Octopath Traveler 0 Review: Does it Live Up to the Hype?

OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 is the newest entry in the OCTOPATH TRAVELER franchise, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way. In many ways, the game pales in comparison to the previous entry, OCTOPATH TRAVELER II, and fails to reach its full potential even based on its own merits. While there is still fun to be had here, that fun is likely best served toward existing fans of the franchise. OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 begins with a character creation screen, giving players menial agency over the protagonist by letting them choose their appearance and starting skill. At first, it may seem like a nice touch, but it leads to one of the game’s greatest problems: The game’s protagonist is a custom character who has a provided background, but largely has no personality due to their lack of dialogue. Other than a few instances where players can choose dialogue options (which are rare and often meaningless), the protagonist does not speak. While this is something other games in the role-playing genre have found success with, OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 struggles to find footing in its story because of it. Many of the branching storylines found in the game have their own stand-in protagonists who become the main character for a few hours of gameplay then disappear forever, all while insisting the starting character is driving the plot. The protagonist’s role in the plot does not seem particularly integral, making it hard to believe that they are an important part of the events in the game. OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 consistently struggles with maintaining suspension of disbelief. The previously mentioned voiceless protagonist makes the player feel like the story is barely related to them and that their presence in the narrative is unnecessary. The other problem is the game’s party structure: The player’s active combat party is made up of eight characters, who are recruited for side quests but not related to the main plot at all. Their participation in the plot makes little sense, and their place in the narrative is dubious at best. This makes the game’s story its least appealing element, and it is best skipped. While the plot isn’t worth much attention, the combat can still be engaging and meaningful. Drawing on the successes of the previous games, OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 retains a very strategic experience heavily focused on a very customizable party of characters. Each party member in the game plays differently, and they each fit into different roles that make them engaging to work into your personal strategy. The game features a great deal of unique characters, offering many opportunities for differing strategies. The only thing keeping this system from being as good as possible is the rate at which new characters are unlocked. At the start of the game, players will unlock a few characters to fill out their roster of eight, and after that, characters trickle in very slowly. This makes the early game quite frustrating, as the choices for strategy are quite limited. The early parts of the game are likely the most difficult to get through. The early storylines are the worst by far, and the combat is at its weakest with short, easy battles that require little strategy. This is also the part of the game where players will probably struggle the most with the eight-character party, as juggling that many characters and all their unlockable skills and equipment can be a lot to handle, especially for players who are new to the series. This makes getting to the best parts of the game the hardest part, as you’ll have to trudge through a lot of content that asks little of you and is quite bland. It is worth mentioning that OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 is made up of many of the parts of its mobile predecessor, OCTOPATH TRAVELER: Champions of the Continent. This may explain the lack of a quality story and meaningful protagonist, as much of the story is directly taken from the mobile game where players use a gacha system (players spend in-game currency that can be earned through gameplay or purchased) to unlock characters, ensuring the game has no true protagonist. If you have played the mobile game before, it is disappointing to see a great deal of the story recycled, making much of the new content a huge time-sink to unlock. Other aspects are also taken from older games, including almost every song in the soundtrack and many textures and buildings, leaving the game feeling hollow for those who have played before, as it is too reminiscent of the previous entries. Despite this, it seems the game is best served for existing fans of the series. Even though the experience feels empty, returning players can fill the disappointing hole with nostalgia and experience, allowing them to get to the best parts of the game. Newer players are likely to drop the game for its weak introduction (which can last up to 20 hours) as it provides little incentive to keep playing, other than hope for improvement. If you already love OCTOPATH TRAVELER and its combat, this game may be worth a shot for those who have enough time and haven’t spent too much time playing its mobile predecessor. If you’re new to OCTOPATH TRAVELER and want a story-rich experience with instantly engaging combat, you are better off looking elsewhere. Senior Arts Editor Hudsen Mazurek can be reached at hudsen@umich.edu.