Octopath Traveler

 Switch
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1400 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,136 out of 1400
  2. Mixed: 133 out of 1400
  3. Negative: 131 out of 1400
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  1. Rtheom
    Jul 15, 2018
    6
    Unfortunately, the biggest flaw with this game is the fact that you're not playing 1 overaching story with 8 contributing paths, but 8 parallel paths that really don't have much to do with each other and literally no interaction between the characters. You're not playing with a party of adventurers so much as a group of strangers silently hanging out together. In a game that gets half ofUnfortunately, the biggest flaw with this game is the fact that you're not playing 1 overaching story with 8 contributing paths, but 8 parallel paths that really don't have much to do with each other and literally no interaction between the characters. You're not playing with a party of adventurers so much as a group of strangers silently hanging out together. In a game that gets half of its merit from story alone, this is a bit of a failure. The characters by themselves are fairly interesting with decent stories to them, but that just makes the lack of connection all the more frustrating.

    However, If you're looking for old school JRPG, that's what you're getting. But beware, there have been A LOT of "quality of life" upgrades RPGs have gained over the years that this game deliberately leaves out, to be more like the older games. Fights are very repetitive, menus are needlessly complex, the story is slow, and you're going to have to grind A LOT. If you're looking for all of that, which is what us older folks knew growing up, you'll be pleased. If you're a youngin' whipper snapper, this probably isn't the game for you. As an adult that grew up on these games with relatively little free time now, I'm torn. I want to like this, but I don't want to devote my life to it and the failing of the story to unite these individually interesting characters really ruins the momentum I had to play it. Buy at your own risk.    … Expand
  2. Malooga
    Jul 16, 2018
    7
    Octopath Traveler is a competent and charming title with only ONE real fault, but it's the average execution of many JRPG tropes that overall lend it less of a "masterpiece" entry from Square.

    Despite the run-of-the mill story and combat mechanics there are some stand-out features that make this worth the price tag in my opinion, just be aware of a few things before purchase: 1. The    Octopath Traveler is a competent and charming title with only ONE real fault, but it's the average execution of many JRPG tropes that overall lend it less of a "masterpiece" entry from Square.

    Despite the run-of-the mill story and combat mechanics there are some stand-out features that make this worth the price tag in my opinion, just be aware of a few things before purchase:

    1. The English voice acting while not poor in audio quality, is TERRIBLE in terms of portraying what the character would sound like. Solemn moments are punctuated with upbeat inflections, and therefore upbeat moments lose distinction. I tried SEVERAL characters, each cringe-worthy. Then I switched to Japanese dub - problem (mostly) solved. That is unless reading is a chore for you, in which case I would have to seriously wait on this game. It was that bad it many cases.

    2. Combat while deep, does not ever really challenge the player to plunge the depths of the mechanics at hand. Personally I think a 3-player party restriction would have solved this a bit, as there isn't anything inherently wrong with the combat itself, it's quite enjoyable. Still, any real difficulty curve would have to come from skipping potential party members, or forgetting to restock items before battle. Not much else is there in terms of difficulty curves, especially since most of the "weakness" puzzle is solved from simply attacking until you solve it.

    Those are the two major gripes, aside from a generally lackluster story for roughly half of the available characters that falls squarely into the "generic" classification. Still, seeing as how Square helped pioneer that genre in the West, its a somewhat fitting homage that while not vastly different, is very much the best of what we remember from youth.

    There are some outlandish rave reviews that I think come from behind some tight nostalgia goggles, so go in expecting average and you will be pleasantly surprised.

    7/10    … Expand
  3. Kehar001
    Jul 14, 2018
    5
    Game looks great - manages to be nostalgic without miring itself in the past, and there's a lot of depth to the environment layered in these 16-bit stylized graphics. I'm finding the handling of light and shadow particularly impressive. Soundtrack is very well crafted. And the combat is really solid, if not particularly innovative. The influence of the Bravely series is easy to see withGame looks great - manages to be nostalgic without miring itself in the past, and there's a lot of depth to the environment layered in these 16-bit stylized graphics. I'm finding the handling of light and shadow particularly impressive. Soundtrack is very well crafted. And the combat is really solid, if not particularly innovative. The influence of the Bravely series is easy to see with the ability to stack attacks each round, and we've seen other games that exploit enemy weaknesses to stagger them (P5, etc.). So nothing game changing here, but we've maybe never seen these combat elements integrated in quite this way before and there's a lot of polish to the system they've built.

    The individualized stories are just okay. Nothing horrible, and some are better than others, but by-and-large expect a lot of tired tropes and cliches. A little too heavy-handed with the faux-Shakespearean language, and whatever they were trying to accomplish with H'aanit justeth didn'teth worketh.

    The game's biggest fault lies with how completely disjointed the individual characters are. The developers obviously weren't going for a singular overarching plot, and the game rather works as a collection of short stories. But there's next to zero interaction between the party members throughout, which can be especially jarring when you trigger a cut-scene with a party of four only to have three of them suddenly disappear. There are also enough common references to the world and connections between characters that there are very obvious points where certain party members *should* have input for the events unfolding in another's story. A few simple lines of dialogue acknowledging new characters when they join the party, and a few dynamic triggers to include auxiliary characters in cut-scenes when appropriate would do have done wonders in establishing some sort of cohesion among the group without any need to tie all the stories back together to face off against a singular enemy.

    Fans of traditional JRPG's that are willing to overlook a fairly flat story are probably going to enjoy this game quite a bit. But the lack of cohesion among the core group of characters suggests to me a certain lack of vision, or maybe just laziness, that prevents the game from really being "great."    … Expand
  4. DreamCore
    Jul 30, 2018
    7
    To anyone complaining about there being 8 separate storys and not one bigger plot. Well, the game is called OCTOPATH traveller. Meaning 8-paths traveller which is how the game is designed. In order to make a bigger plot that had dialogues etc between character the game would have to be linear and to force you to get certain characters to proceed past certain points etc. The game is designTo anyone complaining about there being 8 separate storys and not one bigger plot. Well, the game is called OCTOPATH traveller. Meaning 8-paths traveller which is how the game is designed. In order to make a bigger plot that had dialogues etc between character the game would have to be linear and to force you to get certain characters to proceed past certain points etc. The game is design in such a way that you can choose which characters you want. You could potentially solo the game with just one character and this is the whole purpose of the design of the game. Again, having the storys branch together would be a completely different game. If you don't like this then well, this game isn't for you. I do agree that the stories are slightly too similar and a bit too shallow but the gameplay and combat is superb and I would definitely recommend this to any JRPG fan.

