Alongside the launch trailer, NIS America and PH3 have posted a detailed Steam blog post detailing the many features included in the PC port like its scalability, specific UI VFX anti-aliasing new to this port, and much more. Read about it here. I've quoted the new features detailed by Peter "Durante" Thoman below:
New PC Features in Horizon
While our existing feature set is quite extensive, there are still also some new features to talk about that make their first appearance in this game.
Transparent UI VFX Anti-Aliasing
One of these is quite simple: in addition to plenty of in-game anti-aliasing modes, we also already featured a minimap anti-aliasing setting (that I'm still very proud of and wish was adopted more widely), and a portrait supersampling setting. However, there is one particular rendering pass that escaped all existing anti-aliasing methods. The details are a bit complicated, but the result is that in addition to main game render scale, main game anti-aliasing, portrait supersampling, and minimap anti-aliasing there is now also a "Transparent UI VFX Anti-Aliasing" option. This graphics debugger screenshot shows an example of the elements that are affected by this setting highlighted in red:
Further Improved Scalability
I like to believe that our ports are already very scalable, from running well on the Steam Deck all the way to fully utilizing a high-end gaming PC. However, also working on portable console versions of this particular game had us improve this scalability even more, resulting in three new settings: "Detail Draw Distance", "Detail Density", and "Fog Particles". The former two are much more impactful in general, while the latter only affects a few scenes.
The following comparison provides a quick impression of the impact of these new settings (and some of our existing draw distance / LoD settings), comparing Low and Ultra presets:
As always, I'm personally very particular about pop-in, so maximizing all draw distance settings comes with a rather significant performance impact. Don't do it if you don't care deeply about that aspect.
If you haven't already done so, you can read Scott's review of the full game here, my detailed PC port feature here, and my console comparison here. A Trails beyond the Horizon Story Demo is available on Steam here, PS4 and PS5 here, and eShop here. You can also download the Battle Demo on PS5 and PS4 here.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is now available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC (Steam).
You can find the launch trailer with more details from NIS America below:
NIS America, Inc. is proud to announce the release of The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG) platforms in celebration of the series' 20th anniversary. That means the West is caught up on Trails games for the first time ever!
Van Arkride and the members of Arkride Solutions are back, and this time the future of the entire Zemurian continent is at stake! The people of Zemuria await the launch of humanity's first foray into space with bated breath. A sudden invitation from Marduk to cooperate in a high-tech training exercise sets Van, Ashen Chevalier Rean Schwarzer, and Father Kevin Graham on a collision course with the secrets at the very core of Zemuria.
Their paths may diverge, but the ultimate question remains the same: Just what lies beyond the edge of the horizon?
All Trails Lead Here: Paths from across Zemuria intertwine with higher stakes than ever before as the Trails series enters its final chapter!
Gameplay, Evolved: New gameplay mechanics such as Shard Commands, Awakening, and the time-freezing Z.O.C. give you an unprecedented amount of options in both Field and Command Battles!
Dream Teams: Gather allies from all over Calvard and beyond and put a stop to Ouroboros' machinations in the Grim Garten, a dungeon that you can take on with your own custom party!
The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon NIS Online Store exclusive Limited Edition, featuring a copy of the Deluxe Edition of The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon for Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch, art book, original mini soundtrack, SteelBook, and "Grim Timekeeper" acrylic clock, all contained within a collector's box, is also available today.
