Octopath Traveler

 Switch
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1189 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 981 out of 1189
  2. Mixed: 104 out of 1189
  3. Negative: 104 out of 1189
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  1. Goo4you
    Jul 16, 2018
    2
    Having played the demo and found my niche in Olberic as the starting character, (I tried Cyrus 1st, and that was pretty awful) I decided to pick this title up. Had I just started as Cyrus I would NOT have bought it (the character, voice actor and combat of him are face-palming terrible). But there were/are some redeeming qualities to the title that made it a pick-up.

    The music for one,    Having played the demo and found my niche in Olberic as the starting character, (I tried Cyrus 1st, and that was pretty awful) I decided to pick this title up. Had I just started as Cyrus I would NOT have bought it (the character, voice actor and combat of him are face-palming terrible). But there were/are some redeeming qualities to the title that made it a pick-up.

    The music for one, the middling nostalgia the game evokes through combat/towns/leveling-up/finding new weapons and armor. All these are a nice touch, but the MASSIVE glaring problems keep me from recommending this to people beyond the niche.

    ~The story is mediocre, like kindergarten wrote poor. This type of writing needs to die in JRPGS. It's so cliche and tired, I almost have to ask why even bother making the game at all. There is too much TELLING and not enough SHOWING. Ophelia's story might have been the most insipid rendition possible. I was outright mocking the outright laughable dialogue between her and his sister. No one speaks in EXPOSITION, but apparently the writers at Square Enix. F- for that team, you should know better!

    ~The acting is everything from cliche to overwhelmingly insipid. Cyrus might be the biggest doofus I have ever heard in a game in my lifetime. I wish there were an option to turn off the "flourish" lines for each character. Sure I have to listen to them talk in scripted moments, but the add-on lines interspersed in the general dialogue boxes need to go away.

    ~combat is alright and straightforward, which leads to over-tooled enemies with either too much health (absurd levels of health for low-level characters) or an inordinate amount of attack power which take massive amounts of health off, and this is coming from enemies levels BELOW your party. The "break" system is either overpowering or just a strategic waste of time. There is no way to know the enemies Level other than the danger zone...which is the enemies level? Not clear in the slightest.

    ~side quest tracking is poor. There is no build-up to the quest and no way to track/guide to it which leads you to forget what it is, what it is about, who it is for, where you picked it up in the first place and what the reward is. In other words--side quests are nothing. To add to the confusion, the "level" of the sidequest is not prominent and not level fluid. You could be level 10 and pick up a side mission that is nearby, only to find the mission is 30 levels above you? You'll forget it's there forget where to turn it in and the reward will be below where you'd need to be to complete it. This is terrible design.

    ~Money both in acquirement and use is all out of sorts. Enemies drop a pittance of currency forcing you to grind/steal for HOURS just to be able to upgrade your party to keep competitive. Consumables and gear are all over the place and generally way overpriced. Fixing your rep is FIVE THOUSAND EACH TIME! This might not be a problem in the mid/late game...but at the start? This leads to NOT using abilities you NEED to use (like scrutinize). Get it wrong 5 times in town (not per person) and NO ONE TALKS to you, leaving you to go GRIND money outside of town to be able to do anything there! What a stupid idea this was and the way it was implemented.

    ~This is a re-tooled Bravely Default with a different coat of paint, and the mechanics moved around. I liked BD, until the repetitiveness kicked-in and ruined the entire thing..and Octopath Traveler might end up being the same thing.

    ~The biggest problem here is...the plot. There is no plot. The plot is 8 different plots that all run concurrently to each other, but never overlap and never coalesce into one main narrative, ever. The "travelers" never talk to each other, never interact beyond the first time you meet them. They are voiceless, empty fighters that have NO RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER...EVER!! This might be the most anti-social RPG I have even a part of. How do you travel with people, fight by their side and NEVER ACTUALLY BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM!