    Edit:

    Having played 50+ hours I have to adjust my score and review. I reduced the score from 9 to 7. Why? Because this is a deeply flawed game.

    Problems:

    * Lack of voice-overs in most dialogues feels cheep. All the story dialogues should have it but now some have it while some doesn't. It feels completely random and like they had to do this because of time or budget limitations.

    * The Side Stories are utter garbage. Never experienced anything like it. There is no way to know what you're supposed to do and it feels like they intentionally did this in order to force you into buying a guide book.

    * All Main Story chapters are built in the same way (except for one or two exceptions) where you read tons of dialogue followed by a very small dungeon with a boss at the end, followed by even more dialogue. Also every chapter takes place in a city. This pattern gets extremely repetitive after 8 chapters, so imagine this after 32 (8x4) chapters. Also the stories are way to short and half of them are plain boring (Merchant Chapter 4 is about someone stealing your journal and you chase her to the sewers to get it back. I mean really? Maybe a 5 year old would enjoy this...). It feels like the stories are designed for 6-12 year olds while the combat difficulty is balanced towards hardcore JRPG gamers.

    * The world is empty except for some branching paths with chests at the end. The same goes for dungeons which are also way too small.

    *The job system is boring. Each character has a Main Job like Hunter or Warrior. Also every job exists as a Sub Job meaning anyone can be any class which means that the fact that for example Alfyn is an Apothecary doesn't really mean anything since anyone can be an Apothecary. There are 4 Advanced jobs which are different. It would be nicer if there were 8 Advanced Jobs instead of the 8 standard Sub Jobs, meaning that if you wanted an Apothecary in your team, you would have to pick Alfyn. Now it feels like you have 8 characters just for the sake of it when really 4 characters is all you need to have all classes available. Also for some weird nonsensical reason you only get the Advanced Jobs after completing the the Main Story (you could in theory get them before Chapter 4 but the bosses are harder than the Chapter 4 bosses). Why would I need them when I've already completed the game?

    Good:

    * The graphics and art style is awesome.

    * The music is awesome..

    * The combat and especially bosses are very well designed.

    Verdict:

    I would love to see a Final Fantasy like game with this art style and combat but with a proper nice story and more work put into making the world feel less empty.    … Expand
  5. EliteEvil
    Sep 20, 2020
    6
    When I first started this game I loved it, like many of the other 10/10 reviews made in the first 40 hours or so, but hours 60-70 of filler optional dungeons and the infuriating hours long final boss without any saves prompt this review.

    The lack of interconnecting stories and boring dungeons are already well covered as is the great music and graphics. I have some objective criticisms    When I first started this game I loved it, like many of the other 10/10 reviews made in the first 40 hours or so, but hours 60-70 of filler optional dungeons and the infuriating hours long final boss without any saves prompt this review.

    The lack of interconnecting stories and boring dungeons are already well covered as is the great music and graphics. I have some objective criticisms beyond that however. The USP of this game is that you can make a party of any 4 from 8 characters, but that is not true. If you don't take Therion there is a chest in each dungeon you cannot unlock so you cannot experience the full game without him in every dungeon and some towns. Why is the main plot hidden at the end of the game? I know loads of old JRPGs that hide import stuff - omega dungeon in ffx and the emeralda dungeon in xenogears for example - but it sucked then, too. I don't get why you would almost force people to read a walk through to find the end of the game. The difficulty curve is very frustrating throughout, not so bad most people will get bored and quit like bravely default, as when stuck in octopath there is generally not too much time lost in abandoning a quest and switching to another. It is still objectively frustrating however when a boss is way harder than you had a hint of (Therions quest is probably the worst for this.) But the worst annoyance is the final dungeon. Fight the same sprites you have seen before, 8 bosses one after another, then get massacred by the final boss. I cannot be bothered to try a third time because I could play a better game in the time it will take to grind out another 5-10 levels and fight the same bosses over again to try a different strategy.    … Expand
  6. GrumpySarcasm
    Jul 13, 2019
    5
    A well-made game with no soul.

    This game has a lot of content: - Each of the eight characters have their own story. Unfortunately all these stories are as boggstandard as can be. Each tale is a classic that you have heard before. When betrayal comes you will not be surprised. When the villain is revealed you will sigh. - So many areas with good art. But each area is exactly what you    A well-made game with no soul.

    This game has a lot of content:
    - Each of the eight characters have their own story. Unfortunately all these stories are as boggstandard as can be. Each tale is a classic that you have heard before. When betrayal comes you will not be surprised. When the villain is revealed you will sigh.
    - So many areas with good art. But each area is exactly what you would expect. Towns that look like towns. Roads that look like roads. Caves that look like caves. This seems like a silly criticism, but for me, one of the central parts of a great JRPG are the fantastical concepts. Those are not here, at all.
    - Bossfights are the best part of this game and one of the few things that kept me playing. The art for each boss is amazing. Some of them are very challenging, some are there more because every chapter needs a boss apparently, but overall very enjoyable.

    Although this game does everything right on the surface; detailed art, lots of options for combat and so much content, it lacks the important things. Character development; In spite of the many internal dialogues allegedly portraying internal conflict it does not happen in a believable way. Engaging environments; In spite of every map being beautifully made it lacks an interesting concept. Gripping story; Going through all eight initial stories there are no real surprises and if you read the conversations during those stories you have already figured out what the endgame story is.

    In a few months i will remember next to nothing about this game. If you love JRPGs think about your favorite game and the moments you remember and why. This game does not have that. Thus:

    A well-made game with no soul.    … Expand
  7. pmasterfunk
    Mar 5, 2019
    5
    I don't know how Square does it. They have a game full of potential and promise, with interesting mechanics, cool look, good music, but they still manage to pump out a smeller. I got pulled in by the demo - so beware.

