The ties binding each story together aren’t strong enough to justify team cohesion. In my experience, vengeful dancer Primrose was an absolute joy to watch on screen, while aimless knight Olberic struggled to keep my attention.įurthermore, despite adventuring together as a group, the characters are far from securing #squadgoals status. First-rate characterization wasn’t doled out evenly among the main cast, so certain storylines are significantly more fleshed out and interesting than others. While navigating a split narrative boosts the game’s longevity, it’s a definite double-edged sword. For me, this is a point in the game’s favor. You are bound only by your heart’s desires in “Octopath.” Depending on the type of gamer you are, this is a blessing or a curse. In the spirit of older RPGs, the game never holds your hand through a linear plot. All eight are divided into four chapters apiece, so you can speed through an entire one before moving on or jump around to round out everyone’s stats and personalities. Indeed, every member of the cast has a separate story to pursue.
Although you have access to all eight playable characters regardless, this particular character is chained to your battle party until you complete their individual plot line. Akin to picking from the infamous “ starter” selection in Pokémon, this choice has the potential to shape the bulk of your gameplay time. Before “Octopath” allows you to stroll around the world, it prompts you to select a primary protagonist. Once you’ve advanced past the title screen, it’s (almost) time to launch your expedition across the vast realm of Orsterra. Entranced by the streams of light cascading across a sparkling, snow-tipped mountain and the fluid shifting of water beneath a cobbled bridge, I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the background for more than a few seconds. While obviously not reaching the level of realism present in many of today’s games, “Octopath” is an undoubtedly gorgeous spectacle. However, the polygonal buildings appear practically three-dimensional with a paper craft façade. Dubbed “HD-2D” by its developers, the visual aesthetic is an amalgam of pixelated character models and high definition environmental structures and effects.Īs you move your character around the colossal landscape, he or she will act like a flat figure when rotating or walking. If you’re a fan of the 16-bit era of gaming, this title is a passionate love letter to those times. Whether your first experience with the game is the final product or playable demo, “Octopath” capitalizes on its innovative art style to generate striking first impressions. “Octopath” truly deserve it? Fulfilling a majority of its promise in both aesthetic and gameplay with few inadequacies, the short answer is yes. For potential players witnessing this massive backlog of hype, one question remains: does