    I've been updating this review all weekend. It started at a 7 and has whittled down to a two. This might be the absolute worst JRPG I may have ever played. How do you form a group of people and never have them interact with each other? HOW? Avoid this abomination at all costs. Don't be suckered in by the graphics, it is a lie! AVOID! You've been warned.    … Expand
  2. MisterMansfield
    Jul 14, 2018
    2
    I wasn't expecting much since I knew it was a throwback to old style JRPGs which isn't a bad thing. However, they really are carrying that torch a little too proudly. Turn-based JRPGs have come along way since the SNES days yet this game seems to want to be focused there. I am not a huge fan of having nothing really outside of my limited turns/spells/sp/etc to dictate the fight. TheI wasn't expecting much since I knew it was a throwback to old style JRPGs which isn't a bad thing. However, they really are carrying that torch a little too proudly. Turn-based JRPGs have come along way since the SNES days yet this game seems to want to be focused there. I am not a huge fan of having nothing really outside of my limited turns/spells/sp/etc to dictate the fight. The fights feel padded when you get to a "boss" and not like something you overcame just something you endured. I figured this lack of combat depth must be made up in the story since it is 8 stories connecting together right? Wrong... It seems that there are party members but the members don't interact with one another, they just silently follow who ever the main protagonist of that story is at the time. Overall, kinda disappointing.… Expand
  3. Electricity23
    Jul 13, 2018
    0
    Got this game yesterday, so one day early, and yeah I don’t like the game so much. As much as the graphics are supposed to be nostalgic, and it isn’t made for everyone, I just don’t like the graphics at all. The game really isn’t as fun as everyone else was hyping it up to be. The fault is mine, I should’ve tried the demo first. Wish I would’ve saved my money
  4. zephir93
    Jul 13, 2018
    0
    personaggi che non interagiscono fra loro, una marea dicombattimenti, capitoli di trama tutti uguali e molto grinding per andare avanti. troppo old sotto alcuni aspetti, superficiale in altri
  5. NeonPurple
    Jul 13, 2018
    0
    The game annoys me a lot actually with all the fights constantly. The graphics ain’t impressive. I mean I know Nintendo ain’t exactly known for good graphics, but I think it would’ve benefited the game more, not making it so pixelated. Idk, I’m not that impressed
  6. jeffbizloc
    Apr 29, 2019
    3
    I was really excited for Octopath Traveler and was left disappointed by the complete non-challenge bore it became. Maybe I wanted a more strategy game then RPG story.

    Game(s) like: Old school Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior Pros: - Graphics and setting were nice - The stories I played I enjoyed Cons: - No strategy/tactics really needed, just way too easy - Random encounters are    I was really excited for Octopath Traveler and was left disappointed by the complete non-challenge bore it became. Maybe I wanted a more strategy game then RPG story.

    Game(s) like: Old school Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior

    Pros:
    - Graphics and setting were nice
    - The stories I played I enjoyed

    Cons:
    - No strategy/tactics really needed, just way too easy
    - Random encounters are never fun    … Expand
  7. StadtlerHM
    Feb 11, 2019
    2
    I have played this game for 30 hours now, and so far, it has been torture.
    When I played the demo, I loved it to death, but I had a feeling that the game would become boring if the combat didn't change up significantly, and that was true.
    Every single time I encounter a new enemy, I just feel like I have to rerun the same old gameplay loop of finding its weakness, breaking it and    I have played this game for 30 hours now, and so far, it has been torture.
    When I played the demo, I loved it to death, but I had a feeling that the game would become boring if the combat didn't change up significantly, and that was true.

    Every single time I encounter a new enemy, I just feel like I have to rerun the same old gameplay loop of finding its weakness, breaking it and killing it, and when this gameplay loop never changes, it gets really boring really fast. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that the enemies all have the same attacks, and you will never run into an enemy with a new attack pattern or combat strategy, but rather just have to keep hitting bigger and bigger damage sponges the more you play.

    The game has also refused to let me fast travel up until now, so you can imagine how pissed off I got when I found out after 30 hours, that all that walking along linear paths, constantly being forced into combat- which I didn't want to be in- encountering the same old time wasting damage sponges again and again, was a giant waste of my time.

    The graphics have also not grown on me. I guess this is because I have probably spent too much time walking back and forth between towns, which has really just made me hate the world, as all the travelling is walking along linear paths and never gets any fun. This has caused me to despise looking at the paths that I walk on all the time, and has prevented me from enjoying what is really a cool looking game.

