Review for Octopath Traveler. Game for PC and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 13/07/2018 The version for PC came out on 07/06/2019
About a year after the landing on Nintendo Switch, Acquire and Square Enix propose one of their most popular products of recent times on PC: Octopath Traveler. The title is an old school JRPG, with a deliberately “ancient” graphic style and above all characterized by a rigorously 16-bit modeling and by the total absence of multiplayer and / or online elements. A real dive into the past of the genre, therefore, but not only. Octopath Traveler pays homage to the video games of the past and does so while trying to bring the right amount of novelty and unique features, necessary - where needed - to underline the strong personality enjoyed by the production. As we already mentioned during the review of the Switch version, however, all that glitters is not gold and, of course, Octopath Traveler isn't a perfect title either, but it still manages to proudly flaunt its originality, now also on PC.
Eight characters, eight stories, many hours of play
Temporarily setting aside the speech related to the audiovisual sector of the title, now embellished with obvious improvements due to the landing on PC, it seems right to start talking about the title starting from one of the most obvious strengths: the cast. Octopath Traveler, to be precise, does not have a real unique plot, but rather tells us the story of eight different characters, all grappling with the beginning of a long journey, started for always different reasons. The stories of the travelers come together in truth only partially, with all that follows. This, however, does not detract from a production that, from this point of view, behaves very well.
The eight stories told are all beautiful and work, also setting them at a playful level with those who are the splendid bosses and, above all, the game mechanics. Each of the eight protagonists, in fact, is in possession of an innate ability that is fundamental for the completion of secondary missions. For example, with Alfyn, the character we have chosen as the main character to start the adventure (yes, you can change the party to your liking, with the exception of the character chosen to start the game) you will have the ability "Investigate" which allows you to unlock essential information to successfully complete a given mission. Not only that: Hanit, on the other hand, can capture monsters and use them in battle, the good Cyrus can immediately reveal an enemy's weakness and so on. These are just examples of how fundamental the skills of individual characters are in the economy of the title and how important it is to choose your party carefully.
Class points, classes, passive skills, active skills ...
In full old school JRPG style, the gameplay is clearly at the heart of the production, in particular as regards the "farming" factor. Each character, by leveling, unlocks active skills (automatically), but also passive, which can be purchased thanks to the now classic class points, already seen in other productions of the development team such as the two chapters of the Braveley saga. These points can be spent independently, thus freely choosing the order in which to unlock the aforementioned skills. They are often really important: Olberic, for example, it can unlock the ability to take hits for opponents, Therion manages to bring down the prices of merchants and inns, and so on. Once again, it's clear how critical the grinding factor is to manufacturing.
Leveling is by no means simple and fast and, on the contrary, to continue in history it becomes practically mandatory right away. The missions of "history" are just flanked by a recommended level and, believe us, if you decide to be reckless you would come out with broken bones. Octopath Traveler, in fact, is a difficult game that requires a lot of preparation for battles in order to be enjoyed in the correct way. In particular, the bosses, from the very first bars, always prove to be too tough, difficult to face and above all to knock down. Only, once again, thanks to the careful choice of the party and with the help of an adequate level, as well as of course the right equipment, you will be able to overcome the various rocks without worries, but you will still struggle a lot. Leveling up and buying the new items, however, will never be easy: as you progress it will be necessary to defeat more and more creatures to level, for a long-lasting gaming experience yes, but at times also frustrating.
A visual spectacle, as poor as it is incredibly vast
And here we go on the heavy: the graphics sector of Octopath Traveler is perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the Acquire children's game, a true chromatic and nostalgic triumph, capable of giving more than an emotion to all fans of the genre. Modeling with graphics a 16-bit it is simply splendid, and it stands out exponentially in this PC version that manages to make all the graphic and technical choices with which it was made stand out (obviously) in a considerable way. In 4K and with 60 frames per second it really felt like we were playing with an old postcard found by chance in the drawer of memories.
A strong emotion, also accompanied by a soundtrack which, as far as we are concerned, is one of the best ever heard in a video game. Unfortunately, however, the innovations introduced by the PC version end there. Apart from the still discreet graphic update, the conversion from Nintendo Switch adds nothing to the base game, for better or for worse. The fact is, however, that the Square Enix game is a practically mandatory purchase for all those who have not already stripped it off the "little girl" of Nintendo and, why not, also for those eager to immerse themselves in the splendid game world created by art. from the guys at Acquire.
Octopath Traveler remains a splendid tribute to the JRPG genre of yesteryear on PC, as it was on Switch, standing as a bulwark of a totally single player concept and if we want "antiquated" now almost totally lost. The unmistakable style and the exciting music that surround the story of the eight protagonists are wisely combined with an all in all classic gameplay, in which farming and frenzied grinding are the masters. Too bad, however, that the stories of the protagonists almost never really cross each other, thus partially nullifying the good things done in terms of writing the characters and their adventures. If you are willing to turn a blind eye to this heavy mole, you will find yourself in your hands an imposing title also in terms of longevity and level of challenge, capable of dragging you for hundreds of hours within an unprecedented temporal and sensory leap.
► Octopath Traveler is a JRPG-type game developed by Acquire and published by Square Enix for PC and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 13/07/2018 The version for PC came out on 07/06/2019
