Octopath Traveler Demo Review
Square Enix released a demo for the highly anticipated RPG for the Nintendo switch: Octopath Traveler
You Know What They Say About First Impressions
Octopath Traveler showing up on the Nintendo Switch store took me by surprise to say the least. I have been eagerly waiting for more quality games to be released for the Switch, and an RPG of this hype level being surprise released even in Demo form almost made me swoon at the thought.
Needless to say i immediately hit download, which to my initial delight only took a few moments, soon the thought of the size of the demo might mean it wasn't a very large or encompassing demo. I was WRONG, the demo was large enough to keep me occupied for several hours.
As soon as i loaded in i was in love with the world the game has created. The lighting and artwork are unique enough to set it apart from other games, while the 8 bit portions and renaissance Esq art work of in battle NPC's is reminiscent of earlier final fantasy games.
What to do, what to do?
As i mentioned before the Demo had a lot more to do than i initially speculated it would. The demo allows you to choose from two of the playable eight characters. Each character has their own main quest story line, unique to the character (that i am hoping all tie in together later in the game) and a unique set of skills that allow that character to preform one of a kind commands and actions in the game. The first part of each characters story that the Demo allows you to play is about an hour or mores worth of game time. And after you have completed your demo quest-line, you get the ability to free roam a portion of the world. This was a welcome addition to the Demo as i found myself spending another couple of hours exploring, finding new loot and enemies to face. The extra exploration will eventually take you to intersect with the other playable character from the demo, allowing you to gain them as a follower and use their skills both in battle and the world for exploration. The two characters do not interact with one another in the demo, but i am hoping that is not the case in the real game. All in all, i like the story-lines and unique game plays for each character and if there are eight in total this game will have a lot of quality play time upon release.
Regular turn based RPG?
Negative Ghost Rider. While the game holds true to some of the well beloved and classic mechanics of the RPG's of old, the game also adds some new dynamics into the mix, keeping things fresh and exciting. Without spoiling too much, some of the new mechanics revolve around using different weapon types, and having multiple weapons equipped to your characters at one time, allowing you to choose which type of damage to do to an enemy on the fly. This is helpful and exciting as you learn what your enemies are weak against by trail and error. You also gain charge like counters as you attack, which you can spend to boost yourself and your team, deal more damage, or cast additional skills. There is a level and skill up mechanic based around XP that keeps me wanting to buff my demo characters, as well as a large range of loot types to keep collectors and buffers enticed for hours. All in all this game is generating a lot of hype and the demo has only stoked the fires
The Forge Hype Level?
Legendary! As i stated before i have been patiently waiting on quality switch games to come out for a while now. And while this game doesn't have a confirmed release date as of yet, the Demo tells me it is going to be well worth the wait. I have high expectations that this will be another one of the great RPGs to hit the gaming scene. Lots of standard game time, plenty of exploration, collecting, and grinding. As well as a vast amount of replay value.
The Forge Hype Rating: 10/10