    There are so many features that the game just never explains, and what I have understood of the game in my 30 hours has just not been enjoyable enough. I wish I had spent this money on any other game, really.    … Expand
  8. appledinger
    Jun 13, 2019
    1
    Too repetitive and grindy to be worthwhile. Most of the characters have boring personalities and boring low stakes quests. I hear there's endgame content that makes the whole thing worth it, but I don't need to waste any more of my life on this.
  9. bunchesofdonald
    Aug 7, 2018
    4
    There are a lot of things to love, it's beautiful and it has an inventive and new battle system but those just can't make up for the lack of story or characters that you care about, the repetitive battles, the poorly designed dungeons, or the awful script.
  10. Bertram_Kerwin
    Aug 27, 2018
    2
    The class system probably is the only gem in this game. Most of the characters are poorly written.
    Not to mention something JRPG loves to do and never bothers to improve, insufferable grinding.
    And this vial of poison ruins the whole experience a good game could offer.
  11. hiphoptherobot
    Aug 7, 2018
    0
    I take back everything good I said about Octopath Traveler:
    * the grind is ungodly
    * it's only playable if you break it * 8 shallow, poorly-written, stories crammed into a narrative belong in a Tarantino movie not a game * the plot is painfully slow * the characters are broadly drawn and 2-dimensional * the dialogue is garbage * the promised hours of gameplay are artificial level    I take back everything good I said about Octopath Traveler:
    * the grind is ungodly
    * it's only playable if you break it
    * 8 shallow, poorly-written, stories crammed into a narrative belong in a Tarantino movie not a game
    * the plot is painfully slow
    * the characters are broadly drawn and 2-dimensional
    * the dialogue is garbage
    * the promised hours of gameplay are artificial level grinding and not based on actual content
    * the subjob system is a lazy copy of Bravely Default/Second with none of the creativity or freedom
    * the secret job boss fights are tedious and awful in a way that should be reserved for optional bosses not core unlocks of the game
    * the pixelated graphics are a lazy ploy to sell you nostalgia rather than an artistic choice
    * it's not worth $60
    * it's not worth chasing it down to 3 stores only to have to order it on Amazon
    * All of you cult fans don't really believe it's as great as you say. You're just desperate for a good RPG on a system you bought solely for Breath of the Wild and got very little except a bunch of full-price, repackaged, 2-year old Wii U games that didn't interest you enough to buy the system the first time.
    * Nintendo is more interested in selling you cheap plastic figures than delivering quality games
    * Square Enix sells trash now because fans will just make excuses for them because they sold you your favorite game when you were a kid.    … Expand
  12. kamhagh
    Jul 16, 2018
    4
    Awful cringy voice acting
    terrible looking graphics (pixel art can be interesting but this is a blurry ugly mess compared to celeste or stardew valley or other games)
    story isn't interesting
    saving is annoying too!

    but I didn't play much the first hour was enough to make me not want to buy it

    But don't feel bad if you like it people have different tastes!
  13. NeoCrimson
    Jul 14, 2018
    0
    La falta de animación adecuada del enemigo hacia nuestro personaje cuando hacen un ataque como por ejemplo en los ataques físicos ellos deben de acercarse a nuestro personaje e infligirle el golpe. Los enemigos al ser atacados tampoco presentan una animación de sufrir daño. Por lo demás, aprecio la música, el sonido, el arte del juego pero el "gameplay" siempre es algo importante en elLa falta de animación adecuada del enemigo hacia nuestro personaje cuando hacen un ataque como por ejemplo en los ataques físicos ellos deben de acercarse a nuestro personaje e infligirle el golpe. Los enemigos al ser atacados tampoco presentan una animación de sufrir daño. Por lo demás, aprecio la música, el sonido, el arte del juego pero el "gameplay" siempre es algo importante en el juego y si eso falla uno no disfruta el juego.… Expand
  14. TigersKings
    Jul 16, 2018
    0
    Too many fights, not very enjoyable, at least to me. Not pretty graphics at all. Don’t buy
  15. GoldMetal
    Jul 13, 2018
    0
    Jees. This game just have fight after fight after fight. Everyone was hyping it up, and I’m just sitting back disappointed. Definitely overhyped. At least I still have my 3ds for Pokémon
  16. vgmkyle
    Jul 13, 2018
    3
    I guess this is probably the only RPG that could run on the Wii U... I mean Switch. The combat is horribly repetitive, the story is about as engaging as poking yourself in the eye with a pencil, and the graphics try to be old school, but just look like a cheesy 90's nostalgia act.
  17. Kuopiotis
    Apr 10, 2020
    0
    Of this game would not be from Squeenix, it would be just an indie mobile game
  18. Steff86
    Jul 21, 2018
    1
    Awful game! There's nothing good about it whatsoever it's very woeful and doesn't deserve the good ratings
  19. macunix
    Jul 15, 2018
    0
    good music and good game cover, but the game itself is very poor in graphics. very old fashioned style.
  20. Sammy680
    Jul 3, 2019
    4
    After seeing the hype and rave reviews- "spiritual successor to FF6"- this was a complete letdown.

    If you adore grinding and don't give a jot about story, this game's for you. If you want a polished storyline and deep characters, it's not so good. Sunk in 40+ hours before giving up. It's just so dull, it ends up being a complete chore going from one chapter to another. It looks    After seeing the hype and rave reviews- "spiritual successor to FF6"- this was a complete letdown.

    If you adore grinding and don't give a jot about story, this game's for you. If you want a polished storyline and deep characters, it's not so good.

    Sunk in 40+ hours before giving up. It's just so dull, it ends up being a complete chore going from one chapter to another. It looks alright, but it's nothing mind-blowing.

    Battle system isn't innovative in the slightest. You hit the monster with various weapons/spells, work out its weak spot, rinse and repeat for every single battle.

    The story... what story? It's all so tedious and clichéd I actually forgot what was going on. There's very little interaction between the characters and there's no incentive to become invested in their outcomes.

