Octopath Traveler 0 Review: A Mixed Bag For RPG Fans

Octopath Traveler 0 Review: A Diluted Version Of The RPG Series A party of eight characters faces Auguste Prince of Thieves in Octopath Traveler 0.Image: Bruno Yonezawa By  Bruno Yonezawa Published 24 minutes ago Bruno Yonezawa is a Gaming Senior Writer for Screen Rant. He's been practicing professional journalism for over 10 years, and is also a communications specialist. He's played games all his life and turned that passionate hobby into a passionate career, in an industry where he's worked as a writer, editor, analyst, and more. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Octopath Traveler 0 is the newest entry in Square Enix’s series of RPGs, and it comes with significant differences in comparison to the two core games that preceded it. The latest installment is Square Enix's AAA take on the free mobile gacha game, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, and it has some special features that didn’t appear in 1 and 2.

For example, you’re able to create your own custom protagonist, who is then joined by several characters in Octopath Traveler 0 to form a party, and recreate your town, which the game's core antagonists burned down. Those differences from the main series work for and against this new iteration.

Octopath Traveler 0's Story Is A Double-Edged Blade

The Story Can Be Fun, But It Doesn’t Feel Like Octopath Traveler

Octopath Traveler 0 keyart with villains and custom protagonist

Because of the custom protagonist, the game’s story is a bit different. Previously, you would start with one of eight characters whose stories and designs had already been determined. You would explore the world, find other playable characters, and each of these units would have their stories developed over the course of the campaign. The custom character in Octopath Traveler 0 accomplishes this differently.

Instead of splitting attention among eight affixed characters, the story focuses mostly on the protagonist. At the start of the game, the triad of villains (Tytos, Herminia, and Auguste) assemble to destroy Wishvale, a small town located somewhat north of Emberglow, Valore, and Theatropolis. These villains raze Wishvale with flames and kill most of its inhabitants. Your custom character is one of the survivors.

After escaping death and recovering, you’ll set off to rebuild Wishvale with your childhood friend, Stia, and avenge the community by chasing down those villains. The story you experience here is exactly the same as the one seen in the aforementioned Champions of the Continent, though it connects to the fact that they burned down your hometown. Because of this connection, facing these villains feels less generic than in the mobile game.

However, as someone who played the mobile Octopath Traveler game, I found the first dozen hours quite exhausting to play through. Despite drawing more straightforward connections with the protagonist, I was reliving quests I had already completed in Champions of the Continent, so I wasn’t exactly thrilled or surprised by anything that happened. This made a lot of my experience with the narrative feel dull.

I imagine that players who haven’t played Champions of the Continent, nonetheless, will have a better time with the main campaign, as it is a fun story, and novelty will still be a factor to count toward their experience. This story arc, however, is a lot weaker than those presented in the first two games. As I had predicted, replacing established characters with a custom protagonist was a bad move.

The fact that the campaign revolves around your character is a bit disappointing. The first reason is that your character isn’t really fleshed out; most of the time, they are speechless and lack personality – unlike the ever-stoic Cloud in Final Fantasy 7, for example. Because of this, it’s hard to connect with them and grow fond of them.

Furthermore, the focus on your protagonist results in less attention being dedicated to the other playable characters who join your party. This is not to say that stories for them are absent; each playable character is introduced with a story mission that has a hook for development.

However, in comparison to how these characters were explored in previous games, your allies in Octopath Traveler 0 feel overlooked, and any appreciation you show for them is either related to their design or their gameplay abilities. One of the most exciting parts of the story is rebuilding Wishvale. Not only is it brand-new, even for those who played CotC, but it also shows how the community expands – but it’s not rid of its problems.

In detriment to it, however, the majority of the characters you invite to live in your town never really grow. An NPC you meet by the name of “Woman Fond of the Coastlands,” for example, will retain that name, living in your village, and will never really have anything to offer other than resources. Generic NPCs feel like they’re meant to populate the game, but not really get you involved with anything narrative.

Overall, when it comes to the story, don’t expect too much. The main story arc involving the three villains and the destruction of Wishvale is fun, but still much less attractive than the intertwined stories that made the campaigns of the first two games. I felt that the story served as a background for the actual star of Octopath Traveler 0: its combat.

