OCTOPATH TRAVELER II

OT2 is very unique in the sense of stories and characters, but they are all intriguing and charming. But the game is VERY gameplay focused (battles and exploring) and I think it doesn't have a difficulty option. If you play games only for the stories, it might be a little bit tiring for you. I personally love the game and its structure, but I know it is not for everyone. Made it Platinum🥰

I am surprised that I ended up not liking this. Well, where do I start…. I guess with the good. Yes, as others have said, the HD-2D looks great, the music is fantastic, and the turn-based combat is engaging for a while. However, after the ~40 hour mark, the game became a complete slog. I get that it is a JRPG...I knew what I was getting into and I have a long history with them but holy cow the dialogue is so bloated. These characters just will not stop talking and the narrative payoff does not justify it. I feel like I spend more time reading than playing. There are a few bright spots but for the most part the stories follow a familiar pattern and involve plots that are just not doing it for me. I can’t bring myself to care about the dancer who wants to be a star for example. To add to the bloat and grind, characters do not share experience. So, you are forced to rotate in low-level characters that you are less interested in and grind them up just to progress chapters that you were never really interested in. It all comes together to create this incredibly slow and grindy experience. This just needs to respect the players’ time a bit more. They could have kept shared experience to make the pacing much better, limited the insanely overdone dialogue, and made some of these characters a bit grittier and more relatable, then this would have been a much better experience in my opinion.