    For the TL;DR crowd, here's the short version: fun at first, but combat becomes repetitive and awful story made me give up. Now Let's start with the good. I quite like    I don't know how Square does it. They have a game full of potential and promise, with interesting mechanics, cool look, good music, but they still manage to pump out a smeller. I got pulled in by the demo - so beware.

    For the TL;DR crowd, here's the short version: fun at first, but combat becomes repetitive and awful story made me give up.

    Now Let's start with the good. I quite like the look of the game. I've mostly played it in portable mode, but whenever I plug it into the TV I'm surprised at how good it looks. Areas shine and twinkie with all sorts of details and highlights, and it's really impressive. Maybe not your cup of tea, but I think it's amazing.

    The music is also quite good. Reminds me of Secret of Mana on occasion, which is compliment. Voiceover is a bit meh, but that's not a deal breaker for me. You can always switch to Japanese.

    Once you get a full team, it's a bit easier to start roaming around and exploring, which is probably the best part in the game. There are lots of places to see, and a couple areas off the beaten path that are interesting. Interacting with NPCs in towns is fun for the most part, but it does get tedious by the end of the game.

    The battle mechanics are pretty novel, and the Bravely Default styled BP (battle points) system is cool. Boss battles are usually a nice change of pace from regular battles, and boss sprites in particular look amazing. The shield/break mechanic is interesting if a bit exploitable, but overall the system is not nearly as easily exploitable as it was in Bravely Default.

    Sadly, that's all I can say that I like about the game.

    Near the end of the game regular battles are a bit of a slog, as enemies start racking up shield points - stretching out battles quite a bit. Boss fights are still interesting, but I feel that alternative approaches à la SMT are hard to apply. Boosting and buffing should be easier; the pace of battles is already slow, so having to do so much prep to boost the whole team is a bit of a downer.

    And then there's the story. Oh lord. The story.

    You probably know this by now, but none of the 8 stories have any relation to each other. Whatsoever. And even individually, the stories are mostly bad.

    Tressa's is the worst. Her final boss? A character whose name we just learned about 20 minutes ago, whose story basically goes like this :

    -HAHAHAHA I stole a diary from a loser I've never met! I have been searching for this diary for so long!
    20 minutes later:
    -ARGH, this diary is useless, even though we've never met and I have no reason to hate you, I'll try and kill you!

    I can't make this **** up. It's completely episodic. Most chapters could have been shuffled around and it wouldn't have made a difference. There is little to no character development.

    And. The. Pace. Is. So. Goddamn. Slow. Most story bits usually go like this: about 20 minutes of exposition, followed by about 10 minutes of gameplay, then another 20 minutes of exposition. Most of which is pointless banter.

    I'm also surprised that Square let this slip, considering the devs were the guys behind Bravely Default, another mechanically solid game ruined by awful storytelling. "Sure guys, just do whatever you do, I'm sure the story's fine". I know the game was financially successful, but still...

    Other odds and ends:
    - Quests are really hard to follow. All that was needed was a quest section in the menu. The vast majority of quests I've finished were purely by chance. "Oh, you want this? How convenient of me to have this forgotten item in my inventory that might be useful to you". Most of the time the rewards are garbage anyway.
    - Equipment management is surprisingly laborious. It's practically impossible to buy something useful from a store. As soon as you have access to a new location, you probably have stuff that's better than what they're selling. I've played through the whole game and never once bought an expendable item, they're so common.
    - Some battle animations go by really fast, and some take forever. Analyzing an enemy for weaknesses and showing HP goes by really fast, but HP and SP regen at the end of a turn is really slow.
    - I find the font too small. In portable mode it's okay, but it's barely legible on the TV from my sofa. My TV is not that small and no, don't suggest that I buy a 75" TV just so I can read the garbage dialog in this game.

    All in all, I'm sad to see Square - once again - put out a game that works well, looks and sounds good, and has an interesting premise but still ends up being bloated and unfulfilling. With just a few tweaks, it really could have been a great game. But I'm sure they already have a mediocre sequel in the works, Nonapath Traveler: Bravely Secure (financially). I may have forgotten the Re: in there.    … Expand
  8. EnduroDoug
    Jul 19, 2018
    7
    There's a part of me that wants to give the game a perfect 10. That's the part that only played a few hours. Sadly, the more time one spends with the game, the more tedious and repetitive it becomes.

    The problems with the lack of intertwined stories has been well reported, but an even bigger crime for me is the boring dungeon design. Every dungeon feels exactly the same, only with a    There's a part of me that wants to give the game a perfect 10. That's the part that only played a few hours. Sadly, the more time one spends with the game, the more tedious and repetitive it becomes.

    The problems with the lack of intertwined stories has been well reported, but an even bigger crime for me is the boring dungeon design. Every dungeon feels exactly the same, only with a different skin. I don't get curious to see what is around the corner, or where the next dungeon will take me. I don't bother looking for secret exits or hidden mini-bosses. None of that exists. It's exactly the same each and every time.

    Yes, the battle system, graphics, and music are all superb. And that's what kept me coming back. But the game's flaws, as few as they may be, are too serious to overlook.    … Expand
  9. LoomBoom
    Sep 11, 2018
    6
    Overall, I'm very disappointed with the game.

    The first 20 hours when I was going through all the first chapters I was in love with it. Then when I started the chapter 2s I started getting less and less engaged with the stories, but I was still pretty addicted so it, so it didn't bother me too much, but then I hit around 40 hours I just hit a wall. The stories aren't that great and    Overall, I'm very disappointed with the game.

    The first 20 hours when I was going through all the first chapters I was in love with it. Then when I started the chapter 2s I started getting less and less engaged with the stories, but I was still pretty addicted so it, so it didn't bother me too much, but then I hit around 40 hours I just hit a wall.

