Octopath Traveler 2 evaluate: gorgeous JRPG, huge storytelling void

Many of Octopath Traveler 2’s most memorable moments are about human connection. Castti, the amnesiac apothecary, studying about her misplaced previous from her earlier sufferers; Hikari, the exiled prince, monitoring down and reconnecting together with his allies; Agnea, the dancer, eager to carry pleasure to folks by placing on reveals in her mom’s reminiscence.

There’s much more to the eight characters and their adventures, but it surely’s these moments of interpersonal care that stand out, as a result of they forged an unavoidable query on the sport: Why aren’t any of those protagonists truly buddies?

For dozens of hours, some mixture of 4 out of the eight will probably be collectively. While exploring the gorgeous, meticulously drawn 2.5D world, they run collectively in a neat little row. When combating, contemplating their strengths and weaknesses and utilizing their skills in live performance throughout turn-based battles is essential. But come to a predominant story scene, and everybody however the single particular person instantly concerned will out of the blue disappear.

Image: Acquire, Square Enix/Square Enix by way of Polygon

The occasional immediate to see “travel banter,” whereby two characters out of the blue stand in a foggy nowhere world overlaid on their earlier place and awkwardly chat as in the event that they’ve only recently met, does nothing to alleviate this downside. Neither do the occasional, shallow facet tales that see characters’ paths cross. In reality, these really feel extra jarring than having all people disappear, as a result of they neither develop nor showcase any plausible connections.

The similar separation apparently existed within the authentic Octopath Traveler (which I haven’t performed), and I wonder if it, too, felt so at odds with the story the broader sport was telling. Every one of many eight narratives weaves in facet characters so skillfully that their relationships with the respective protagonists really feel just like the core of the sport. Unlike the journey banter, their quick time on display is put to good use constructing histories and personalities for the protagonists. The sprites are additionally price highlighting right here, with unbelievable expressivity packed into the tiny figures: mannerisms, gestures, even actions like smoking all add up shortly.

But whereas the liveliness of the facet forged is improbable, it solely additional exacerbates the isolation of the primary crew from each other. When, for instance, characters from an earlier chapter seem to cheer on Agnea at her large dance, the absence of any of her touring companions feels stark. Conversely, when somebody threatens the apothecary Castti and tells her to go to a shady constructing alone, seeing three different protagonists out of the blue seem alongside her undermines the stress.

Image: Acquire, Square Enix/Square Enix by way of Polygon

It’s a disgrace, as a result of this odd sense of disconnect apart, Octopath Traveler 2 is compelling. You journey throughout an expansive world, recruiting new characters and diving into their quests, fixing large and small issues for varied cities and teams as you go.

The eight tales vary from satisfactory (Partitio the service provider’s want to carry pleasant capitalism in every single place he goes might be essentially the most uneven) to tacky however satisfying (Ochette the beastling hunter won’t have a lot of a personality arc, however she’s cute and enjoyable), to cleverly transferring (there’s a boss combat in scholar Osvald’s route that makes use of mechanical storytelling to unbelievable impact). Taken collectively, they’ve an anchoring thematic core about separating private ambition from damaging greed, whereas their selection creates a world stuffed with historic, magical, societal, and non secular element.

That world can also be beautiful to take a look at, and if it’s typically convoluted to navigate due to the winding paths, obscure world map, and even vaguer radar, that’s not a lot an issue as it’s an excuse: to spend extra time trying on the sun-dappled bushes, marveling on the moonlit snow, or listening to the stellar soundtrack. It additionally doesn’t matter if touring takes a bit longer and runs you into extra enemies, since you’re going to want to grind anyway. The predominant chapters’ really helpful ranges take a giant bounce in each the mid- and endgame, in order that further XP picked up by means of backtracking continues to be going to good use.

Although this interstitial grinding wears skinny towards the top of the sport — you cease unlocking fascinating skills at a sure level — the pacing of the chapters themselves is snappy. Most final an hour or two and contain catching up with the multifarious forged of facet characters, maybe utilizing a number of the protagonists’ particular expertise to progress, after which tackling a grand boss combat.

Puzzling your means by means of these encounters begins properly earlier than you get into the combat itself: group composition, tools, and expertise are all essential. For instance, Osvald’s mage powers deal completely different sorts of elemental injury, however bashing somebody together with his workers isn’t going to do a lot bodily hurt. Hikari, then again, can do huge injury with a single swing, so long as he has a powerful sufficient sword, and maybe a buff from Castti. Balancing these parts all through the combat may be very satisfying when it really works, though dropping focus close to the top of those lengthy battles can shortly snowball into one thing devastating. This is particularly an issue towards the top of the sport, when problem spikes change into extra prevalent and the fights change into even longer. (It additionally didn’t assist that I bumped into just a few UI bugs that prevented necessary textual content from telling me what sure skills and gadgets did.)

Image: Acquire, Square Enix/Square Enix by way of Polygon

Quibbles apart, these boss fights are typically satisfying conclusions to their chapters, notably as a result of most bosses’ skills mirror their characterization within the story. A comically evil medic may concentrate on debuffing and poisoning the occasion, whereas an enemy basic skilled in swordplay might be simply going to hit very arduous and fairly often.

But at the same time as I benefit from the thought put into every combat’s design, I discover myself coming again to the shortage of connection between the protagonists. When one protagonist has to combat a childhood pal, their similarities in assaults and technique is emotionally efficient; and there are a number of related examples of this consideration to mechanical trigger and narrative impact. But these poignant moments stay muffled by the gulf between the group — their momentum halted by the silence between the principal actors.

Anyone who’s spent any time in fandom circles is aware of how somewhat goes a great distance in relation to filling within the gaps in character relationships. A hand on a shoulder, a passing praise, somewhat joke — something will be gasoline for the creativeness. There was loads of time in Octopath Traveler 2, throughout exploration and fight, when my thoughts was free to wander and would have achieved many of the work — if there was any basis for me to construct from. But I can’t assist feeling that imaginative gasoline wasn’t put into the script to start with. Without it, Octopath Traveler 2 is superbly realized, however there’s a gap at its middle.

Octopath Traveler 2 will probably be launched on Feb. 24 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. The sport was reviewed on Switch utilizing a pre-release obtain code offered by Square Enix. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media could earn commissions for merchandise bought by way of affiliate hyperlinks. You can discover extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.