The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Review (Switch)

Trails through Daybreak on Switch offers a fresh storyline and engaging combat but struggles with small text and inconsistent voice acting.

: The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak, reviewed by Mitch Vogel, presents a new chapter in the series set in Calvard. It features strong turn-based combat and a fun morality system but is hindered by small text in portable mode and inconsistent voice acting. Overall, it is recommended for both newcomers and series fans.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak is set in the technologically advanced Republic of Calvard and follows Van Arkride, a morally gray Spriggan. Van, alongside schoolgirl Agnes Claudel, embarks on a quest to recover mysterious artifacts, introducing players to a well-paced and engaging narrative that is accessible even to newcomers of the series.

The turn-based combat is one of the game's highlights, combining new and traditional mechanics, and is complemented by a morality system that influences character alignment and faction relationships. However, the action combat feels underdeveloped and monotonous, and the Orbment system for character progression, while detailed, can make characters overpowered on default difficulty.

Visually, the game makes modest improvements with its new engine but suffers in portable mode due to tiny text and UI elements. The inconsistent voice acting integration in cutscenes also detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game is praised for its solid gameplay loop and is still a strong entry for both long-time fans and newcomers.

RPGTurnbasedCombat