    The stories aren't that great and the characters pretty much stopped developing after their chapter 1s. They all have a similar structure: go to new town, discover problem, find person, go to dungeon, fight boss, repeat. There's pretty much no variety. I was really encouraged by the first chapters as I thought all the stories had potential to be great, especially Primrose's (who is my main), but they all peaked in the beginning. There's just no variety and I just stopped caring for the stories and the characters, I could literally care less how they end. The fractured story telling I think really damaged the characters and the story. Also none of them intersect which makes it really boring. I've completed half of the chapter 3s and I've finished Ophelia's story, and then I'm going to finish Primrose's story and call a quits.

    This game has really become a slog for me. The grinding became really bad after the chapter 2s and between trying to steal really good weapons and grinding for money, I just got exhausted from it all. I tried keeping everyone at a good level, but it became a big hassle. It's really annoying that there's no way to share experience with party members not in your party. A lot of other RPGs do that like Persona and it just makes things easier. The gameplay has just become really repetitive, along with the story.

    Also dungeons leave a lot to be desired, they don't feel very fun or interesting. No puzzles, no twists, no interesting environments, no significant length; you basically just run through them in 10 mins until you get to the boss and move on.

    The redeeming factors is its fun combat. It's not perfect: I wish I could examine my stats in battle and my weapons stats in battle, but other than that I find it a blast and that's one of the reasons I've been able to hold on for so long.

    The music is really great and I never get tired of the tracks. They hit it out of the park with that.

    The graphics are also fantastic. 2D HD is awesome and I hope to see it return for other games.

    I also like the voice actors, though I wish more lines were voiced.

    So, do I regret my purchase? I wouldn't go so as far to say that, but I'm just bummed out that this game really got worse the more I played it. I thought it was a nice experiment and I'm happy Square Enix has been successful, but I certainly would not recommend this game to any one except for big JRPG enthusiasts. I hope Square does something way different with the next game because I wouldn't buy another game that's in a similar vein to this ever again.    … Expand
  10. AsrielDreemur
    Jan 13, 2019
    7
    Octopath Traveler is a really solid JRPG that get's all the fundamental of the core JRPG correctly such as character design, unique character classes and soundtrack. Although the game is fun to play and somehow manage to capture the nostalgia feeling of playing an old school JRPG, Square Enix could have done better with the story in the game. Level progression for your characters in theOctopath Traveler is a really solid JRPG that get's all the fundamental of the core JRPG correctly such as character design, unique character classes and soundtrack. Although the game is fun to play and somehow manage to capture the nostalgia feeling of playing an old school JRPG, Square Enix could have done better with the story in the game. Level progression for your characters in the game at times could be very grindy as it could be really hard to advance the main story when your characters doesn't meet the certain level requirement. Overall the game is solid but it fall short on the story aspect especially the interaction between the 8 main characters in the game.… Expand
  11. VShadowLanceV
    Aug 5, 2018
    7
    completely unbalanced fighting levels, Half the characters have great attacks while the others don't even come close to the others. Locked starter character makes its level way higher than the others. 8 stories that don't have anything to do with each other. Battles are 4 to 7 min for basic battles unless your levels are way above the enemies. hidden job system slowly evens it out. talkingcompletely unbalanced fighting levels, Half the characters have great attacks while the others don't even come close to the others. Locked starter character makes its level way higher than the others. 8 stories that don't have anything to do with each other. Battles are 4 to 7 min for basic battles unless your levels are way above the enemies. hidden job system slowly evens it out. talking to town people just gives you information about the town person and doesn't have a conversation with them when trying to get info out of them. I thought that was kinda lame. Menu screens need much improvement for equipping and switching characters. I feel that they didn't even try and just threw it together like it was an unfinished product. Disappointed for all the hype this game got.

    the plus side is the battle system is new and the stories are interesting even though its 8 separate stories and the other characters are only involved in the battles like hired mercenaries or once in a blue moon it will have you press + to have them talk with each other but that is rare. Music is great like all square games.    … Expand
  12. cookiecache
    Jan 23, 2019
    7
    I don't understand the excessively high ratings for Octopath Traveler. The character development/story line is on par with fan-fic written by a teenage weeb (who referenced TVtropes.com for everything) and the graphics are on par with a $15 indie game written by one person. If this were an indie game, it'd be an 8/10... but it's not and it and this $60 game developed by a large team withI don't understand the excessively high ratings for Octopath Traveler. The character development/story line is on par with fan-fic written by a teenage weeb (who referenced TVtropes.com for everything) and the graphics are on par with a $15 indie game written by one person. If this were an indie game, it'd be an 8/10... but it's not and it and this $60 game developed by a large team with vast resources shouldn't be graded on the same curve as indie games.… Expand
  13. brearick82
    Jul 14, 2018
    6
    I REALLY want to love this game. I love the art style, the music, the nostalgic feeling it gives me...but the fighting...ohhh the repetitive-ness of this game drives me crazy. Being an older gamer, I go way back to the OG final fantasy. I’ve played them all. Each unique in their own but always had great battle sequences. This game though...the battle sequence is so dull and mundane, itI REALLY want to love this game. I love the art style, the music, the nostalgic feeling it gives me...but the fighting...ohhh the repetitive-ness of this game drives me crazy. Being an older gamer, I go way back to the OG final fantasy. I’ve played them all. Each unique in their own but always had great battle sequences. This game though...the battle sequence is so dull and mundane, it literally puts me to sleep. So take it from an old school gamer. Wait till this game drops in price. It’s not worth 60 bucks. It IS worth playing, just not for the price.… Expand
  14. MeinosKaen
    Jul 15, 2018
    6
    CONCLUSION - Octopath Traveler is a pretty game with a solid foundation but some GLARING FLAWS in its gameplay and more importantly its writing that weight it down something fierce. I feel it would have been better as a traditional JRPG.

    FULL REVIEW I resisted buying a Switch for a long time. I caved in this week, and Octopath Traveler is the first game I bought for it. The Switch    CONCLUSION - Octopath Traveler is a pretty game with a solid foundation but some GLARING FLAWS in its gameplay and more importantly its writing that weight it down something fierce. I feel it would have been better as a traditional JRPG.

    FULL REVIEW

    I resisted buying a Switch for a long time. I caved in this week, and Octopath Traveler is the first game I bought for it.

