The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak on Steam Deck - First Impressions

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The game was provided by NIS America for review. Thank you!

Soon, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak will release its English version, marking the next entry in the incredible franchise coming to the US, and man, it is incredible. The story is on point, as is usual for the series. Still, the updated combat mechanics that allow you to switch from real-time to turn-based instantly, the updated visuals/effects, and the cast of characters have me hooked on the new arc for Calvard. And I am happy to confirm that it is playable on the Steam Deck!

A copy of the game was provided for review, but due to the key coming in significantly later than expected, I couldn't play through the full game and don't feel confident to publish a full review yet. Instead, I wanted to discuss some of the first impressions I have from playing it, focusing on the prologue and my thoughts on how it will be on Deck for the game. I will still be publishing a full review, but that will come later once I can play through the entire game to test it on the Steam Deck.

So, here are my thoughts on how Trails Through Daybreak will run on the Steam Deck:

Trails Through Daybreak on Steam Deck - First Impressions

Our recommended settings will be part of the full review, which we aim to be released before the game releases on July 5th.

Every other entry in the Trails series has been playable on the Steam Deck, and I am happy to confirm this one is as well! The controls feel great, and the game pops wonderfully on the OLED screen (and yes, it has HDR!). But while it can fit, it is definitely harder to run than the previous entries in the series.

Trails Through Daybreak has a significantly upgraded visual quality, making the models look more clean, environments more detailed, and effects more pronounced and vibrant. Because of this, the GPU of the Deck is maxed out at almost all times, and the game uses more RAM too. Regardless, it is still playable, but you will need to compromise a bit to play it stable.

Getting a stable 60 FPS will not be possible without heavily degraded visuals with the render resolution below 60%, and even still, there will be parts in the game that drop. When a lot of effects are on screen, using some skills, attacking a lot of enemies, or during cutscenes, I have found significant drops that can't be completely solved. Cutscenes themselves seem to be a big issue in this, and I have a feeling that the game increases its quality and draw distance for the cutscenes while the camera angles make the most out of it.

I tried to play at 50 FPS with some reduced settings, while render resolution was at 95% and a TDP limit of 9 to try maximizing battery. It did drop to the 40s in most cutscenes, with one in particular going to the 30s. The framerate would bounce back up to 50 after this and generally stay there. Most battles would stick to 50 while using some Crafts or fighting many enemies together would drop it. Coming from the older Trails games that are all playable at 60 FPS, this was a bit of an adjustment, but again, none of the games looked this good.

Because of how it has played so far, I am sure that there will be more demanding areas and battles in the future. This is a giant JRPG with an expansive world, as well as tons of enemies, different skills you can use, and more characters that will join your party. All of it can affect the game, and because of that, I believe aiming for 30 with a high render resolution or 40 with some sacrifices will be the most stable way to play. But even still, it is playable, and that's the most important part.

There's a lot more to still playthrough, and I am so excited to do it. I love the series, and Daybreak is looking like it will be one of the best, if not the best, entries for the series. I did find that some conversations having voice lines and some not at all was a bit jarring, especially when some people had a voice and others didn't in the same conversation, but it pales in comparison to everything Daybreak is getting right so far. I can't wait to continue my journey into Calvard and discover more of the awesome mechanics Falcom has implemented.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak will have its English version available on July 5th.

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