Octopath Traveler got a lot of hype before it launched, which I figure came from it being the Switch's first true exclusive (at the time) RPG, and something of a throwback to PS1-era RPGs, considering it looks like one, but with post-processing effects. The music is either bland or pleasant, the battle theme is very good, and the idea of picking one of eight characters to start with was really cool. But then again, most of those characters are incredibly boring and cookie cutter, and I restarted the game a couple of times before settling on Primrose the dancer, considering the thief and item shop girl's intros were very boring.
and then I recruited maybe half of the cast before just shelving the game, declaring it "ok", but now looking back and remembering how I can barely remember a thing about the game. It's all incredibly bland, and everything runs together. The writing is incredibly boring, bland, safe, and just soulless. Battles, even random common ones, go on way too long, and bosses are tests of endurance, considering EVERYTHING is a damage sponge.
It's not an awful game, but it's definitely like a 4/10. It's a comfort food kind of game for a certain kind of person, but it definitely did not deserve the hype it got. And come to think of it, it's nuts that it got so much more attention than Dragon Quest 11.