    The Switch was a pleasant surprise, I like the console very much. Octopath Traveler was a disappointment and it's the reason that made me get an account here.

    THE GOOD

    The Graphics - Didn't think this style of pixel art could look prettier and better than FFVI or Chrono Trigger but sonuva **** they actually did it. Also, the fusion between pixel art and the 3D environments gives it a new level that adds a ton of fun to exploring.

    The Music - Very well done and fun to listen to but I can't name off the top of my head a JRPG done by SquareEnix that doesn't have a good OST. Even their worst games at the very least always had at least one or two killer tracks -Blinded by Light comes to mind-.

    THE MEH

    The Fighting System - If you've played Persona 5 or a game from the Bravely Series, you probably had my same reaction when you noticed you can accumulate Brave -I mean, BOOST points to attack more than once or power abilities and that attacking an enemy's weakness makes them Dizzy for one turn. Problem is, the result is not as challenging or fun as either one, lacking the incredible depth of options and careful balance of Bravely Default and Persona 5. It's a frankenstein monster that while not being bad, doesn't exactly shine either.

    The Job System - Calling it a Job System doesn't even really fit, since if you compare it with any other Job System that appeared at SquareEnix, it comes up lacking. What's very weird is how abilities learned. Instead of each one having a different amount of JP needed depending on potency, you can learn almost any ability right off the bat but each subsequent learning takes more JP to learn. 30, 100, 500 (WHAT A JUMP), etc... This in turn forces each ability to not be that crazy, with higher power versions depending on the use of Boost Points in battle. This I feel ultimately forces a lack of options and puts a limit on battle strategies -unlike, again, Bravely Default.-

    THE BAD

    The Writing - On their own, the character stories seem decent if not at times pretty standard. We range from the story of revenge to the savior vocation to the thief finding himself in something larger than he expected... What's bad about them is their interaction or lack thereof. For all intent and purposes, it's like these characters exist in different worlds exception made for battles.

    In my playthrough I started with Alfyn, the Apothecary. Grabbing the White Mage off the bat seemed like the logical choice, also his Path Ability is arguably the best in the game -more about that later-. His story is standard but the guy is fun, I like his Seiyuu and I can respect the vocation of a guy who wants to do good by the world, and do unto others what was done to him: save lives.

    After that I went south, and I met Primerose.

    [SPOILERS HERE]
    I immediately felt that something was off when I had to learn her story's beginning through a flashback instead of having Alfyn being part of it. Also, the fact that the flashback featured a character telling Primerose that she's a good soul who doesn't want to bother others while in present time she had just literally told a complete stranger about her lifestory was distracting to say the least.

    But then Yusufa died.

    Yusufa was stabbed and thrown off a small cliff and Alfyn, the Apothecary, the character I had started the game with and that had been fighting alongside Primerose in the Catacombs just a couple minutes earlier, wasn't in the cutscene. He wasn't administering FirstAid, he wasn't wipping up a Concoction, he wasn't trying to stop the bleeding. He wasn't there and Yusufa died on the sands.

    But then he was fighting the Boss Battle right afterwards.

    All the marketing material about the Eight travellers being together is a lie. For all intent and purposes, they're not. This is a lack of attention or just plain not giving a **** about your writing when the entire base concept of your age is 'pick the story order you want' that is frankly insulting.

    The Path Abilities - Start with Alfyn. End of story.

    No, seriously. There's literally no reason to not start with Alfyn. On top of being a White Mage with also a decent Physical Attack, on top of his Concoction Ability, his Path Ability is Inquire. Aka, by talking to people he discovers hidden items, lore and SIDEQUESTS. They made sidequests OPTIONAL by putting them behind Alfyn's path ability and I feel that by doing this they screwed up the Path Abilities balance. Some are clearly superiors to others.

    Score - 6/10    … Expand
  15. Morkeleb
    Feb 4, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Story:
    Stories, for me, are a driving force that can make me continue playing a game even if the gameplay or combat aren't good enough. A game with a good-great-interesting story can make me push forward through grinding just to find out what's going on.

    This was not the case with Octopath, not for me anyway.
    I feel it so bland, so cliché but in a bad, cheap way, I couldn't be less interested in what was going on, with a few exceptions.
    JRPGs usually don't win awards by their stories originality, but they are usually strong enough to keep all the parts together if you don't scratch too much into them. Great JRPGs have a way of inducing a sad, nostalgic feeling about their world, characters and the parties that are formed when you play them. The world is at stake and the odds are grim. There's a sense of urgency to your party's quest that drives you forward, even without any counter clock. You are important to the world and your actions have a meaning behind them. JRPGs (and some WRPGs too, but with less frequency) also have a twist when talking about good/bad, light/dark concepts. There's a certain philosophy very subtly exposed, always shown through characters motivations/narratives; Not all baddies are completely bad and many of them have deep, intrinsic motives to do what they do. There's an explanation to what's going on which goes beyond "They are evil for the sake of it".
    Of course, this doesn't mean all jrpgs stories are deep, original or even interesting, and many times this is a formula repeated over and over again, like movies from a genre repeat the same key components all the time (e.g. a western). Games can and should be innovative when storytelling. And World-saving concepts do not determine whether a game story is good or bad should it lack them.
    However, Octopath story, at least for me, doesn't seem to have a story that sticks everything together. I can't find a sense of unity over the world and the pieces seem all over the place because they don't belong together or don't care about the others. The eight completely different characters with entirely separate stories don't do a good job telling the story of the world because... there's no story of the world. There are 8 characters with 8 stories... and that's it. For me, that premise along with the issue of the "open world" narrative, fails as a driving force of the game.

