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. 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
  2. JRice
    Dec 7, 2020
    7
    While the basics of the game are very well designed (nice graphics, tactical battles, a big world to explore, interactions with the environment), the execution is ultimately flawed:
    Lots of boring textwalls, unbalanced characters, recycled special-abilities, and especially: a LOT of necessary grinding, plus the extremely annoying need to level up 8 characters indivdually, with only 4    While the basics of the game are very well designed (nice graphics, tactical battles, a big world to explore, interactions with the environment), the execution is ultimately flawed:
    Lots of boring textwalls, unbalanced characters, recycled special-abilities, and especially: a LOT of necessary grinding, plus the extremely annoying need to level up 8 characters indivdually, with only 4 slots per party, leads to plenty of slow, boring and repetitive passages.
    And while i loved the game in the beginning and for the first couple of hours, the quaiity dropped continually from there...

    It still isnt a bad game, and introduced many exciting ideas into the genre, but after the first 30 hours of playtime, i have no intention or passion whatsoever, to continue playing, and am just bored and frustrated...    … Expand
  3. bulger_paul
    Nov 26, 2018
    7
    The artwork and music are absolutely gorgeous, and I love the combat system, and if just those three things were the only thing I could base my rating off of, it would easily be a perfect ten, but, there is a gratuitous amount of grinding required to progress in the story's chapters, and you have to grind with every single one of the characters, even the ones you don't enjoy using, thereThe artwork and music are absolutely gorgeous, and I love the combat system, and if just those three things were the only thing I could base my rating off of, it would easily be a perfect ten, but, there is a gratuitous amount of grinding required to progress in the story's chapters, and you have to grind with every single one of the characters, even the ones you don't enjoy using, there is practically not organic character interaction, as if each of the character's stories are just happening around each other with no effort put into weaving the stories in and out of each other, and the very often the dialogue bits drag on to an insufferable degree.

    But aside from those story flaws, everything else in this game is practically perfect in every way.    … 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. 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
  6. shado474
    Apr 23, 2021
    7
    My first impression of this game was great. I was impressed by the visuals and the music, and the beginning of the stories or Cyrus and Ophelia were charming.

    However, as I went around and collected more characters, I felt like the same formula was repeating and it was breaking the logical progression of each story lines. I know the game reminds you of the state of each storyline at the    My first impression of this game was great. I was impressed by the visuals and the music, and the beginning of the stories or Cyrus and Ophelia were charming.

    However, as I went around and collected more characters, I felt like the same formula was repeating and it was breaking the logical progression of each story lines. I know the game reminds you of the state of each storyline at the beginning or each chapter, but it wasn't quite enough to put me back in the mindset. I also felt very disconnected with the kind of language that is used in the narration and between the characters in some of the stories. Each story also feels like a visual novel in a way since there is nothing to really do except to go to the green mark on the map after each cutscene to get to the next. I have played rather casually and I am at around 50 hours into the game. It currently feels a bit like a grind to push and finish the game, and I think I will stop once I finish 4 of the stories.

    That aside, I enjoy the combat system. At this point in the game it is probably the only thing I still enjoy. I also appreciate how the side quests let you figure out what you need to do, but many of them are incredibly hard to figure out. In that sense, I feel like there is such a large contrast between the side quests and the story quests that it is almost a bad thing. I would've personally preferred something more in the middle.    … Expand
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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!
  12. hime
    Jun 11, 2020
    7
    Очень понравился визуальный стиль, атмосфера и повествование, местами история. Однако всё испортил гринд и его обязательность для прохождения сюжета вкупе со случайными боями.
  13. 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
  14. auditbadger
    Nov 10, 2018
    7
    I think that this is truly a unique game and I would recommend that if you are a fan of this type of genre then I think you should give this game a try.
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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.
  18. 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
  19. AlexKidd
    Feb 23, 2020
    7
    Great atmosphere and grahpics. Love the oldschool artstyle. The oldschool JRPG combat system feels solid. One big flaw of the game is the 8 seperate stories that they put in the game. It somehow doesn't feel right.
  20. GreenMenace
    Jun 12, 2020
    7
    I was really beginning to feel bogged down by this game. There was just too much grinding required. In my opinion, there are better JRPGs available. Still, Octopath Traveler was a game I can respect.

