New PS5 RPG Beats Wolverine, Control Resonant, and Silent Hill With 97/100 Score
A new RPG on PS5 has beaten Marvel’s Wolverine, Control Resonant, Silent Hill: Townfall, and every other recent major release in terms of PlayStation Store audience score. It’s also outranked all three, and more, on Metacritic. In fact, it is the highest-rated game of the year, thanks to its 91 on Metacritic. For the sake of comparison, Marvel’s Wolverine has a 76 on Metacritic, Control Resonant an 83, and Silent Hill: Townfall an 81. In other words, not only are general consumers loving the new PS5 RPG, but critics are, too.
Back on September 17, specifically, Japanese developer Nihon Falcom combined with Japanese publisher GungHo Online Entertainment to release Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, a remake of Trails in the Sky SC, and a follow-up to Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, which itself is a remake of Trails in the Sky FC. Unfortunately, for those just learning about this new RPG, it is a direct sequel. It would be like playing Mass Effect 2 without playing the first game. You could do this, but much of the game is going to be a loss for you, though this can be partially remedied if you watch a story recap of the first game.
“Top 5 JRPGs of All Time”
With a 4.87 out of 5 stars after more than 1,500 user reviews, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter has one of the best returns on the PlayStation Store, where it costs $60 this year. And this more or less lines up with the reception of the first game on the PS Store, which has a 4.83 out of 5 stars after more than 6,500 user reviews.
It is worth noting that the Trails series has a very engaged and hardcore cult following. And with its lack of mainstream penetration, it is set up well to do well on user review metrics. That said, if you are unfamiliar with the series, it doesn’t overly resemble any other game or series, as it’s very unique, which explains the cult following. The closest comparison would be the Persona series due to the shared school settings, emphasis on characters, and the slow-burn story. Where the Persona series is super focused on social elements, though, Trails has more of a political element and is generally larger scale. Because of this, a more acute comparison would perhaps be the Suikoden series, but this isn’t a very relevant reference point in 2026. That said, if you like either of these two series, there’s a strong chance you will like the Trails series.
“Hands down the best game I’ve played in years,” reads one of the user reviews for the game on the PlayStation Store. Another adds, “Peak JRPG right here. Forget Final Fantasy. This is up there in the top 5 best JRPGs of all time.”