I’ve spent extra time serious about Octopath Traveler 0 than I really anticipated to. Not as a result of it left me shocked or disillusioned, however as a result of it stored sitting someplace within the center. It’s a sport I loved taking part in, a sport I stored coming again to, and but one which by no means absolutely let me sink into its world, to a point.
That’s an odd place for an RPG to be in, particularly one which clearly has a lot care put into it. You’ll be able to really feel the trouble in sure areas immediately. In others, it looks like one thing was left on the artists design wall amongst different partitions.
What you find yourself with is a sport that does so much proper, but additionally always reminds you that it may have completed extra.
Visuals and Artwork Course – Genuinely Spectacular
The HD-2D fashion continues to be one in every of Sq. Enix’s strongest concepts, and Octopath Traveler 0 could be the most effective instance of it thus far. The lighting alone does an unimaginable quantity of labor. Daylight by timber, glowing cities at evening, and the best way spells gentle up the battlefield all add an actual sense of depth.
I usually discovered myself slowing down simply to go searching. That doesn’t occur usually anymore, and it says so much about how assured the visible route is.
Fight results are particularly properly dealt with. Assaults really feel impactful with out turning the display screen into a large number of particles, and animations have sufficient weight behind them to make every motion really feel deliberate.
However when you cease admiring the larger image and begin noticing the main points, issues start to really feel a little bit off.
Inside areas are the clearest instance. Beds haven’t any blankets. No pillows. Characters lie down absolutely clothed on what seems to be like a naked picket body. It’s oddly distracting. These are small issues, however they repeat usually sufficient that they begin to stand out.
The result’s a world that appears alive from a distance, however feels extra synthetic up shut. It doesn’t break the expertise, but it surely does chip away at it.
Inconsistent Voice Appearing Breaks the Movement
The choice to solely voice sure elements of the story was one thing I struggled with all through the sport.
Fundamental story moments are voiced. Facet scenes normally aren’t. Generally a single dialog jumps between voiced dialogue and silent textual content, and people transitions aren’t delicate. They’re noticeable, and when you clock it, it retains occurring.
Personally, I feel this was a mistake. Not as a result of the voice performing is unhealthy — it isn’t — however as a result of it’s inconsistent. I’d actually fairly haven’t any voice performing in any respect than this midway method.
When characters converse, you anticipate them to maintain talking. Once they all of a sudden cease, it pulls you straight out of the second. That’s very true throughout emotional scenes, the place tone and supply matter simply as a lot because the phrases themselves.
It’s a type of decisions that in all probability made sense throughout improvement, however from a participant’s standpoint, it simply feels unfinished.
Fight Is What Retains You Enjoying
If there’s one space the place Octopath Traveler 0 persistently delivers, it’s fight.
The turn-based system is simple to grasp, but it surely by no means feels shallow. The Break and Increase mechanics push you to assume forward, take note of enemy weaknesses, and plan turns rigorously. You’re hardly ever simply going by the motions.
Even common encounters ask one thing of you, and managers undoubtedly do. You’ll be able to’t depend on uncooked numbers alone. Preparation issues. Celebration setup issues. Timing issues.
What stood out to me most, although, was the problem.
This can be a sport that may often inform you “no”. There have been factors the place I hit a wall and easily couldn’t push by. Enemies hit tougher than anticipated, and errors had been punished shortly.
As an alternative of forcing it, I stepped away, levelled elsewhere, adjusted my setup, and got here again later. Once I lastly received these fights, it felt earned. That sense of earned progress is one thing I actually recognize, and it’s not one thing each fashionable RPG is prepared to supply.
That mentioned, issue spikes can really feel abrupt. The sport doesn’t at all times sign hazard clearly, so typically you solely realise you’re underprepared after getting worn out.
Story Concepts That Don’t All the time Land
The story sits in a clumsy house for me.
There are good concepts right here. Themes round ambition, loss, and consequence run all through the primary narrative, and there are moments the place it genuinely works. I used to be sufficient to maintain going, which is necessary.
However supply lets it down.
Between the partial voice performing and the shortage of environmental storytelling, some emotional beats don’t hit as arduous as they need to. I understood what the sport needed me to really feel, however I didn’t at all times really feel it.
I by no means disliked the story, however I additionally by no means absolutely related with it. It grew to become one thing I adopted fairly than one thing I felt invested in.
A World That Feels Near Being Alive
That is the place all of the smaller points come collectively.
Octopath Traveler 0 feels prefer it’s only one step away from being really immersive. The artwork route suggests depth. The techniques help long-term play. However small lacking particulars cease the world from feeling absolutely lived in.
It’s not one massive flaw. It’s a set of little ones.
And over time, these little issues add up.
Closing Ideas
By the tip of my time with Octopath Traveler 0, my opinion was pretty clear.
Octopath Traveler 0 excellent RPG. The fight is robust, the visuals are persistently spectacular, and the problem makes progress really feel significant. It’s additionally a sport that by no means fairly helps you to neglect its limitations.
I loved taking part in it, and I don’t remorse the time I spent with it. However immersion-breaking particulars and uneven presentation stopped it from changing into one thing I really beloved.
This can be a sport I like greater than I join with — and that’s each its energy and its frustration.
Octopath Traveller 2 Reside Motion Trailer
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The sport was supplied to us for the categorical objective of reviewing.
The evaluation was written by me and edited by my accomplice.
