In the interest of transparency, I’ll start this review by disclosing that I have never fully beaten this game. I’ve tried on three separate occasions to get to the end, and I just can’t.
Octopath Traveler seems like a game tailor-made for me. It’s a turn-based role-playing game (RPG) with a unique art style, a new take on combat, a great soundtrack and a whole world to explore.
But, as the title of this article implies, I did not enjoy my time in the world of Orsterra.
Square Enix’s first game in the “2D-HD” art style, Octopath Traveler follows eight characters traveling the world together, each on their own individual journeys. This is a fine premise in concept, but is sloppy in execution.
Nothing creative is done with this idea. While there are eight playable characters (PCs), the player can only have four of them active at a time, which makes me wonder what the point of putting “octo” in the title was.
Furthermore, their interactions with one another are all optional and thus not plot-relevant.
At the beginning of the game, the player is allowed to pick which character they want to start with. From there, the rest of the characters can be recruited one at a time.
Each PC has a quest that must be completed before they join the party. They contain that person’s inciting incident, giving each PC a goal out in the world. The very first quest in the game is the recruitment mission of whomever the player started out with.
These aren’t inherently bad. In fact, I find most of them to be somewhat compelling.
Alfyn is an apothecary who heals a sick little girl and wants to help more people in the world. Therion, a thief, botched a job and is now indebted to a rich lady. The merchant Tressa wants to prove to her parents and the world that she can be the best trader to ever walk Orsterra.
But these stories don’t go anywhere interesting. At the risk of spoiling, all three of these stories ended just about how I expected them to. None of the main cast are terribly offensive, but they don’t do anything interesting. Well, except for Primrose and Ophilia.
Primrose surprised me because I actually liked her. She was always my best unit in combat and I genuinely cared about her story. A former noble forced to work as a dancer, Primrose sniffs out a lead on the death of her father and the fall of her house and decides if nobody’s going to answer her questions, she will seek out those answers herself.
On the other hand, Ophilia wins this game’s “I want to die every time she starts talking” award. She’s a boring priestess whose character goes nowhere, and she calls her adoptive father “Your Excellency” so many times that it may as well be her catchphrase.
As the player explores each character’s story, they don’t interact with each other. All of Primrose’s quests only involve Primrose, all of Therion’s quests only involve Therion and so on. They battle together, but they never speak to one another in any substantial way.
There are optional conversations that can only be triggered by having the right characters in the party at the right time. PCs will offer their insight and opinions on current events. Again, nothing of substance.
The frequency of the random encounters feels high to me, but that could be a personal issue. The turn-based combat itself is decent. I don’t think it innovates on the formula at all, but it’s fun for what it is.
Enemies have weaknesses and a number of barriers. They are inflicted with the “break” condition if they take weak hits equal to their amount of barriers. For example, if an enemy has two barriers and is weak to swords, two sword attacks will break them.
When broken, an enemy misses their next turn and loses defense. When they are able to act again, their shields will restore themselves.
The PCs have access to a fairly standard array of weapons and magic. They gain Battle Points (BP) every turn. Players can use up to four BP at once to increase the intensity of their attacks.
The game has multiple difficulty spikes. I am completely willing to write this off as a skill issue on my end, but every time I finished a section of the game, I had to grind experience for a good hour or so before progressing.
Octopath Traveler frustrates me because I wanted to like it. I followed its development up to release and bought it when I was able to, only to be underwhelmed by the final result. Most reviews loved the game upon its 2018 release. I wish I did, too.
The sequel received similar praise when it came out in 2023. Given how I felt about the first game, though, I decided to skip it.
Octopath Traveler is a disappointing RPG experience from the minds behind Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Excellent music and sharp aesthetics do not save this game from its middling writing, baffling pacing and subpar gameplay. I give it a 2/5.
Tolbert can be reached at tolbernj7262@uwec.edu. Recruit him into your oversized party.
