You may have noticed a certain trend going on in video game culture recently. Mainly, many video game developers and publishers have been releasing demos of their titles so that fans can get “invested” in it before the game’s launch. Or if they are unsure if they’re buying the game, they’ll try the demo and see if it sparks their interest. Multiple demos were made available to the public at the Nintendo Direct yesterday. One of them was for Octopath Traveler II, the upcoming RPG from Square Enix. The demo is available now to play, allowing you to experience quite a bit.
Specifically, you’ll be able to play the “opening hours” of the title. You’ll get to choose a character and see what the start of their adventure will be like. Then, no matter who you choose, you can transfer your data to the main game when it comes out on February 24th. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s what Square Enix has done with multiple games in recent years. Including the previous entry of this franchise and Triangle Strategy.
However, that’s not the only thing that dropped yesterday. A new trailer for Octopath Traveler II came out, highlighting each of the eight characters you’ll play as in the title.
So if you haven’t seen the character trailers that featured their backstories, you’ll get a quick glimpse of them here.
What’s apparent is that while some of the beats of these stories may feel familiar, the characters and paths attached to them are not. For example, there is a revenge story, but it’s told differently. The team went into great detail to ensure that each of these characters look and feel different from the eight characters from the previous title, and it shows.
Like before, you can take on their stories in any order, and there are even more stories to tell via the “Crossed Paths” sections, where some of these characters will team up for new adventures.
The battle system will remain largely the same but feature some new twists. For example, there will be “latent abilities” that the characters can unlock to help them in the heat of battle. There will be new ways to travel in the game, too, including by ship, where you can have unique adventures on the water.
The game is shaping up to be a grand RPG experience whether you play it on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, or Steam.
