Octopath Traveler II Review – Same Systems, Superior Stories

A lot can change in around five years. Octopath Traveler made a moderate splash in 2018 thanks to its striking HD-2D visual style, unique character-focused structure, and the fact that the Nintendo Switch just didn’t have a lot of games like it at the time, but it didn’t quite join the pantheon of JRPG classics. Perhaps the game’s somewhat flat writing was to blame, or maybe the glut of HD-2D games that have come since stole its thunder. Whatever the reason, it’s now 2023, and it feels like Octopath Traveler II has to make its case to the public all over again.

Does Octopath Traveler II build and improve on what the original title achieved? Will the game leave more of a lasting mark, or has this traveler lost its sense of direction? Time to put this sequel through its paces.

Octopath Traveler II takes place in Solistia, a new world split between western and eastern continents and comprising a wide array of nations, towns, and biomes (deserts, tundra, forests, jungles, ect.) The game follows the same structure as its predecessor — you pick one of eight characters to start as, and once you’ve completed their introductory chapter, you’re set loose to wander the world. You’ll run across the game’s other seven core characters as you explore and can add them to your party, at which point you can play through their prologue before continuing on. All of the eight characters have their own individual stories divided into chapters, and you’re free to follow them in whatever order you so desire.

This game’s collection of adventurers includes the Scholar Osvald who’s been framed for his family’s murder, Warrior Hikari who strives to guide his country in a less warlike direction while trying to suppress his own dark impulses, Apothecary Castti who struggles to remember a dark past, Cleric Temenos who must uncover the conspiracy behind a series of high-profile murders, Merchant Partitio who aims to eliminate poverty after falling victim to excesses of capitalism, Thief Throné who seeks to escape the manipulative criminals that raised her, Hunter Ochette who has to find a series of legendary creatures to save her homeland, and Dancer Agnea who has dreams of making it in the seedy world of show business. The characters and stories cover a wide gamut, but all still feel like natural parts of a singular world.

Combat mostly sticks to the blueprint laid down by the first Octopath Traveler. Battles are usually random and always turn-based, with the Boost and Break systems returning. Every turn, each party member gains a Boost Point, which can be traded in to double, triple, or quadruple the power of your attacks. All enemies also have Shield Points, which you can reduce by attacking them with weapons and spells they’re vulnerable to. An enemy becomes “broken” once their Shield Points are depleted, leaving them much more vulnerable to attack. Some tweaks have been made, including a new meter that fills up as you take damage or break enemies, eventually allowing you to unleash new “Latent Abilities.” These only last for a turn and generally boost your other skills and abilities, doing things like instantly giving you maximum Boost Points or allowing a single-target spell to hit all enemies on screen.

Combat works well on a strategic level, which perhaps explains why so little has changed. There’s a real art to knowing when to use your Boost Points, and unleashing a massive attack for thousands of damage at just the right moment is undeniably satisfying. That said, as in the first game, battles in Octopath Traveler II are often too drawn out. Even with the option to increase the tempo of battles, they can still drag on for minutes at a time, particularly if you decide to test yourself in regions with higher-level monsters. Meanwhile, boss battles are often half-hour-plus tests of endurance.

As indicated by my character descriptions above, Octopath Traveler II also sticks to the same core classes as its predecessor. This is disappointing, as the first Octopath Traveler’s unique take on traditional JRPG jobs was one of its best features. Each class does have two “Path Actions” that can be used outside of battle now, which work in conjunction with the new day-night system. For instance, Throné can steal from people during the day and stealthily knock them out at night. You can also assign party members secondary jobs again, some of which are new to this game, like the Inventor that lets you do battle with various contraptions. While new jobs are appreciated, I would have liked to see the makers of Octopath Traveler II make bolder changes to its class system.