    Even the character's stories, with a few exceptions, are very cliché and the motivations feel old, overused after so many years of jRPGs classic characters formulas; The hero with the all life friend that betrays him, the traveler that wants to see the world to be the best in what he/she do (this is used more than once in Octopath), the cold, distant hero that only feels love for his/her master and has to go searching for him/her after a mysterious disappearance, etc. We have seen these so many times before you know what's going to happen, twist or not.
    Yes, maybe the stories get better and interesting after 2 chapters, but that is not good story telling. If you don't capture your reader/player/watcher over the first pages, you lose it. And this is even worse in a game where you can't go straight over to chapter 2 to see if anything interesting is going to happen or not. You have to spend several hours to see what's going on with that particular character you liked, and after so many other equally important stories, you start to lose interest over that first character. If this was the way the designers thought the story was going to be told, then they could've added writers tricks to keep you wanting for more at the very beginning of the game. Small connections or mentions about the other characters stories while you are doing one of them. Something like "hey, that's ophelia's friend, what's he doing here?????" or "Why is Primrose enemy mentioned here???". Remainders of the bigger picture.
    The same happens for the world as a whole.
    Why do the characters join the party? Why do you even let them join?? They are not friends, they do not talk to each other almost at all during the first chapters, so why are we helping them?
    Why there are so many monsters over the fields? Why those kind of monsters in this map and these over that map?
    Side quests are clichés that come out of every other game of the genre, plus clichés from open world games. There's almost no motivation for you to complete them as they feel bland and boring. For example, a fisherman inside a city is concerned and sad that he doesn't catch as many fish as before. So you walk to the map to the size of the city and you spot another fisherman that almost literally says "hahaha all the fish for me, hahaha, i'm so bad and selfish". You need to defeat that fisherman in a duel so he promises he won't do it again before running away from you. This quest remained me so much of Pokemon's Team Rocket I almost laugh out of embarrassment. The quality of these side quests is terrible.    … Expand
  16. CriticNamedZack
    Aug 12, 2019
    7
    Story: Octopath Traveler follows the tale of 8 different characters with different tales of their own, rather then one main story with it branching out. Each story has it's own theme, revenge, redemption etc.

    Pros: • I have to say, the stories being told in Octopath are very engaging and a few of them were quite spectacular to play through. For me personally, the journey each of the    Story: Octopath Traveler follows the tale of 8 different characters with different tales of their own, rather then one main story with it branching out. Each story has it's own theme, revenge, redemption etc.

    Pros:
    • I have to say, the stories being told in Octopath are very engaging and a few of them were quite spectacular to play through. For me personally, the journey each of the characters take and where they end up was the real drive in playing through all the stories.
    • I really liked all of the characters as well with none of them feeling much weaker in terms of how much I was interested in them. However, Primrose and Ophilia were the ones that really stood out from the rest. Without giving anything away, both of their tales are tragic and yet so masterfully told.

    Cons:
    • If I had one problem with the way the story was told, it's probably how you usually would start 8 chapter 1's with all the characters, the all the chapter 2's etc. I just found the pacing especially slow because of it. Look I understand that's what it's suppose to be like, but it's still a problem with the game itself.

    Gameplay: Octopath Traveler is a JRPG with a total of 8 playable characters with each of these characters having their own classes and a unique path ability that usually involves interacting with NPCS in a certain way.

    Pros:
    • The combat was quite enjoyable. With all the different classes attacks, spells and abilities. The Bp system as well added depth to the combat as well and the boss fights were excellent throughout the game. Also being able to combine different classes with a character made for more interesting playstyies.
    • This is a massive game even if you only do the main stories which is about 50/60 hours of gameplay. However, if you do the side quests, dungeons etc. it could be over 100 hours. My playthrough was about 85 hours.
    • Exploring the lands of Orsterra was a joyful one. Maybe a few more areas to explore, but it was pretty good overall.
    Cons:
    • This will depend if you like it or not, but I have to say the use of grinding in some JRPGs to increase the length of the game is a bit ridiculous and Octopath is no exception. Though it's nowhere near as bad as some other games I've played, it's still a very cheap tactic in this game and I found it very frustrating how it just slowed me down from experiencing this games character stories for a boring, repetitive task and really dampens the experience for me.
    • The side quests are really just real small filler that allows you use the path abilities to complete tasks. Although a few lead to some exciting rewards, many are just uninteresting fetch quests to fight someone, gather info etc.
    • Progression can be very slow in this game.

    Sound and Music:
    • The music is just astonishing. The composer Yasunori Nishiki has created a masterful score for this game and some of the tracks really got my emotions feeling strong and helps tell the stories and create life in the world of Orsterra. One of my favourite soundtracks in recent years from a game.
    • The sound fx are solid.
    • The voice acting is very good. Certainly a high standard in the English voice acting when used.

    Cons:
    • During the dialogue in the story, the voice acting is not used all that often and the game has you mainly just reading the text to yourself. this is a shame really that the voice acting only shows up at certain times. I wish they just picked voices or reading, not a weird mix of both.

    Performance and Graphics:

    Pros:
    • Very rarely does a game catch my eye before playing it with the graphics, but my word... Octopath is gorgeous and stunning. It's graphics was one of the main reasons I decided to play it and my god they will stick in my head for a long time.
    • Ran excellently, both on my TV and when holding my switch tablet. No bugs or glitches or frame rate drops for my whole time playing.

    Verdict: This was a very tough one to decide. Octopath has the interesting stories, the great sound and amazing music, flawless performance and orgasmic graphics. Unfortunately it really suffers in terms of gameplay with the overuse of grinding and a lack of interesting activities outside the main story. I did enjoy my time and it's a decent game that I will remember, but probably won't play again anytime soon. At the end of the day if the gameplay isn't great, the whole game suffers.

    Story(s): 9/10
    Gameplay: 6/10
    Sound and Music: 9.5/10
    Performance and Graphics:9.5/10
    Octopath Traveler: 7.0/10    … Expand
  17. juanlobo
    Jun 28, 2019
    7
    well the aesthetics are awesome, the music is great, the combat mechanics are nice, not awesome but nice, the plot is where this game fails ... from the 8 stories only 3 or 4 are good, not excellent but at least good, the rest are just MEH!
  18. Leo_Manzano
    May 13, 2019
    6
    Produced by Square Enix Octopath is perhaps the most faithful homage to the JRPG genre of the 90's, using all the good and bad clichés of the games released in that decade, at the beginning of my adventure i was dazzled by the beautiful graphics 2d and the captivating soundtrack.