    Pros Unique, fun battle system Great Value Beautiful 16 bit graphics Great art style Cons The grind Limited interactions The story The side quests Frankly, this isn’t a    I was really beginning to feel bogged down by this game. There was just too much grinding required. In my opinion, there are better JRPGs available. Still, Octopath Traveler was a game I can respect.

    Pros

    Unique, fun battle system
    Great Value
    Beautiful 16 bit graphics
    Great art style

    Cons

    The grind
    Limited interactions
    The story
    The side quests

    Frankly, this isn’t a game I would want to play again (after 70 hours of play and exploring just about everywhere). It convinced me that I’m a casual gamer. If I cared to do the many fetch side quests, I could easily sink in another 30 hours. However, I didn’t have much interest in scouring the world doing x to then be able to do y. Reviewing a guide is a must to save the player time from pointless npc interactions searching for the solution of an arbitrary quest. Equipment is more valuable than the character’s level. Late game, it took me hours just to level up my characters five times (and yes, I am fully aware of the fastest farming methods). Even though there are many places to farm with a wide variety of monsters, I found myself going to the same spots to farm, hoping to get the most experience. It didn’t take long for me to memorize every kind of encounter for each area I farmed in.

    The story, as well as the characters, are good, but not great. The way the game is structured inhibits any real character development. While trying to get to a high enough level, a player must play the first chapter of eight different characters. In short, you never can just focus on one story; you are forever tied to eight okay stories, instead of focusing on your favorite story. The character conversations were there, and they were needed. However, most of the time, I found myself uninterested in the conversation. The unique character interactions were okay, but they got old fast because it was always, “walk up to an npc, press y, and resolve.” Character classes, over time, seemed to just meld together and lose their individuality. The characters with any individuality are the most popular and are going to be in everyone’s party because their unique passive is irreplaceable.

    Gameplaywise, this game is at a 5 or a 6 for me. It was hard to finish. But there are some fantastic aspects about the game. The most well known is its combat system. Players are encouraged to strategize to get “breaks” to really rack up the damage. There is a vast array of weapons, armor, and accessories to choose from. I found myself changing my equipment from time to time to adjust to a big fight. So while the game is an awful grind, at least it was a grind spent in a fun combat system.
    The graphics are beautiful. The art style is unique. There are a lot of monsters to fight in Octopath Traveler, and each are charming. The stories, while weak, were enjoyable because they had fun themes associated with them.

    In conclusion, this game was worth it for me. In my opinion, it’s a game that’s overrated. The story, the side quests, and the satisfaction from leveling up my characters were lacking. If you don’t mind a heavy grind, and you enjoy the artwork, then this is a solid game to check out. You can easily figure out whether or not you like the game by downloading and playing the demo for free. Believe me, the game doesn’t change up the game mechanics…    … Expand
  21. Stevetoast
    Jan 27, 2020
    7
    Visuals are amazing, combat is incredible, character progression is seamless without much grinding AT ALL with an excellent job system to flesh out exactly what you want for each character. My absolute favorite are the boss sprites in battles, stylish as all heck! You'll not regret this purchase... BUT

    Pretty much all 3 of the points missing from my score are due to the story. They are    Visuals are amazing, combat is incredible, character progression is seamless without much grinding AT ALL with an excellent job system to flesh out exactly what you want for each character. My absolute favorite are the boss sprites in battles, stylish as all heck! You'll not regret this purchase... BUT

    Pretty much all 3 of the points missing from my score are due to the story. They are all pretty tropey and generic despite laying down groundwork for some incredible stories, falls back on mustache twirling weirdo villains and other tropes you see a lot in anime. I didn't expect all 8 stories to be in the same singular story but it's pretty disappointing that they don't interact AT ALL. Would've added more oomph to the weaker stories knowing they are still helping in some way and would've created opportunities to have characters interact and such.    … Expand
  22. nightstroller
    Apr 30, 2020
    7
    Octopath Traveler is a bit of a mystery to me. On paper, it has everything I love about games and I love RPGs. But having played it back when it first came out, thinking about how soon I lost interest/drive with it, that has to signify that something is/was awry.

