Review: Octopath Traveler 0 (PS5) – Perfectly Fine JRPG Action

by

The Octopath Traveler series, known for its unique HD-2D art style, has become a popular choice for RPG fans in just seven years. These games are enjoyable thanks to their retro look, fun combat, and charming stories. The newest game, Octopath Traveler 0, continues that tradition with more turn-based battles – though it doesn’t quite reach the peak of quality seen in the second game.

Octopath Traveler 0 isn’t a brand new game; it’s a reworked version of the mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. Square Enix took the existing content and turned it into a traditional game release, with mixed results.

It both builds upon and deviates from what fans have come to expect from the series.

Since we haven’t experienced Champions of the Continent before, we can’t comment on how much of the original game is still present in the PS5 version. But the parts that have been updated feel like a standard, polished game.

The game doesn’t have any of the typical pay-to-win elements like buying extra characters or waiting for timers. After the changes, Octopath Traveler 0 plays like a classic turn-based role-playing game.

It is slightly different to what’s come before it, though.

You’ll design your own character and experience a story focused entirely on their journey. Instead of playing as a group, you’ll gather companions to help you restore your destroyed hometown, Wishvale, and get revenge on those responsible for its destruction.

The story unfolds through four main paths: three involve tracking down those responsible for the trouble, and the fourth lets you rebuild Wishvale with a brand-new town-building system. Everyone you meet and add to your team is there to assist you with these quests, starting almost immediately.

The game is now more focused and easier to follow, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in creating and playing your own character. Like previous Octopath Traveler games, the story is divided into chapters, each with suggested character levels.

This story, however, offers a well-connected plot where all the different parts come together to create a satisfying, though not groundbreaking, experience.

The game’s simple design, coupled with how much it feels like things you’ve already played, makes it ultimately feel unnecessary, despite being well-made.

As a fan, playing this game instantly reminded me of Octopath Traveler. It has that same feel in everything – from how you explore the world to the way battles play out. You travel around, unlocking new story chapters in different towns. It’s a lot of going from place to place, opening chests, and getting into random fights, with plenty of talking to people and trading along the way.

Octopath Traveler II plays much like the first game, but now includes a town-building element. As you explore, you can gather materials and use them to rebuild the ruined town of Wishvale.

Now that you’ve cleaned up the area, you can start building your village with houses, shops, farms, and decorations. As you progress, you’ll meet former residents who can return to Wishvale. Each resident offers unique benefits and skills when placed in the right building – some are great at farming, while others are better suited for running a shop.

This expansion offers a fun break from the main story and lets you really get invested in the town and its people. While building placement is restricted to a grid system, it ultimately adds a lot to the overall game.

Battles feel quite repetitive. They’re turn-based, and the core strategy still involves finding and exploiting enemy weaknesses to deal extra damage. You strengthen characters with weapons the enemy is vulnerable to, allowing them to break through shields. Once the shields are down, the enemy becomes vulnerable, and all your characters can inflict increased damage.

This game plays similarly to the last two, but now you control a party of eight characters. They’re arranged in two rows of four, and you can switch characters between rows during battles. You directly control the front row, so success depends on strategically swapping characters in and out based on their abilities and health.

Octopath Traveler 0 improves the battle system by letting you handle more enemies and exploit their weaknesses. However, the actual combat feels very similar to the first two games. While the system is reliable, it doesn’t feel fresh – you simply have a larger roster of characters to choose from.

Throughout the game, you’ll notice improvements, but they aren’t substantial enough to make it feel truly different from what you’ve played before. It largely delivers a very familiar experience.

The game’s graphics are starting to show their age, as some elements were originally designed for a mobile game released in 2020. Compared to Octopath Traveler II, which looks much more polished, the visuals aren’t quite as impressive. While the signature HD-2D art style is still appealing, it doesn’t stand out as strongly as it once did.

Read More

2025-12-03 14:07