Octopath Traveler 0 First Impressions: New Tricks, With a Little Less Soul

In July, Square Enix revealed the latest installment in its Octopath Traveler role-playing game series in the publisher’s retro HD-2D sprite style. This prequel, Octopath Traveler 0adds features, but given how little time I spent with the game, I feel like it loses some of the charm of older games in the series, which might disappoint fans.

Octopath Traveler 0 comes out in December and I played the leading roles. What I’ve seen so far has the same caliber of gameplay and storytelling as previous games in the series, but it’s missing those interesting characters that were central to Octopath Traveler 1 and 2. In its place is a city-building mechanic that, while probably appealing to some players who want a cozy element in their RPG, didn’t make up for the lack of storylines.

Solopath Traveler

In Octopath Traveler 0, instead of players choosing one of eight distinct characters with different classes and backstories like in previous games, they find themselves stuck with a single silent protagonist, which is an unfortunate departure. The main appeal of the first two Octopath Traveler games was choosing heroes and watching their stories unfold and intertwine, so turning to the mute hero trope found in so many other games seems boring. Octopath Traveler 0 even begins in the most familiar way possible: the hero wakes up in the morning before a festival in a big city that inevitably ends in tragedy.

After the fire that destroyed the hero’s hometown with the tragic and predictable name, Wishvale, years have passed and now it is up to them to take revenge and rebuild. While you’re stuck with a protagonist, you can decide which of the three main villains behind the destruction of Wishvale to pursue first.

While there isn’t a selection of premade characters to choose from like other Octopath games, this hero can be customized. You can choose their appearance and class: warrior, hunter, merchant, apothecary, cleric, scholar, dancer or thief. The Apothecary can deal physical damage and cast healing or attack spells, while the Dancer buffs allies and weakens enemies. I chose the merchant, who gains additional experience, work points and money after battles. Later, players will be able to change classes if they want to try something new.

And while you do meet other characters who join your adventuring party, it’s not the same experience as playing out multiple scenarios of these individuals from different backgrounds with their own motivations converging in dramatic ways. Your hero is the focal point of the game, and the only characters who benefit from additional plot development are the villains, who are simply being evil in faraway castles.

From ruins to glory

Another big new feature in Octopath Traveler 0 is the rebuilding of Wishvale. This aspect reminded me of the games Breath of Fire and Suikoden, where you build your own community. Wishvale, now a ruined city, can be rebuilt during the course of the game. Rebuilding the ruined city requires materials like wood, stone, and cloth, which can be found all over the world map during your travels. Characters you meet on the road may settle in to help the town grow. It’s a good idea, even if I’m not a big city building player. Others will likely spend hours creating the RPG city of their dreams.

Alongside these two new features, a new mechanic allows eight players to join together in a battle. As in previous Octopath games, battles are turn-based using the series’ “Break and Boost” system, where enemies have a certain number of shield points and when depleted, enemies “break”, causing them to enter a stunned state. Team members gain boost points each round of combat and can be used to land multi-hit attacks on a vulnerable enemy. I’ve always been a fan of this more active turn-based style of combat, and while I haven’t gotten far enough to experiment with eight-player teams, I’m excited to see when that happens, as I’m all for big group battles in RPGs.

Although I still have a lot left to play before I finish Octopath Traveler 0, I’m disappointed by the lack of memorable characters, which were the lifeblood of the previous games. I haven’t found any substantial flaws so far, but it just feels like another solid, traditional turn-based RPG without Octopath’s signature novelty of multiple storylines coming together to tell a larger story. Maybe the story will hook me later, but that remains to be seen.

Octopath Traveler 0 will be released on December 4 for $50 on PS4, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X and S consoles.