Octopath Traveler 0 Review (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch 2, Switch, & PC)

You say a mobile game ported to consoles is a bad idea, Square Enix says, “hold my beer.” The type of mobile game matters, even if it’s a gacha one. 2020’s Octopath viajero: Campeones del Continente, if you had the microtransactions and gacha patience for it, wasn’t completely terrible. And now, we get a reimagined console version of it via Viajero de Octopath 0.

The series’ riveting rise didn’t start on mobile phones, though. The first game, 2018’s Viajero de Octopath, amassed favorable reviews (and some easy-to-ignore caveats). And 2023’s Viajero octopata II is likely your favorite one, taking the series’ now-popular HD-2D art style to remarkable levels. 

So, should you still stick with Olberic, Primose, and their octo frontrunners adventuring across Orsterra? Whatever gripes you may have with the series or are cautiously interested in the new entry, we’ve compiled our thoughts about the new game in our Viajero de Octopath 0 revise a continuación.

Los verdaderos monstruos

When typical antagonists in RPGs will kill and commit mass murder, Viajero de Octopath 0 decides to take human aggression to the next level, showing just how accurate Geralt de Rivia is when he says humans are the real monsters. The antagonists here are not just implied to be disgusting at their core. They actually enact their worst instincts and all in the name of chasing the greatest human desires: wealth, fame, and power.

Turns out, having your home burned to the ground isn’t the worst of it. It actually gets pretty gut-wrenching onward into the story’s exposition of the villains Herminia the Witch, Auguste the Playwright, and Tytos the Warrior. They pursue wealth, fame, and power, respectively, and will do the worst things unfathomable to attain their desires. And dare I say that it can get entertaining? Such daring exposition that actually ignites a fire in your soul to destroy them all. 

Por supuesto, Viajero de Octopath has always thrived in its storytelling. It’s among the strongest facets that hold it above most RPGs, thanks to strong writing that intrigues and leaves you pleased to have spent time unraveling its most entangled threads. It carries so much depth that will take 80 to 100 hours to complete. Yup, the story is that profound, though split into shorter and episodic digestible adventures. 

Imperfect Nonetheless

Still, a few areas could have truly made Viajero de Octopath 0’s story a masterpiece. Its disjointedness continues to be an issue that carries forward from the first and second games. Although creating your own character and having them be the protagonist, who interacts with the main arcos de la historia, helps streamline events. Yet, you still will be jumping from one story arc to the other, often leaving cliffhangers behind.

I suspect the sheer depth and profoundness of the main story arcs may eventually lose their initial impact. There are only so many atrocious things the antagonists can do to keep you taken by surprise every time. And in any case, individual character stories begin to encroach on your soul and emotion more onward in your quest. When you interact with survivors from your home, still reeling from their grief and loss. 

It’s always been compelling to discover sub-stories and enticing chats that bring Arsterra to life. And this tradition continues in Viajero de Octopath 0, running into all sorts of personalities. Even more so when you can recruit them to join your quest or return with you to rebuild your home. These human interactions are what make Juegos de rol stronger in my opinion: more emotional and raising the stakes you personally put into saving the world.

Animal Crossing-ish

Curiosamente, Viajero de Octopath 0 añade un town-building gameplay element that plays out among the main missions. It serves a greater purpose beyond gameplay, where you restore hope in the lives of fellow survivors who’ve lost so much. Both physically by rebuilding new homes and shops, and emotionally, giving them a new purpose in the activities they can do. Granted, Viajero de Octopath 0’s town-building is a simple system: nothing as complex as Animal Crossing. But it does give you freedom in the placement of buildings, styling, and decorating them.

You then recruit villagers on your travels to run the shops. Many bring unique sets of skills that help revive the town. Some farmers, others gatherers, while others have more specific skills that help you buy rare items. Soon, your town will be flourishing with working economies and people gradually healing their wounds. The more quests you complete, the more supplies and resources you add to your town. And thus, town-building is tied to your missions, for better or worse. 

Despite its simplicity, town-building has been a joy, not just for restoring hope but also providing you with a cozy gameplay system to take a break from the more chaotic combat battles. It serves as the place to rest freely and replenish supplies and upgrades. Villagers can join you on your quest, while the ones who have lost health in battle can recover. You can even build training grounds for characters left behind to boost their levels and skills. 

Prepararse

Antagonistas who burn down an entire village mustn’t be allowed to do it again. They must be pursued and hunted down with your best warriors and brought to justice. This serves as the other gameplay element that Viajero de Octopath 0 puts heavy emphasis on, the combat section, which uses a strategic, fast-paced, sistema de batalla por turnos. You take turns unleashing attacks against challenging enemies and bosses, who you randomly encounter during exploration. 

While you can recruit as many as 30 playable characters, only eight are active in battle. And one of them is always the character you create at the start of the game. This main character can freely swap between classes. However, other supporting characters stick to specific classes, with special attacks and elemental boosts you can unlock to tweak their functionalities. While you have a party of eight characters, four are lined up at the front and four behind them. Thus, forming pairs that you can swap between.

As such, you have pretty heavy decisions to make on which characters to bring to combat and their placement and position on the front and back row. Even further, you have to consider the pairs you make and whether their attacks and abilities synergize well. But the strategic decision-making doesn’t end there. Every turn is an opportunity to find out the specific weaknesses of your enemies and which attacks and spells will take them down. Only then can you penetrate enemy shields, stunning them for consecutive blows that drastically plummet their health. 

Simple pero divertido

It might sound like a lot, but Viajero de Octopath 0 delicately guides you through its controls and mechanics. And yet, it never gets too simple to not be fun anymore. You’re constantly challenged to pinpoint enemy weakness as quickly as you can, because enemies, too, are whittling down your defenses. It’ll definitely take swapping out characters and experimenting with different combinations of attacks and spells to win. 

And if at all it starts to feel simple, Viajero de Octopath 0 adds more mechanics. Boost points are the most fun when you gradually accumulate them and then strategically unleash them to your advantage. They can give you multiple hits per turn or increase your damage output. But when you choose to cash in also matters. It’s a delicate dance of breaking shields and boosting that feels satisfying to pull off. But also rewards you with more tools from Job Points to Skill Masteries and more.

All of this is packaged in the most beautiful retro-modern HD-2D art style. It might look odd at first. But it quickly grows on you, that almost watercolor paint style that oozes charm, and dances gracefully against beautiful lighting and detail. The sprite work is amazing, and further complemented by the spectacular music score by Yasunori Nishiki, who knows full well when to transition from mellow to intense and divine.

Veredicto

It’s difficult to pick on the places Viajero de Octopath 0 stumbles, because even if there are caveats, they are hardly too big a worry to forego this one. From the story to the music, the combat, and the town-building, everything feels pristine. Nothing revolutionary, to be sure, especially the town-building, which can feel simplistic when put side-by-side with the likes of Animal Crossing. 

But a welcome distraction, nonetheless, from an already profound story that’s so deep and unafraid to go into uncharted places, and a combat system that prioritizes your satisfaction while also providing you with a challenge worth putting your brain and skills to work. 

Viajero de Octopath 0 is an all-around beautiful and complete package that feels like nothing is missing. Only a few, quick brushes here and there, an even more seamless and connected story that balances its shock values with grounded character bonding, and it should hit masterpiece levels of divine art.