OCTOPATH TRAVELER™

Games like this make me wish I could give a "neutral" recommendation. I grew up playing classic JRPGs on the various NES and Sony gaming platforms, so for me the nostalgia is strong. This game is love letter to those old classics. That being said, the more I play the more I find myself getting annoyed with the frequency of random encounters (and yes, I know about the scholar ability to reduce those), the grind for gear, and the annoying HP sponge/Brick bosses. At the time of this review I just finished my first chapter 3 story, and I am honestly not sure if I will go on to finish the game.

I really like the concept of this game, of having 8 individual stories and no protagonist. Combat is pretty basic but satisfying with the break and boost system. The graphics are the highlight for me, its what drew me to this game at first, the 2D-3D art style is gorgeous. The music is really well done too. Only complaint is the characters don't interact at all when you're playing out a characters story. If the game had more character interactions this game would be S tier for me