Octopath Traveler 2

Octopath Traveler 2 is a role-playing video game developed by Square Enix and Acquire and published by Square Enix. It is a sequel to Octopath Traveler (2018), and the third entry in the series after the prequel mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent (2020), though it features a new cast of characters and setting separate from prior games. It was released worldwide in February 2023, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows; it is the first Octopath game released on PlayStation platforms. Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S versions were released in June 2024. While Octopath Traveler II retains the same structure of following eight separate character’s stories throughout the game.

It follows eight new characters in a new setting separate from the prior games. It takes place in the world of Solistia, a setting that is more modern than the prior game’s medieval setting and is presented more like something from the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. For instance, the steam engine is pioneered during the game’s events. Each character has between four and five story chapters focused solely on themselves, and two “Crossed Paths” chapters, in which two travelers collaborate on a goal. Once all eight travelers’ stories have been completed, as well as the four “Crossed Paths” chapters, a new chapter is unlocked called “The Journey for the Dawn”.

While camping outside, the travelers each receive visions of the Sacred Flames of Solistia going out. They wake up to find that the world has been placed under eternal night. Using Alpates’s mirror, they set out to restore the Sacred Flames. Through visions provided by the Sacred Flames and a journal written by Ori, the travelers learn the truth regarding the Moonshade Order’s plans and the circumstances surrounding their respective journeys. The Dark Hunter, whose real name is Petrichor, is revealed to have captured the animal companion Ochette did not choose and commissioned Harvey to conduct experiments on it, mutating it into a monster known as the Darkling.

Trousseau received a tome from Claude containing humanity’s past and went insane as a result. The leader of the Order is revealed to be Temenos’s friend Mindt, whose real name is Arcanette. Arcanette orchestrated the archbishop’s murder, manipulated Kaldena into attempting to harness dark power, and ordered a member of a theater troupe Agnea befriended to locate the Sacred Flames. Similar to the first Octopath Traveler, the game plays as a traditional JRPG. The player moves between eight separate characters, each with their own purpose for traversing the game world.

Once again, each character has their own “path action” – a particular means for the player to have the respective character interact with non-player characters in the game world, often with the goal of getting reward items or characters to fight in support of their cause. New to the sequel is there being distinct “daytime” and nighttime” segments of gameplay, with path actions being different depending on the time of day. For example, the player can choose to make the character Hikari duel characters in the daytime, in hopes of learning new skills for battle, but at night, there is the separate option to instead spend in-game currency to bribe characters for information or items.

The game retains the turn-based battle system of the first game as well, including the “break” and “boost” systems. Every enemy has a number of hidden “weakness” attributes related to being weak to particular weapons or elements. Once discovered, an indicator is shown onscreen, and if it is exploited enough times, a “break” occurs, temporarily weakening the enemy. Every turn, “boost points” are accumulated, which can be used for extra moves in future turns. New to the battle system are “Latent Powers”, special abilities unique to a given character which recharge when taking damage or breaking the enemy.