    The art style is fantastic I think. And although it requires specific characters in your party, I like the aspect of needing    Octopath Traveler is a bit of a mystery to me. On paper, it has everything I love about games and I love RPGs. But having played it back when it first came out, thinking about how soon I lost interest/drive with it, that has to signify that something is/was awry.

    The art style is fantastic I think. And although it requires specific characters in your party, I like the aspect of needing to use various skills to advance things or solve scenarios. The classic final fantasy turn based combat is also great. But digging deeper, I can't remember where I heard it/read it from, but someone had said that this game was lacking in substance or a purpose to it all. At first I didn't pay much mind to that comment, but as I played more into the story and the character's various arcs, I realized I was in agreement with that sentiment and slowly but surely lost interest.

    Not to say that this is a bad game, but rather it feels a bit void of a meaningful purpose or direction.

    Octopath Traveler
    Gameplay enjoyability (0 - worst, 10 - best)

    Story - 6
    Lore - 4
    Looting/equipment finding - 6
    Questing/variety - 5
    Combat - 8
    Side quests/activities - 6
    Music/soundtrack - 8
    Visuals - 9    … Expand
  23. bancandrei
    May 15, 2020
    7
    This game looks great. It is the dream of any retro inspired game to look this good. Other than that it is very retro in that it plays just like something which would come out in 1990. Good to scratch a nostalgia itch, but that's about it
  24. Skurttish
    Jun 5, 2020
    7
    First off, if you haven’t heard it before, then here it is: It looks stinkin’ gorgeous. Very cool feel. And I also really enjoyed the musical score—the ambience in this game is extremely well done.

    The gameplay is also a strength. It is very strategic, with a cool system of ‘Breaks’ that are critical to victory. But, that being said, some bosses will make you tear your hair out, and one    First off, if you haven’t heard it before, then here it is: It looks stinkin’ gorgeous. Very cool feel. And I also really enjoyed the musical score—the ambience in this game is extremely well done.

    The gameplay is also a strength. It is very strategic, with a cool system of ‘Breaks’ that are critical to victory. But, that being said, some bosses will make you tear your hair out, and one boss forces you to use one specific character, so I hope you’ve been leveling him up (I hadn’t been before I got there, not that I’m emotionally scarred or anything, but......still in counseling after what that boss did to me).

    However, I have three criticisms: One, that I couldn’t assemble the team I wanted after I started the game and got a feel for how the mechanics of the game worked. To work on a character’s story, you have to have that character in your party, and the characters come in pairs, so it makes the most sense to switch the character out with whoever has the corresponding skills so you aren’t left lacking in a battle or story situation. But, you know what, I’m a boring person, and I just wanted to pick four people and ride them all the way. I docked it a point because I had to keep switching.

    Another negative point is that after I beat all the stories, none of them except for one were really remarkable enough to stay with me. The game was beaten and then forgotten, because the stories were fairly standard.

    Finally, some of the bosses were really challenging. I do think the level of difficult was a mite too high.