    But after 20 hours of campaign and enter in chapter two the nostalgia was no longer able to hold me to the    Produced by Square Enix Octopath is perhaps the most faithful homage to the JRPG genre of the 90's, using all the good and bad clichés of the games released in that decade, at the beginning of my adventure i was dazzled by the beautiful graphics 2d and the captivating soundtrack.

    But after 20 hours of campaign and enter in chapter two the nostalgia was no longer able to hold me to the game and the lack of variations in combat and the structure almost equal of the main quests, besides of secondary missions uninteresting, made me stay bored.

    The game in no doubt is a great homage to the old JRPG, but fail miserably to take any step beyond the structure already presented in the first chapter, being a repetitive sequence of grind and missions that fail to captivate and much less surprise the player.

    My final advice on octopath is if you are a nostalgic player of JRPG (who likes Grind) and misses the games that marked your childhood this game is for you, whether you are a younger player and looking for new experiences or even a experienced player in search of something new octopath will be a frustrating experience.    … Expand
  19. askeptic
    Jul 17, 2018
    7
    Octopath traveler is a blast from the past. It sucks you in early with its charming story and beautiful art work. Voice overs sound great and are a nice touch. Where this game lacks is lasting appeal. Once you exit your characters starting area, things get quite boring and repetitive. You can play each intro with the Demo, leaving very little reason to purchase the game at a whopping $60.Octopath traveler is a blast from the past. It sucks you in early with its charming story and beautiful art work. Voice overs sound great and are a nice touch. Where this game lacks is lasting appeal. Once you exit your characters starting area, things get quite boring and repetitive. You can play each intro with the Demo, leaving very little reason to purchase the game at a whopping $60. This game would be been better off suited at $40, but look on shelves in about a week and you may just find it for that. Overall, it is well done for what it is, however what it is, is a repetitive system and the story falls off all too quickly.… Expand
  20. Powermario0
    Jul 13, 2018
    6
    This game is great, I LOVE THE GRAPHICS! This is one of those games that you can't skip, you must have this on your Switch. There is 8 different characters and they all have their own story. That's it. Now buy it!

    9/10
  21. Ruberchicken
    Aug 9, 2018
    5
    This game is... fine. Nothing special. It has RPG elements that all work, a battle system that is reasonably well done, but the nod to nostalgia reminds me of a time when Square made better games. This is certainly not the new Chrono Trigger, and the time it takes to finish it does not correlate to the quality.

    Trying to keep this brief but informative, bullet points! -Music is    This game is... fine. Nothing special. It has RPG elements that all work, a battle system that is reasonably well done, but the nod to nostalgia reminds me of a time when Square made better games. This is certainly not the new Chrono Trigger, and the time it takes to finish it does not correlate to the quality.

    Trying to keep this brief but informative, bullet points!
    -Music is reused again and again. This game takes like 80 hours to finish, so this gets old
    -Story is very bad. All 8 characters have their own stories that don't play into a greater story, and most of them are pretty cheesy and devoid of appeal
    -combat is just good enough to make you think THIS GAME IS DEEP until you realize how repetitive the game is
    -art style looks good in a trailer but doesn't hold focus
    -20 hours of good game in an 80 hour package

    What I wish was different...
    -focus on world building and making the story interesting. There is very little charm to any of the characters, nor through-line in their paths. They don't even talk to each other unless you make them.
    -more music for a game that is so long
    -more depth in combat if the game wants to be so long (look at Xenoblade 2...)

    True final boss exists hidden behind a wall you would surely only find through the internet, and forces you to use every character, including the ones you've likely benched. So, to finish that, you must google and grind, all for a story that has 0 intrigue. Considering this means grinding my least favorite characters in a game full of uninteresting characters, no thanks.

    If you hardcore LOVE JRPGs, this one is competent but not special.
    If you care about story or presentation, skip this game!    … Expand
  22. gordingo
    Jul 26, 2018
    5
    The game does a lot right, and shockingly enough, it doesn't do much wrong. BUT, what it does wrong is so mindbogglingly bad and unforgivable, it actually ruins whatever momentum it had going for it. I don't feel any drive to play the game anymore. The two things that just really bury the deal for me are only two things but very, VERY significant. 1. The lack of real party interaction, andThe game does a lot right, and shockingly enough, it doesn't do much wrong. BUT, what it does wrong is so mindbogglingly bad and unforgivable, it actually ruins whatever momentum it had going for it. I don't feel any drive to play the game anymore. The two things that just really bury the deal for me are only two things but very, VERY significant. 1. The lack of real party interaction, and an overarching plot (Or at least the absence of an overarching plot 20 hours into the game.) The first 16-20 hours of the game consist of experiencing what is vaguely the same exact plot with maybe 3-5 constants changed. It's like watching the same 4Kidz Shonen anime pilot episode for hours on end, the only character with a plot i really find intriguing so far is Primrose, whose literally just the definitive telling of the same 8 basic stories. Out of curiosity i wished to see what the future of the game held, and it really disappointed me. The job system is my favorite thing that is incorporated in the JRPG genre, my favorite part of the classic final fantasy games, favorite part of bravely default, and favorite part of many other games. Now one of the most exciting things about the job system is mixing/matching and seeing what you get. But unfortunately this game's job system has very uninspired aesthetics, they don't try to make names for the hybrid class, the only character with a truly cool unique outfit is the Hunter outfit Tressa gets. Every other look in the game is just giving the character the same basic outfits of the other characters, no headpieces either. There are no characters with the charm and aesthetics of something like a dark knight, a dragoon, a black wizard, etc. It is extremely disappointing. I hear there are 4 unique classes at the end but i don't think that's enough. All in all i'm just severely disappointed with how lazy it is, especially considering how shallow and detrimental the main gimmick of this game is, id rather they made it a traditional JRPG if i knew they wouldn't have been able to pull it off. How they will add modern conveniences like fast travel but forget about how important those unique job's are. It's sad because i actually like the game but it **** up the two main things i was really looking forward to.… Expand
  23. EmilyMonster
    Jul 26, 2018
    7
    A bit disappointed, but I do not regret my purchase.

