Our impressions after 8pm! @JVL

Highly anticipated by fans of JRPG old school, Octopath Traveler has managed to stir up some excitement among afficionados of the genre. A short week separates us from its release, a few days before delivering our final verdict on the new title of Square-Enix, exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. For now, we have been able to try the soft for nearly 20 hours, enough to give you some first impressions hot through this preview.

Having benefited from two demos, the latest to date to conserve and transfer his progress in the final game, Octopath Traveler has seduced the purists of the genre since its announcement, for its turn-based gameplay but also and especially for the graphic party chosen, reminiscent of the age of gold Japanese role plays.

If the last demo allowed players to freely roam the title for three hours, we could go beyond this restriction as part of this preview, and thus glimpse the second chapter of each of the characters. As its title suggests, Octopath Traveler proposes to follow the independent story of eight protagonists evolving within the same universe. If each hero has his own goals and motivations related to his personal history, the fate of each will eventually entangle them, thus leading them to travel the world as fortune mates and lend each other a helping hand.

From the beginning of the game, the player is invited to choose one of the eight characters to begin his epic. Each hero has a personal story as we have seen but also and especially a specific clbad. We thus find the clbadics: white wizard, black wizard, warrior, thief, etc … under more or less different names of the codes of the genre.

Once started, the story of Octopath Traveler offers to the player a total freedom of progression and exploration . Free to walk the lands of Orsterra and recruit the seven other characters in his team, in the order that suits him, the progression is only punctuated and framed by recommendations of level.

An authentic jewel not to be missed under any circumstances

The game is divided into different chapters, clbadified by character, to be performed in the sense that one wishes, if the recommended level allows . You do not have to hope to attack the chapter of a character if your level is too low. The combat system is quite technical (but affordable) and the bosses rather powerful, having the level required will be the minimum to complete the current chapter. Note that it is quite possible to change the frame en route so you can return later if the heart tells you.

Having reached level 25 during this preview, we have been able to further explore in more dangerous areas than those offered in the demos. These are caves, temples, mines, caverns and other infrastructure containing treasures and rare equipment that will await the most intriguing.
What appreciate the variety of landscapes and aesthetic cachet brought to each region. Desert arid, lush forest, idyllic beach, mountain under the blizzard, we crossed many environments through the path we chose. It remains to be seen whether the whole game will be played on the same continent or whether we will travel to a much larger world .

An addictive, solid and effective combat system

Si we were able to close all the second chapters of a character, a question remains unresolved in our mind. How will the storyline of Octopath Traveler evolve? Let's follow each of the characters' stories or we will slowly move towards something much bigger, forcing our heroes to join forces and follow a common quest much more epic than their own adventures? At this stage of the game, difficult to provide an answer, our peregrinations still articulated around personal stories. Especially since the side quests did not pack us more than that the fault of a blatant lack of indications on what to do and where to go. Most of the time you have to settle for a line of dialogue or two and "guess" the way forward, while exploring different areas and places. However, they are still a great way to provide resources and money. Let's hope that other more elaborate tasks are in the game by the end of the game.

Let's end this overview with the combat system. True ode to the mythical titles of the past, Octopath Traveler opts for a turn-based mechanics the specificity of the soft playing on the system of enemy weakness and phases of exaltation of the heroes. Each enemy thus has one or more specific weaknesses (dagger, spear, lightning, light …) and a very particular level of resistance, symbolized by a number in a blue inset shield. Once this figure is reduced to 0 by exploiting the weaknesses created, the enemy will then be "stunned" but also especially vulnerable to attacks. This is where the system of exaltation comes in. Sort of power gauge linked to each of the characters that fills gradually, it will be used sparingly over the lap in order to quickly weaken the opponents and then unleash the ultimate versions of devastating attacks. Each confrontation is therefore a part of failure where the calculation and coordination of actions will be the watchword. Tasty by nature, the combat system takes all its meaning against the Boss, offering then epic and sublime jousting . On this side, Octopath Traveler fulfills the contract and promises to be an authentic jewel that should not be missed for fans of the genre.

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