Review: OCTOPATH TRAVELER and OCTOPATH TRAVELER II are Amazing RPGs on Every Platform

At the beginning of June, Square Enix released the beloved RPGs Octopath Traveler on PS4 and PS5 consoles and Octopath Traveler II on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles.

In addition, both games were added to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. This meant that you could finally play all of the Octopath games on basically every gaming platform that isn’t cloud-based.

In this moment, Square Enix was kind enough to provide me with PC review codes for both games. Everything below is my own opinion though.

If you’d like to grab yourself a copy of either game, you can purchase them from your favorite outlets including the ones below which also support us here at GeekTyrant as affiliate links.

Octopath Traveler (PC) from Humble Store

Octopath Traveler II (PC) from Humble Store

Octopath Traveler II (Nintendo Switch) from Humble Store

Various Platforms from GameStop

Since its launch in 2018 with OCTOPATH TRAVELER, the OCTOPATH TRAVELER series has sold over four million copies worldwide*, popularizing the unique HD-2D art style: a striking blend of 2D characters designs in beautiful 3D worlds.

Both games are a standalone experience set in different worlds with eight distinct protagonists, each with their own stories to explore and Path Actions to use.

Players will embark on a grand adventure and steer their own journey, depending on whom they choose to play as.

I have made the decision to lump both games together for this review. This is a bit of an odd move, I know, but at the end of the day I felt like so many of my thoughts are the same for both games that doing two separate reviews didn’t make sense.

I do want to also disclose that I played these games entirely on my Steam Deck (they both run perfectly on it) and because they are both very long games I set a requirement of at least 4 hours in each game before writing this review. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the games below.

In case you’re unaware, Octopath Traveler is really the game that made the HD-2D art style in games very popular and more mainstream back in 2018. Octopath Traveler II continued with the aesthetic when it launched last year in 2023.

This means that the characters are 2D sprites but they are in 3D environments which creates a stunning visual. It feels nostalgic because of the pixelated art, but it feels more alive and bigger because of the 3D elements. I’ve become a big fan of it.

In addition, the character and creature designs are phenomenal. This is a game that invites you to just stop and look at it and take it in. The visuals are definitely top notch.

Next, let’s discuss the audio. This is probably my favorite aspect of the Octopath Traveler series. Yasunori Nishiki has composed possibly the most perfect score for a video game. On multiple occasions while playing I would just stop and tell my wife to listen to the music. It is so incredible!

The sound effects are also incredible though and I’d be remiss if I did not mention the voice acting. The cast in both games is killer and you can just hear quality seeping from just about every aspect of this game.

I’m personally not a fan of little voice moments where the voice actor just recorded like the first 1-2 words or the other character’s name and then you have to read the text bubble (give me all or none personally), but that feels like such a minor complaint.

Now it’s time to talk about gameplay. Personally, turn-based RPG combat can be very hit or miss. Sometimes it feels too much like a slog, sometimes I feel like I don’t need to change up my strategy at all until I get to a final boss that takes me dozens of tries, and sometimes it’s just engaging enough in some way.

Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II are mostly positive experiences for me.In the typical grind battles, it is very boring as you get in a set pattern for small guys like bats and wolves. However, in bigger battles, I have felt challenged without it ever feeling like too much. I attribute this to two main factors.

First, each enemy has a set of weaknesses and you can exploit those to break their defenses. What’s nice is that when you hit an enemy with its weakness, it unlocks an icon below the enemy to serve as a visual reminder for that enemy’s weaknesses in that fight and in all future encounters.

Using a weakness also lowers their defenses and when that drops to 0, they lose their next turn and are more vulnerable to attacks. This really helps direct your strategies in the moment.

The other main factor is the boost mechanic. Every turn, each character gains a boost point. You can then spend boost points (up to three) to make your attacks stronger and for some attacks it also multiplies how many attacks you unleash.

For example, if you boost an area of effect fireball spell, it seems to just multiply damage. However, if you boost your sword attack then you will get up to four swings of your sword. This can really help take down an enemy’s defenses based on their weaknesses adding another layer of strategy that is easy to understand but takes time to master.

My number one complaint about Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II is that I wish that enemies showed a health bar. I know that there are skills you can unlock that allow you to see how much health an enemy has at that moment, but I really want a health bar that I can keep an eye on and better gauge if my party is doing okay, if I would be wasting stronger attacks, or if I’m not hitting hard enough with my current strategy. Honestly, the fact that this is my top complaint should tell you a lot about how incredible these games are.

As you battle, you can experience points which level you up and JP which can be spent on new skills. I actually really like this JP system. Also, once you have your fourth skill, the character unlocks their first support skill which are passive buffs. Additional support skills are unlocked over time.

One thing I do find odd about these games is that there are times you go to fight a boss or something and the art displays the boss or some soldiers as these big, more detailed, pieces of art, but your party remains pixel art. I don’t hate it, but a part of me does kind of wish that in bigger fights we got to see bigger art of the party.

Another great aspect in my opinion is that each character has a unique action they can take in the overworld to interact with NPCs. Some do helpful things like have NPCs follow them. Others can buy or sell things to them while others still can steal from NPCs. The ones that I’m not a fan of are when you can challenge an NPC to combat, especially Provoke. It just doesn’t seem very useful as far as I’ve played.

If you were curious about Octopath Traveler, I would say that it’s really good and worth it. In fact, its score is right here. It is definitely worth playing if you like JRPGs.

That said, if you can only pick one of the two games, I think Octopath Traveler II is definitely a step up. It’s important to note that from what I can tell the two games are not connected in any way. They take place in different worlds with completely different characters. The gameplay and mechanics are the same (with some tweaks), but the stories are separated.

What does Octopath Traveler II offer over its predecessor? A few small things. For starters, instead of a shop opening its wares when you interact with the door, you actually open the door and can walk inside of it. Things like that help elevate the feeling of the game. In addition, there is a day and night cycle in the second game. Not only does this change the aesthetics, but the character’s Path Actions change depending on whether it is day or night. For instance, Osvald has Scrutinize during the day and Mug at night. The other big thing is a new mechanic called Latent Powers. Each character has a unique Latent Power that charges when they attack or take damage and they give you more strategic options at your disposal without feeling overpowered. For example, Throné is able to take a second action on her turn when she uses her Latent Power. Meanwhile, Osvald can use his Latent Power to focus an area of effect spell onto a single enemy for more damage. I really like these.

Again, I don’t think that you could go wrong with either Octopath Traveler game. However, if you can only pick one, I would recommend grabbing Octopath Traveler II. There are just a few small details that improve the experience a surprising amount. To reflect that, I will be giving it a slightly higher score. Feel free to let me know in the comments which of these two games you enjoy more and what I missed in my review.