Octopath Traveler
From the title, it is immediately clear that the player will have to face 8 stories and characters that go in search of adventure. This is on the one hand a plus, but on the other hand a minus, as all the characters are travelling together, but the stories are absolutely not intertwined. That is, there is virtually no interaction.
The player is able to choose which character to play through. And they each have their own special skills and talents. So the player at the initial stage can determine for himself a favourite. But it is important to note immediately that for each of them to go through their own storyline, where a lot of text. And there are no interesting frills, very rarely there are exceptions. And with that all the characters have no effect on each other, the dialogues are optional, so there are some problems with the variability in this regard as well.
Even as you progress through, the characters don’t really reveal themselves or transform themselves, and more often than not, they just leave with only what they came with.
It’s also worth immediately considering another shortcoming of the game. Everything is utterly predictable and the action unfolds in a pattern. If the player has passed one story chapter, it means that they have passed all of them, as they are very similar and highly repetitive.
The essence of any storyline is:
- Arrive at a settlement.
- Watch a few cutscenes inside.
- Use a few special hero’s abilities.
- Leave the town and hit a dead end.
- Run into a boss there.
- The denouement.
- The last scene in the city.
And after travelling to the next town, the action repeats itself. Of course, a lot of good games have a sequence, but it’s not that sad. Here things get pretty boring and quickly start to get boring.
Gameplay
The game is pretty good in this regard, and that’s a highlight. As for the gameplay mechanics, there are just two: combat and settlements. Of course, the core is combat, and the developer has largely paid attention to this point.
It is important to note that only 4 characters can be present in battle and they are chosen at random. Locations often have shortcuts, but there are some trails along which chests can be found. The optional bosses are often quite strong.
Speaking of combat mechanics, everything here is standard for a classic turn-based jRPG, so there is no point in elaborating on this topic.
The game’s clever combination of pixel art and three-dimensional animation deserves special attention. All of the landscapes look very nice, and there are no questions about the effects. And the bosses are a visual treat. And all this with quality music accompaniment.