Party management is another issue carried over from the original Octopath Traveler. While the game features eight characters, you can only keep four in your active party at any one time, and those not used don’t gain battle experience. To advance a character’s story, you need to have them in your party, so leaving characters on the shelf indefinitely isn’t an option. Basically, you need to keep all your characters at least decently leveled up, even though only half of them are receiving XP at any one time. This is not an easy task! My “solution” was to keep three characters in my party at all times and rotate in a fourth as needed, which worked acceptably, but was far from ideal (I ended up with three overpowered characters and five chumps). Unfortunately, it doesn’t really seem like there is an ideal way to balance things.

A side effect of Octopath Traveler’s wonky party management is you’re going to need to do a fair amount of level grinding. Some chapters literally require a character to be a certain level to proceed, so there’s no way around it. Add drawn-out battles and low encounter rates to the mix, and these XP mining sessions can chew up some serious time. There were several points during my playthrough where I found myself having to grind for as long as 90 minutes just to get my party in proper shape to proceed. Party management was a glaring weakness in the first Octopath Traveler, and something that could have been remedied fairly easily (just give unused party members some XP), so the fact that nothing has been changed is, frankly, a bit baffling.

While Octopath Traveler II doesn’t venture too far out of the box mechanically, the game’s writing and world-building are, thankfully, quite a bit more ambitious. This time around, each story feels less episodic and more like a cohesive and complete character arc. Yes, the game deals in familiar archetypes, but it pushes them in some interesting new directions.

Octopath Traveler II takes its stock JRPG characters and settings and presents them in ways you aren’t quite expecting, with storytelling that’s more emotional and visceral than typical for this sort of retro RPG project. Osvald’s story is a gripping tale of revenge, complete with a multi-chapter prison break, Temenos’ is a fun murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns, and Throné’s attempt to transcend her past and abusive “parents” is surprisingly raw stuff. Each story also has its own tone, ranging from Agnea’s upbeat quest for stardom to Castti’s surprisingly dark journey into her lost memories. While I certainly had my favorites, there are no duds amongst Octopath Traveler II’s core cast of characters – I was always eager to follow up on all of their adventures, which speaks to the quality of the game’s writing.

Beyond certain themes that run through almost all the stories in Octopath Traveler II (class struggles, trying to find your true self, ect.) and the final chapter where everyone must team up to take a big final threat, the developers have made an explicit effort to make your party members’ journeys feel a bit more interconnected this time around. There are now a series of multi-chapter “Crossed Paths” stories that each focus on a pair of characters, as well as bits of (optional) chit-chat between party members that regularly pop up during your journeys. Neither of these additions are exactly game-changers – the Crossed Paths stories largely reuse assets from the game’s main chapters, and the travel banter exchanges are brief and lack voice acting – but they do flesh out your understanding of your party a bit.

The strong writing on display in Octopath Traveler II is amplified by beautiful visuals and rich soundtrack. The tech behind these HD-2D games hasn’t changed much, but Octopath Traveler II is infinitely more detailed than its predecessor. From gritty urban alleyways to frozen mountain passes to ominous ruins, this game serves up countless striking locales and almost always pairs them with just the right tunes.

It’s a testament to Octopath Traveler II’s writing and world-building that I remained solidly engaged throughout my time with it (occasional grindy bits aside), as this is a big game. You can expect to spend at least 50 hours before credits roll on, with numerous sidequests, dungeons, and other distractions always there to tempt you off the golden path. Once this one wraps its tentacles around you, expect to stay tangled up for quite some time.

This review was based on a PS5 copy of Octopath Traveler II provided by publisher Square Enix.

Octopath Traveler II

Octopath Traveler II plays it safe when it comes to its core gameplay, offering a handful of small positive tweaks that don’t entirely make up for returning problems like clumsy party management and battles that take too long to wrap up. Thankfully, the game also takes a big, confident step forward in terms of writing, offering a cast of well-wrought, interesting characters and a vividly-detailed world you won’t soon forget. Octopath Traveler II may have the same old engine under the hood, but the road trip it takes you on is well worth experiencing.

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