I really wanted to like this game, I really did. But after around a hundred of hours of playing it to completion, getting all possible endings, and beating the secret superboss... I just can't say I enjoyed it even in the slightest. I acknowledge that this isn't meant to be a sequel to 2, I doubt anything can top that game unless we get an actual attempt at an Octopath Traveler 3, and even then I'm doubtful, but I just have too much to dislike about this game.
Working off of the gacha mobile game is a huge red flag, for one, I dislike gachas as much as the next. Even with all the gacha elements removed, the character and story writing is both lackluster and drags on too much, a vast majority of the travelers original to this game aren't even relevant and don't receive more than maybe a few cutscenes of dialogue with zero story relevance, the story itself drags on for much too long-
The only thing I can give it is that the 8 traveler combat is genuinely awesome, I absolutely love it... I just wish it was actually OCTOPATH Traveler and there were 8 fully fleshed out travelers to focus on and tell the stories of without the need for a self-insert - which I feel genuinely goes against the vision of this franchise - instead of a frankly *gross* amount of travelers, most of which aren't important to the story.
I tempered my expectations to be lesser than the other two games, and I still unfortunately found myself incredibly disappointed. This game just flat out doesn't have the spark the other two did: focusing on the narrative of eight well written, fleshed out characters on their journeys across Orsterra and Solistia, with what were some incredible stories that may not be 11/10 works, but still hold special places in my heart in terms of storytelling.
If you are someone who played Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 and enjoyed them, I can't in good conscience recommend this game - and even if you haven't, I still wouldn't recommend it. I wanted to like it, but there's nothing aside from the combat for me TO like. It feels like a downgrade from both 1 and 2 in so many regards that I just can't enjoy this game.
Here's to hoping that an Octopath Traveler 3 comes one day and is actually another evolution of the series and not a hefty step backward.