    Overall, probably the worst JRPG experience I've had in modern times.    … Expand
  21. Banjoair
    Sep 18, 2019
    3
    Good game put 35 hours into I so far. Wish the story was better in it atleast
  22. pykalex
    Mar 12, 2020
    1
    The game is fine. It's the price that's a joke. 80 dollars Canadian?!!! What the hell is this company thinking? It's a $40 game AT MOST. It's a wonderful game, but the price is an absolute joke. The game could have been made on Super Nintendo. Whoever is responsible for the pricing scheme needs to be fired and thrown into a pit. It really makes Square look like a sack of poo.
  23. BeeSting1
    Jan 1, 2021
    0
    It grows on you.

    Pros:

    - fun combat

    - not too much grinding

    - stories are good

    - visuals are unique

    - music is nice

    - cute style

    Cons:

    - the stories start slow

    - imbalance in leveling because you can only carry 4 party members at a time.
  24. Bertucciop
    Feb 25, 2021
    4
    Octopath traveler, they haven't worked enough on it and ask for 60€ for it. Made on Unreal Engine for quick development I think for commercial reasons. Below I break down the different aspects of the game.

    Fantastic music, sound track is the best of the game. Each character has his own music theme, maybe too melancholic but is a 10/10. The plot is too simple and linear, cliche    Octopath traveler, they haven't worked enough on it and ask for 60€ for it. Made on Unreal Engine for quick development I think for commercial reasons. Below I break down the different aspects of the game.

    Fantastic music, sound track is the best of the game. Each character has his own music theme, maybe too melancholic but is a 10/10.

    The plot is too simple and linear, cliche characters, there is no evolution in them over time. Too Manichean, evil and good well separated. A noble girl becomes a prostitute seeking for vengeance for no reason, instead of using her money and inheritance for it. Anyways narrative is ok, it is ok even if it is full of topics and empty of plot twists. It is a game for kids, not a book. Hire a Jewish screenwriter to review it before starting though, Square Enix 6/10.

    Gameplay is horrible, it is a typical 90's RPG game, but dynamics are too slow.

    They made a weakness point counter system which stuns and weakens enemies when they came to 0. But there are not any strategic but this in the game. In addition, they made an initiative point system, these points increase if you do not use them, and they boost your skills and attacks.

    Both systems combined make combat so tedious as you have to wait turns taking enemies weaknesses points as you wait to your initiative points to increase for making massive damage.

    Boss fights long the same as common fights. And skills are limited, attack, heal, low, and increase defense and attack. Enemies can blind, sleep, etc. you but it is very limited to you to do these things. You have very powerful ultimate skills at your disposal that end a combat after gaining some initiative points.

    These long fights appears each two steps on map, so you can't walk at all, unless you have a mage on team who provides of an extension walking longitude before fighting. Game is hardly bearable even with this mage's skill, it is unplayable if u don't have this.

    You do not need to properly manage your items, you are full of healing things and other things, you will never run out of them, even resurrection items.

    There is not any puzzle on map, just walking, taking treasure chests (some are hidden by 2D vision perspective) and fighting.

    The interaction of the NPCs is the 90's RPGs and they added that, depending of which character is in your team, you can steal or trade items with them, even fight a duel or investigate them, which improves skills or shows you the positions of hidden items, which is a great thing, but the plot is linear so when you get to a village you just examine, steal or trade with everyone to get new items and upgrade skills, you can also have an NPC character following you and help you in battles, you cannot control them .

    You cannot make any decision, there are not dialogues which spread a list of answers, plot is linear.
    3/10

    Talking about graphics, all goods things and effects came from Unreal Engine basics, so they didn’t have to work so much on it, they made low quality sprites for characters, and cartoon textures for the 3D maps and a static camera angle imitating 90's RPG quality, Low-cost graphics which did not provide budget for extending other game features.2/10

    In conclusion this game is just an experimental game made by Square Enix for commercial researches.
    Using a very portable graphic engine, great music, cute story, bad game development and cheap graphics budget. 4/10    … Expand
  25. cagan
    Mar 28, 2021
    2
    too repetitive, needs so much grinding,combat system looks good in theory but its not fun you do all the things again and again in the combat for grinding xp then you reach the next chapters level watch some long and boring cutscene fight some boss and do it again and there is not 8 unique characters there is 4 skills and and there is 1 skill for every 2 character.
  26. syhor7
    Jun 7, 2020
    3
    I completed all character's chapter 4, i can tell you the progress is very boring story.
    as a RPG, i dont want how do i enjoy if the story is very boring....
    i wont recommend for any one.
  27. lalahand
    Mar 7, 2021
    2
    You just cannot have a JRPG with poor story. I tried this game twice and gave up twice.

Awards & Rankings

50
#50 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
See all critic reviews »