Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter demo impressions — Switch 2, PS5, Steam Deck, Switch, and ROG Ally tested
Today, Falcom and GungHo released a free Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter demo covering the game's prologue. We had access to the demo prior to it launching and James has two features on the PC demo. Read his thoughts on the remake so far here and on the PC port here. For my feature, I have covered the demo on all consoles and also PC handhelds to see how the game scales across hardware.
Note that since this is a demo, it is likely that things might change for the full release. I also have only spent about an hour on each platform with high-speed mode enabled to just focus on the technical aspects. I will save my definitive thoughts on the performance, visuals, and my Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Steam Deck recommended settings for when I have the full game.
For my initial Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter demo impressions, I've tested the PS5 version in its two visual modes (60fps and 120fps), the Switch version on Switch 2 docked/handheld, the Switch version on my Switch OLED in handheld mode, the Steam version on Steam Deck (both OLED and LCD models), and also the Steam version on my ROG Ally. Since only the Steam and PS5 demos are available in the West, my Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 testing is based on the Japanese Switch eShop demo.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter PS5 demo impressions
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter on PS5 is gorgeous. It looks crisp on my 1440p display and runs flawlessly with very fast loading. When checking the settings, I was surprised to see an optional 120fps option under the High Frame Rate Mode at the bottom of the Display/Camera settings. This allows you to target 120fps with reduced image quality. I only spent an hour with the game in this mode, but it feels excellent. The image quality looks a bit soft on my 1440p monitor in this mode though. Barring visuals and performance, I was glad to see some haptic feedback added in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter on PS5.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Switch demo impressions
After spending a few minutes with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter on Switch, it is clear that the announcement trailer was not representative of actual Switch gameplay. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter on Switch is quite a step down from the PS5 version across resolution, draw distance, shadows, load times, and even performance. Despite those cutbacks, it is an impressive release compared to Falcom's Trails Through Daybreak and Daybreak II Switch ports. While it doesn't run too well on Switch OLED, it looks better than I expected. I'll save Switch docked testing for when I'm able to try out the full game.
I want to stress that if you enjoyed Trails Through Daybreak on Switch, this feels better, but it isn't perfect. You still have the poor draw distance and subnative resolution, but the performance feels better. Speaking of performance, it feels like the Switch version is variable in handheld, but it doesn't have a 30fps cap. This is more useful for Switch 2 which I cover below, but I hope the full release has an optional 30fps cap for Switch with some performance improvements for those who want to play this on the original Switch. The colorful aesthetic definitely benefits from the Switch OLED screen.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Switch 2 demo impressions via backward compatibility
I first tried Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter's Switch version on Nintendo Switch 2 handheld. I was not impressed because the performance was very variable and it feels quite unstable indoors. The experience in the more open areas somehow didn't bother me as much. While the visuals weren't too bad when scaled on the 1080p screen. While Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter's Switch version can run better than on Switch 1 when played on Switch 2 handheld in some parts, I was not happy with the experience. Even a solid 30fps would have been better when playing handheld than what the Switch version seems to run at on Switch 2. I need to test this more, but I hope the upcoming Switch 2 Edition offers a better handheld experience.
I might have to tweak the camera options as well because it was giving me motion sickness after about fifteen minutes of playing in the indoor sections. I didn't have an issue when in the field and I also wasn't bothered by the Switch 1 performance when playing on my OLED Switch. I think this has to do with how the v-sync has been implemented alongside the frame rate not being capped, but I need to test this a bit more.
Moving over to playing the Switch version on Switch 2 docked, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter feels excellent. So far it appears to deliver a great 60fps target experience. This is a huge step up over the handheld experience. The Switch version's visual cutbacks are still present, but right now my preferred way to play the Switch version is with Switch OLED in handheld for the better screen and Switch on Switch 2 docked for the demo.
Having played the Switch version on both Switch and Switch 2, it is clear that this version is quite a bit cut back from even the PC version when that is played at its absolute lowest settings. I hope the Switch 2 version has higher quality 2D assets as well since the Switch version can look blurry even in some menus.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Steam Deck demo impressions
If you're curious about the PC port feature set and all the settings, read James' article here. On Steam Deck, a locked 60fps is not possible when running at 720p right now. Even when using the low preset, it drops to the 50s in parts. This isn't too surprising since Trails Through Daybreak I and II are not 60fps games on Steam Deck when running at native resolution. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter does not offer any upscaling options so if you want to play at 60fps, you will need to reduce the render scale. I need to test this more, but right now I settled for a 40fps experience on the Steam Deck LCD model and aimed for a 45fps experience on my Steam Deck OLED.
Speaking of the Steam Deck OLED, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter's HDR works well on it. You will need to tweak this as per your liking, but having Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter with crisp visuals and HDR on the superb Steam Deck OLED display is making it hard for me to go back to other versions of the game right now.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter ROG Ally demo impressions
I set Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter to High when playing on the ROG Ally in the 25W mode. It looked fantastic, but the frame rate was around 40fps at worst in the open field with it hitting 60fps often indoors. Even the low preset didn't result in a locked 60fps at 1080p. Running at 720p and using the low preset resulted in around 70fps in the open field. This open field seems like the most demanding part of the demo's opening hours for the PC version. It is why I kept testing this specific part across Deck and ROG Ally.
A few general PC port things I appreciate having are ultrawide support and the ability to choose from multiple button prompt options. I enabled PlayStation prompts on Steam Deck as an example. The game can automatically choose, but I like having the option to force a specific controller's prompts in PC ports. It helps considering I test with multiple controllers and sometimes use Steam Input instead of native controller support in games.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter PS5 vs Switch vs Switch 2 vs PC Steam load times
I did some initial testing on the Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter load times covering the initial launch, loading a save, and exiting a building. Again, this is the demo build so things might change for the full release. I had the game installed to the internal console storage on PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2, the SD card on Switch, and the internal SSD storage on both my Steam Decks and ROG Ally. I also mashed A/X to skip any logos and get to the title screen as fast as possible.
| Device | Dashboard to title | Loading a save | Exiting a building |
| PS5 | 10-12 | 1 | 1 |
| Switch on Switch 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Switch | 8 | 5 | 5 |
| Steam Deck | 12-13 | 5-6 | 1-2 |
| ROG Ally | 4-5 | 5-6 | 1-2 |
Note: All load times above are in seconds.
While the initial load is double on PS5, everything in-game is nearly instant including loading three different saves. The Switch version on Switch 2 benefits from the faster storage, but it remains to be seen if this carries over into the Switch 2 Edition. On Steam Deck and ROG Ally, the latter loaded the game up faster. This has been the case with many games since it usually takes the Deck a bit longer to initially load games. The Switch load times are very good for the system.
Overall, I think Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter definitely exceeded my expectations with its scale and production so far. Even on Nintendo Switch 1, I'm impressed with the port all things considered. It just is a shame that the shadows seem to not be great even on PC at its ultra setting right now. Stay tuned for more coverage on the game in the near future. You can download the Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Prologue demo using the links for PS5 here, Nintendo Switch here (releasing later), and PC Steam here.