As we await the rest of the 2026 game flood, including the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and GTA 6, there’s suddenly a new and very unexpected game of the year contender. That’s Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, a new remake of a 20-year-old cult classic JRPG, which is launching to the best reviews of any game this year.

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter officially releases tomorrow, September 17, but critic reviews are slowly trickling in. On Metacritic, the PC version has earned a 93 based on 10 reviews, while the PS5 version has gotten a 92 based on 13 reviews. Either score puts it as the best-rated new release of 2026. (The Switch 2 version is a fair bit lower at 84, but that score is based on fewer reviews.)

Over on OpenCritic, which puts all platform reviews into a single pool, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter has earned a 92. Across either site, that puts the JRPG ahead of all the best games of 2026, from big publisher releases like Forza Horizon 6, Resident Evil Requiem, and Pokemon Pokopia to indie breakouts like Mewgenics, Mina the Hollower, Titanium Court, and Big Walk.

For decades, developer Nihon Falcom’s Trails series was something of an underground sensation – one for the hardcore JRPG sickos. But in recent years, the pool of sickos has either gotten much bigger, or the series has started to find a much larger audience. And with extensive world-building, robust combat systems, and memorable characters, it’s no wonder the Trails fandom is growing.

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, as the name suggests, is the second in a line of remakes that are reviving the series from the beginning. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter launched in 2025 to similar acclaim, and Falcom’s president says the success has the company “hoping to continue the remakes for a while.” Given the time investment it’d take to play through the entire Trails series at this point, these remakes might just be the jumping we all need.

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