    Pros - Solid turn based combat with some modern conveniences (mainly a bar telling you who gets the upcoming turns) and enough new things like the boost system to keep it interesting. - Beautiful art work - Good voice acting - Each character has a semi-unique way to interact with NPCs (there are two versions of all four main ways    A bit disappointed, but I do not regret my purchase.

    Pros
    - Solid turn based combat with some modern conveniences (mainly a bar telling you who gets the upcoming turns) and enough new things like the boost system to keep it interesting.
    - Beautiful art work
    - Good voice acting
    - Each character has a semi-unique way to interact with NPCs (there are two versions of all four main ways to interact)

    Cons
    - There is no grand story. Each character has their own simple story. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I would have preferred if they were brought together by a similar goal and decided to team up instead of there being no real reason for them teaming.
    - Each chapter follows the same formula: Run around a town talking to people to get the story, and then go through a dungeon with a boss at the end. Rinse and repeat for 32 chapters. Wish there was more variety.

    Nit-picky cons
    - There is a weird blur effect on the foreground and edges of the screen. I looked through the options and found one that looked like it would turn that off, but it didn't. I just wish there was a way to turn off the blur on the edges as least.
    - I wish it was fully voice acted. Some parts are, but others they will just grunt or say a few word when a speech bubble appears. There doesn't seem to be any difference between the cut scenes that are voice acted and the ones that aren't.
    - Random encounters go on for a bit too long. I don't mind long, epic bosses, but random encounters I want to go by quickly. I am level 30 in a level 20 area and battles are lasting about how long I would want them if I wasn't over leveled.    … Expand
  24. Yay_Von
    Aug 9, 2018
    7
    The thing is the game can be sorta boring for some people. Don't get me wrong but its a good game! But fighting peasants ( annoying monsters) can get annoying and the story can be dull. Who would travel around the world just to find a stupid book! The only part that made this a 7 is the boss fights. I would recommend getting this game when its on a sale for 40 bucks.
  25. large_robot
    Aug 19, 2018
    6
    I just don't think that this game is respective of my time. The dialogue is slow and awkward. There is a half second pause between each part of spoken dialogue. The game is very linear too. I prefer a bit more freedom in my JRPGs. It's no Dragon Quest!
  26. cocomundi
    Jul 13, 2018
    5
    Un videojuego sensacional. Excelente banda sonora y aspecto visual muy acertado. Y un sistema de combate adictivo. Por desgracia, falla en el diseño de las mazmorras y en ciertas incoherencia argumentales que, de forma inevitable, lastran la experiencia completa.
  27. ALLCAPS
    May 29, 2023
    7
    Great game play mechanics including a really interesting job system. Only complaint is that the story is very very lackluster.
  28. VTL
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    Me parece un gran juego,..... peeero creo que se ha sobrebalorado un poco. Gráficamente visualmente esteticamente es una delicia... lo que con sus 8 "mini historias" de cada personaje... se hace algo sin sustancia lo que es la trama general y pierde fuerza. Seria preferible 4 personages con más desarrollo de la historia (Quatropath Traveler). Todo y eso es un juego enorme. Unas 100 horasMe parece un gran juego,..... peeero creo que se ha sobrebalorado un poco. Gráficamente visualmente esteticamente es una delicia... lo que con sus 8 "mini historias" de cada personaje... se hace algo sin sustancia lo que es la trama general y pierde fuerza. Seria preferible 4 personages con más desarrollo de la historia (Quatropath Traveler). Todo y eso es un juego enorme. Unas 100 horas para completar todo todo en el.… Expand
  29. CoJackCity
    Sep 7, 2018
    6
    This game started off very slow with 8 separate stories and unlocking the 8 individual heroes, but the battle mechanics of the game are fantastic and really keep you engaged and interested in continuing each of the chapters. There's a minor grind, but to some it may seem more of an annoyance to have to grind while the story lines are so weak. After 60 hours of this game I figuredThis game started off very slow with 8 separate stories and unlocking the 8 individual heroes, but the battle mechanics of the game are fantastic and really keep you engaged and interested in continuing each of the chapters. There's a minor grind, but to some it may seem more of an annoyance to have to grind while the story lines are so weak. After 60 hours of this game I figured everything would come together and my grind would be worth it. Unfortunately, if your'e looking for satisfaction from the story this game falls extremely short. I want to keep this short so I'll list the
    Pros: Nintendo 2D graphics are awesome, battle mechanics, the menus to navigate through the map, weapons, and skills are easy and simplistic to understand and learn.

    Cons: The stories are so bad. I can't tell you how annoying it is to hear H'annit and her "old English". It's painful to get through some of these stories. As I got to everyone's 4th chapter I was so uninterested in everyone's stories that I skipped the prologues and went straight to the battles. Not every game is perfect, but this really REALLY brings what could be a great game to just an OK game.    … Expand
  30. EastGwilly
    Dec 5, 2020
    5
    Created account to rate this game. This game is a MUST OWN for fans of old school JRPG turned base battle. I can spend hours just grinding in this game. The battle system remains faithful to the best and the vast map, enemies and areas help keep the battles varied. Trust your gut on this game. Octopath is a gem.
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Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best Switch Game of 2018
5
#5 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018
5
#5 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 79 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 79
  3. Negative: 0 out of 79
  1. RPGamer
    Jun 21, 2019
    90
    While those looking for a deep, story-heavy RPG might find Octopath Traveler lacking, the game is a hugely enjoyable modern take on traditional turn-based games of yesteryear with a collection of short story, rather than novel-length, narratives. The graphics represent the pinnacle of pixel art and the score is amazing. This game was pretty much a system-seller for me and well worth every penny and hour spent with it.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Oct 25, 2018
    85
    You can either hate Octopath Traveler’s art direction or love it, but it definitely will not leave you indifferent. Distinct visuals are just one of the game’s many strengths which make it a feast for the fans of jRPGs – and much more than that. It’s not flawless though – the dungeons are bland and there are virtually no relations between the characters in your party as they don’t communicate almost at all. [09/2018, p.66]
  3. RPG Fan
    Sep 13, 2018
    88
    Octopath Traveler is unapologetically old-school, and would not have been out of place if it had released back in the golden age of JRPGs.
    Read full review
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