Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 81 | 52 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 91% | 85 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 84% | 78 | 369 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Dec 9, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 369 total reviews in window · weighted 231 up / 43.2 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (67)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 85
“The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is massive. It's massively fun and massively rewarding. Fans of JRPGs can get delightfully lost in its deep story, its numerous characters, and its battle system that provides a ridiculous amount of options for customization. Just make sure you've played Trails of Cold Steel III (and have at least read up on I and II).”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Trails of Cold Steel 4 may not be the best in the series, but it is still a solid send-off for it, bringing back the entire roster and providing a finale that definitely doesn’t disappoint.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“If you already invested more than 500 hours to the previous instalments of Trails of Cold Steel series, you would definitely enjoy seeing familiar faces and you would love the overall experience. But as a newcomer you should probably try earlier games first, just to see if you want to get invested in the whole franchise.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Trails of Cold Steel IV is the climax that fans of the series deserve, comprehensively delivering on its promise as the end of a saga while setting up future plotlines that are sure to affect the lore in all kinds of fascinating ways. That said, this is also a rather weird game to recommend. Newcomers absolutely should not play this game first, given that it's a concluding chapter to an ongoing saga years in the making. Longtime fans, on the other hand, don't need any convincing, as they're going to get this game if they've already invested the hundreds of hours of legwork that set it up. Assuming that's you, Trails of Cold Steel IV is a spectacular RPG experience that no fan of the genre will want to miss out on, and we can comfortably say that it's worth your time.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“For those who’ve stuck with Class VII through thick and thin over three games, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is the crowning achievement to an exceptionally well-written story with plenty of tears and laughter mixed together into a timeless package.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Really enjoyable in some respects, but very disappointing in others, Trails of Cold Steel IV is overly long considering the story it wishes to tell.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“All said and done, Trails of Cold Steel IV is more of the same from its predecessor last year while bringing in more of the wider Legend of Heroes series to light. Those without prior knowledge will certainly miss out on a lot but for those who have been around since the start, this is one finale you will not want to miss!”
read full review ↗ - 80
“If you have played any of the previous games in the Trails of series and you liked them, definitely give this a shot. Didn’t like them? Give it a go anyway as I believe there a number of quality of life improvements made improving the feel of Cold Steel IV from its predecessors. On the flip side, if you’ve played all the games in the Trails of except this one; what are you waiting for? Get it and see one of the ends to a painstakingly long epic in the making!”
read full review ↗ - 95
“Although it would have been nice to see a little more innovation from Cold Steel III, this finale to the Erebonia arc is still one of the best JRPGs I've ever played. The world-building and character development are as exquisite as ever, while the gameplay mechanics are still well above average, albeit unextraordinary. Regardless, assuming you have played at least Cold Steel III and know enough about the Trails lore, this latest addition is well worth your time.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Trails of Cold Steel IV marks the conclusion of a huge saga of four games that delivered a lot of emotions. The only way to evaluate the 4th title and final title of a series is to look at the collection as a whole and at the path that brought us to the ending. With that said, we can conclude that Nihon Falcom did an almost flawless job with a story that will stay in my mind for many years.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“On its own, Trails of Cold Steel IV is far from being the best game in the series, but as a conclusion to an epic story with characters that have long since won us over, it's a fitting finale. Class VII remains one of the most endearing groups in gaming, and although they demand so much of your time across four whole games, both the journey and the eventual payoff has been worth it. When packaged together with Cold Steel I, II, and III, this is easily one of the most engrossing RPG sagas of our time.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV pulls off a highly satisfying conclusion to this long running saga but character bloat and lack of improvements hinder the experience.”
read full review ↗
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GameMAG
Nintendo Life
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VGChartz
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Push Square
Capsule Computers…and 55 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch 1.2.2 Release NotesDec 9, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.2.1 Release NotesFeb 11, 2024
- Patch 1.2 Release NotesApr 17, 2021
- Patch 1.1.1 Release NotesApr 12, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.1 Release NotesApr 11, 2021