Combat In Octopath Traveler 0 Feels Fresher Than Ever

You Can Control Over 30 Characters In The New Game

Eight characters face Tytos The Thunderblade in Octopath Traveler 0.Image: Bruno Yonezawa

One of the other things that Octopath Traveler 0 brought from Champions of the Continent, which is drastically different from the two core games, is the size of parties. Instead of having access to eight characters and building teams of four units, the new installment offers a roster of over 30 playable characters, in parties of eight units.

Effectively speaking, you can only use four of these units per round, but there are always eight different options at your disposal. This works with both front row and back row mechanics. The characters who are actively fighting are in the front row, while the ones in the back row don’t act. Characters from the back row can swap in with the character in their same line, should you desire.

This adds an extra layer of strategy to combat, as managing BP (Boost Points) and SP (Skill Points) can be approached differently. It’s a system that returns from CotC that I thoroughly enjoy, as I feel like most party combinations in Octopath Traveler 0 will have you ready for any scenario.

Despite how bland character stories feel in this new approach, the size of the potential roster opens up various gameplay possibilities. Recruiting the over 30 playable characters and testing them out in different team compositions is a delight, even if you aren’t narratively rewarded for it to the extent you may have grown accustomed to with the previous entries.

Building A Home In Octopath Traveler 0 Can Feel Dragged Out

The Game’s Life-Sim Aspect Is Fun, But It’s Generic

The Fields in Wishvale are restored in Octopath Traveler 0.Image: Bruno Yonezawa

Rebuilding Wishvale goes hand-in-hand with how you progress through the campaign. You’ll be able to install new structures and evolve the storyline in the life-sim module, but it depends on levels, which require you to play through the campaign. It’s a great way of mixing up the stories and having you face villains and return home, and an ingenious way of making you play through the core of the game instead of focusing solely on the life-sim mode.

Because of this, however, it can often feel dragged out. You’ll focus on the main story arcs and side quests for characters, and this will make it feel like Wishvale is taking too long to develop. You’ll install a Ranch, for example, and then spend hours without having a big reason to return to Wishvale. This, which was supposed to be one of its pillars, often feels like an afterthought.

I don’t think Square Enix found the proper balance for this formula, and I honestly don’t know what the solution would be. This stacks with what I previously reported, about having generic NPCs as your residents. In turn, Wishvale doesn’t feel like home in the way that it did before it was attacked. This detracts from how narratively developed the story of Wishvale and its inhabitants could be.

As much criticism as I have to direct toward Octopath Traveler 0, this is by no means a bad game. Despite finding it tedious to repeat missions I had already done in Champions of the Continent and being disappointed with its lack of true focus on a layered piece of narrative, I did have fun, as I always do, with its combat system, all while enjoying its remarkable HD-2D design.

I recommend playing Octopath Traveler 0 – as long as you’ve prioritized playing Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler 2 before. If you’re okay with playing a lighter version of a game in the series that doesn’t offer many deep stories and repeats what’s been seen in the mobile title, albeit without the gacha mechanics, you should find something to like here.

7/10

Octopath Traveler 0

Like Follow Followed JRPG Adventure Fantasy Systems Released December 4, 2025 ESRB T For Teen // Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes Developer(s) DOKIDOKI GROOVE WORKS, Square Enix Publisher(s) Square Enix Franchise Octopath Traveler PC Release Date December 4, 2025 Xbox Series X|S Release Date December 4, 2025 6 Images octopath-traveler-0-promo-gameplay-screenshot-4.jpgoctopath-traveler-0-promo-gameplay-screenshot-3.jpgoctopath-traveler-0-promo-gameplay-screenshot-2.jpgoctopath-traveler-0-promo-gameplay-screenshot-1.jpgoctopath-traveler-0-promo-gameplay-screenshot-5.jpgOctopath Traveler 0 Stia key art, overlaid over a blurred 2:1 crop of a promo gameplay screenshot for the upcoming JRPG depicting a nighttime forest edge.Close

Genre(s) JRPG, Adventure, Fantasy Expand Collapse Pros & Cons

• Fun & improved combat gameplay.
• New & returning characters.
• Millions of party possibilities.

• Repeated mobile story may be annoying.
• Lack of character depth diminishes the franchise's strength.
• Wishvale life-sim can be fun, but it's often dull.

A digital download code for Nintendo Switch was provided to Screen Rant for the purpose of this review.

• Gaming
• Octopath Traveler 0
• PC Games

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