Features
Begin your adventure as one of eight new travelers, each with their own origins, motivations, and unique skills.
The series’ HD-2D graphics, a fusion of retro pixel art and 3DCG, have reached even greater heights.
The story takes place in Solistia, where diverse cultures thrive from east to west and the industries of the new era flourish. You can sail the seas and explore every corner of a world that changes from day to night.
Each traveler has a unique set of Path Actions they can use to battle townspeople, obtain items, take others along in their travels, and more. Where will you go? What will you do? Every path is yours to take.
Familiar mechanics from the original game have been preserved, like the freedom to develop your travelers’ jobs and skills, as well as the Break and Boost system that made battles so exhilarating. New mechanics have also been added.
Product Description
Octopath Traveler 2 is a brand-new entry in the Octopath Traveler series, the first installment of which was initially released in 2018 and sold over 3 million copies worldwide. It takes the series’ HD-2D graphics, a fusion of retro pixel art and 3DCG, to even greater heights.
In the world of Solistia, eight new travelers venture forth into an exciting new era. Where will you go? What will you do? Whose tale will you bring to life? Every path is yours to take. Embark on an adventure all your own.
8.5
OCTOPATH TRAVELER II REVIEW
Two Is Better Than One
by Josh Broadwell on Feb 17, 2023
Game Informer Must Play
In an age where remakes and retro-inspired projects try recreating what classic games of old felt like, Octopath Traveler II accomplishes something impressive. Despite being rooted in modern design with a host of conveniences, it effortlessly captures the spirit, style, and sense of adventure of the best RPGs from the SNES era, while still innovating and showing there’s life in turn-based battles yet. The feat is even more remarkable, considering Octopath II’s most significant changes are small and subtle.
On the surface, Octopath Traveler II seems like a clone of the original. You pick one of eight adventurers to start with, collect the remaining seven as you go along, and eventually see how their stories connect, albeit somewhat loosely. A series of improvements, including refined storytelling and more complex characters, make Octopath II feel deeper and more exciting, like the fulfillment of what the original game tried to achieve.
Even narrative setup that should be trite have enough nuance to keep them interesting and the characters relatable. Osvald’s is your usual tale of revenge, for example, but he’s so broken inside that he rarely speaks except in internal monologues. The evil facing Ochette, the happy hunter, is an ancient force that threatens to destroy the world – but also deep-rooted racism against her people.
The characters are deeper, but their actions outside battle are still at odds with the world. You can commit robbery with violence against an entire city and face no consequences, among other things, which gives the impression of an RPG playground instead of a living world.
Combat basics also remain the same, though that’s no bad thing. Enemies have weaknesses that, when exploited, reduce their shield points until they break and enter a stunned state. Allies can save boost points and spend them to increase their attack power, and you can mix and match secondary job classes to create powerful hybrid warriors.
While the structure is unchanged, Square Enix made some welcome tweaks to most job classes, including a few new abilities that alter the flow of battle and manage to make combat feel fresh. One of these new improvements is each character’s Latent Power, an ability that augments their other skills in powerful ways. Encounters feel better balanced, with a tense rhythm of smart choices timed right, and they don’t outstay their welcome.
Grinding to raise levels is easier now, thanks to a day and night system, where stronger monsters emerge at night. It’s worth wandering around in the dark anyway, just to see how the world changes.
Octopath II’s map is a significant improvement over the original. Square Enix crammed secrets large and small into almost every corner of the continent, and it’s always worth tracking them down. For every common treasure and restorative item you find, there’s a hidden dungeon, a secret job, or an abandoned village with a fascinating new questline that only appears at night.
Square Enix’s HD-2D visual style has grown as a medium, and the evidence is demonstrated through the game’s highly detailed environments and layers of interest. It’s literally on display as well, as the filter that blurred anything not immediately around you is, thankfully, gone. The result of all this is a gorgeous, rich world that’s truly a joy to explore.
Octopath Traveler II does what an excellent sequel should. Instead of breaking new ground left and right, it improves on the original in nearly every way and feels more confident about the stories it tells. There’s still room for improvement in some of its stiffer areas, but Octopath II is a sterling achievement all around.
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Specifications
Order Attributes
UPC 662248926995
General
UPC 662248926995
Brand Name Square Enix
Vendor Part Number 92699
GameStop Exclusive false
Gameplay
Number of Players 1
Genre Action
Interactive Elements No Interactive Elements
Compatability
Compatible Platforms PlayStation 4
Fandom
Publisher Name Square Enix
Dimension
Product Length 6.7
Product Width 5.3
Product Height 0.6
Product Unit of Measure in
Product Weight 0.15
Product Weight Unit of Measure lbs