    I had gone into this game expecting to rave about it when it was over, but after beating it six months ago, I’ve found I haven’t actually recommended it to anyone. Well, go figure—such is life.    … Expand
  25. ViKabbu
    Aug 8, 2021
    7
    It's a good title, but not a great one.____________________________________
  26. HeavyMachineGon
    Jun 18, 2021
    7
    说实话这个游戏有点让我失望，因为游戏的核心内容是分裂的。8个角色之间没有任何关系，相当于是8个小型rpg拼凑到了一起。进行一个人的剧情的时候其他人就等同于工具人，剧情上没有任何互动。而且每个人的剧情都比较单薄，简单。
    断断续续打了45小时，中间还是穿插着其他游戏打。剧情现在过半了，感觉游戏的玩法很单一，跑图，找NPC，找boss，在找boss的过程中升级。比较容易腻，目前没有动力玩下去。
    喜欢的几个点是，能用不同的技能“调戏”所有可以对话的NPC，以及每个NPC都有各自的身份和背景可以被玩家查看。画风我很喜欢的，故意做成了像素风，但又非常精致。而且游戏的配乐是亮点，原声CD碟已入手，这是唯一支撑我打完这个游戏的动力（以后再也不要在游戏通关前买原声CD了）。    说实话这个游戏有点让我失望，因为游戏的核心内容是分裂的。8个角色之间没有任何关系，相当于是8个小型rpg拼凑到了一起。进行一个人的剧情的时候其他人就等同于工具人，剧情上没有任何互动。而且每个人的剧情都比较单薄，简单。
    断断续续打了45小时，中间还是穿插着其他游戏打。剧情现在过半了，感觉游戏的玩法很单一，跑图，找NPC，找boss，在找boss的过程中升级。比较容易腻，目前没有动力玩下去。
    喜欢的几个点是，能用不同的技能“调戏”所有可以对话的NPC，以及每个NPC都有各自的身份和背景可以被玩家查看。画风我很喜欢的，故意做成了像素风，但又非常精致。而且游戏的配乐是亮点，原声CD碟已入手，这是唯一支撑我打完这个游戏的动力（以后再也不要在游戏通关前买原声CD了）。
    游戏的战斗系统好评，跟以往的回合制轮流放技能不同，加入了“弱点击破”的效果，给战斗增加了更多的可变性，让队友的选择更重要。但是这样就不能自动战斗，boss战前的刷级尤其无聊，很需要自动战斗，减少跑图的时间。战斗可以改进成，如果本轮遇到的敌人所有的弱点都已经被玩家发现，则该轮战斗可以自动战斗。
    通关更新：85小时。断断续续9个月，这个游戏真的不能算好玩。还想吐槽支线任务，提示过于少了，有一些任务完全摸不着头脑。很多任务都是莫名其妙得到了消息，但完全不知道是哪一个任务需要，点了NPC对话才发现已经得到了任务完成所需要的内容。    … Expand
  27. ophone
    Apr 12, 2021
    7
    This game has so much to offer:
    Basic sprites style combined with beautiful backgrounds, a majestic soundtrack, involving combat system and touching character stories.
    But I got disappointed by it because I am stuck at two bosses in the third chapter. I don't know what my errors are, maybe I have to start grinding. Although when it comes to grinding, I clearly prefer RPGs where you have    This game has so much to offer:
    Basic sprites style combined with beautiful backgrounds, a majestic soundtrack, involving combat system and touching character stories.
    But I got disappointed by it because I am stuck at two bosses in the third chapter. I don't know what my errors are, maybe I have to start grinding. Although when it comes to grinding, I clearly prefer RPGs where you have to do this from the get-go.    … Expand
  28. otmiyo
    Jun 18, 2022
    7
    Stunning visuals and music, fun battle system, but with many shortcomings in the story, instead of "Octopath Traveler" could be named "Eight Short Stories" subtitle "None of them memorable"
  29. RetroGamesMania
    Sep 29, 2022
    7
    In linea generale il gioco mi è piaciuto , ma l’ho trovato complicato seguire la storia , sopratutto quando si cambia il personaggio della storia principale . Oltre a ciò più di una volta mi sono trovato in situazioni , dove i nemici erano così forti , che ho dovuto cambiare personaggio per seguire nuove quest. Per il resto nulla da dire. Diciamo che mi sono spesso trovato un po’ smarritoIn linea generale il gioco mi è piaciuto , ma l’ho trovato complicato seguire la storia , sopratutto quando si cambia il personaggio della storia principale . Oltre a ciò più di una volta mi sono trovato in situazioni , dove i nemici erano così forti , che ho dovuto cambiare personaggio per seguire nuove quest. Per il resto nulla da dire. Diciamo che mi sono spesso trovato un po’ smarrito Forse perché sono abituato ad una storia più lineare. Comunque lo reputo un buon gioco… Expand
  30. 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
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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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