundtrack features some excellent pieces of background music, especially during combat sequences with a number of locations having unique tracks and some nice lows to go along with more dramatic scenes.
Overall
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon takes some impressive steps forward narratively by setting up some major stakes for whenever the next game in the franchise is set to drop, though it does it by forgoing any attempt at making the game accessible to all but the longest running of fans. Bringing together characters from countless story arcs and following their journey’s separately creates a storyline that can have some pacing issues but thankfully despite these issues the strong writing of these characters that fans have come to know helps keep everything together. The gameplay is mostly the same as the previous two entries but that is far from a bad thing as it works quite well and the few additions to the combat system add some extra tools to the player’s belt. Trails Beyond the Horizon offers a lot of what fans could have hoped for when it came to continuing the franchise’s story, but now for the first time ever in the West, players will be left wondering just when that story will be continuing.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
