Octopath Traveler 2 review: gorgeous JRPG, huge storytelling void

There are many of them. Octopath Traveler 2’s most memorable moments are about human connection. Castti, the amnesiac apothecary, learning about her lost past from her previous patients; Hikari, the exiled prince, tracking down and reconnecting with his allies; Agnea, the dancer, wanting to bring joy to people by putting on shows in her mother’s memory.

There’s a lot more to the eight characters and their adventures, but it’s those moments of interpersonal care that stand out, because they cast an unavoidable question on the game: Why aren’t any of these protagonists actually friends?

Over the course of a few hours you will see four of eight of them together. The beautiful 2.5D world is beautifully drawn and they can be seen running together neatly in a row. It is important to consider their strengths and weaknesses when fighting and use their talents in conjunction during turn-based fights. However, if you get to the main storyline, everyone involved except one will disappear.

Image: Acquire, Square Enix/Square Enix via Polygon

The occasional prompt to see “travel banter,” wherein two characters suddenly stand in a foggy nowhere world overlaid on their previous position and awkwardly chat as if they’ve just recently met, does nothing to alleviate this problem. Neither do the occasional, shallow side stories that see characters’ paths cross. They are more disturbing than the disappearance of everyone, as they do not show or develop any connections.

This separation was evident in the original. Octopath Traveler (which I haven’t played), and I wonder whether it, too, felt so at odds with the story the wider game was telling. The eight stories weave in side characters with such skill that they feel like the main story. Their brief time is not wasted on travel chatter. It’s put to great use creating histories and characters for the protagonists. These sprites deserve special attention, as they have amazing expressions packed into tiny figures.

While the entertainment provided by the side cast can be quite entertaining, this only serves to further isolate the main crew. It is quite stark to see Agnea cheered on by characters from an earlier chapter, but it also makes the absence of her travel companions feel more real. The tension gets diluted when Castti is threatened and told by someone else to leave Agnea alone in shady buildings. Three other characters suddenly show up alongside her.

Image by Polygon: Acquire/Square Enix/Square Enix

It’s a shame, because this odd sense of disconnect aside, Octopath Traveler 2It is captivating. As you travel around the vast world, meeting new people and tackling their problems, you solve big and small issues for different towns.

The eight tales range from passable (Partitio the merchant’s desire to bring friendly capitalism everywhere he goes is probably the most uneven) to cheesy but enjoyable (Ochette the beastling hunter might not have much of a character arc, but she’s cute and fun), to cleverly moving (there’s a boss fight in scholar Osvald’s route that uses mechanical storytelling to incredible effect). They all have a common thematic theme about seperating personal ambition and damaging greed. However, their diversity creates an entire world full of historical, magical, religious, and societal detail.

That world is also stunning to look at, and if it’s sometimes convoluted to navigate thanks to the winding paths, vague world map, and even vaguer radar, that’s not so much a problem as it is an excuse: to spend more time looking at the sun-dappled trees, marveling at the moonlit snow, or listening to the stellar soundtrack. It also doesn’t matter if traveling takes a bit longer and runs you into more enemies, because you’re going to need to grind anyway. The main chapters’ recommended levels take a big jump in both the mid- and endgame, so that extra XP picked up through backtracking is still going to good use.

Image by Polygon: Acquire/Square Enix via Polygon

Although this interstitial grinding wears thin toward the end of the game — you stop unlocking interesting abilities at a certain point — the pacing of the chapters themselves is snappy. Most last an hour or two and involve catching up with the multifarious cast of side characters, perhaps using some of the protagonists’ special skills to progress, and then tackling a grand boss fight.

You need to be able to puzzle your way around these situations before you can actually fight. Your team composition, skill, and equipment all play a crucial role. For example, Osvald’s mage powers deal different kinds of elemental damage, but bashing someone with his staff isn’t going to do much physical harm. Hikari can, however, do massive damage in a single hit, provided he has a powerful sword and a Castti buff. While it is rewarding to achieve balance in a fight when they work, losing focus towards the end of long battles can make things more difficult. This can be especially problematic towards the end when the difficulty levels increase and the fights are longer. (It also didn’t help that I ran into a few UI bugs that prevented important text from telling me what certain abilities and items did.)

Image: Acquire, Square Enix/Square Enix via Polygon

Quibbles aside, these boss fights are generally satisfying conclusions to their chapters, particularly because most bosses’ abilities reflect their characterization in the story. While a comically wicked medic might be focused on poisoning and debuffing the party members, an enemy general skilled in swordplay may just hit hard very often.

But even as I enjoy the thought put into each fight’s design, I find myself coming back to the lack of connection between the protagonists. It is emotional effective for one person to have to face a childhood friend. There are many similar examples of attention to narrative cause and effect. But those poignant moments remain 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 knows how a little goes a long way when it comes to filling in the gaps in character relationships. A hand on a shoulder, a passing compliment, a little joke — anything can be fuel for the imagination. Plenty of time was available. Octopath Traveler 2, during exploration and combat, when my mind was free to wander and would have done most of the work — if there was any foundation for me to build from. But I can’t help feeling that imaginative fuel wasn’t put into the script to begin with. It is impossible to imagine the script without it. Octopath Traveler 2 is beautifully realized, but there’s a hole at its center.

Octopath Traveler 2 On February 24, the game will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. Square Enix gave us a pre-release downloading code to review the game on Switch. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Find out more. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.