'Octopath Traveler 0' Might Have The Best Turn-Based Combat Of The Year

"After playing Octopath Traveler 0 for a single hour, I think it has one of my favorite turn-based combat systems ever, and that's saying something in 2025. This new entry has brilliantly evolved the series' already fantastic combat while providing some tantalizing new facets, like base-building. Square Enix's HD-2D games have gotten progressively better over the last few years, and there's every indication that Octopath Traveler 0 can continue the trend."

"Octopath 0 is a bit of an odd beast - it's not entirely a new game, but it's not simply an upgraded version of one either. It functions as a prequel to the very first Octopath game, but adapts the stories of the mobile game, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, into a single-player format. These stories have been entirely retooled, and any worries I had about translating them from the mobile game have evaporated. This is a fully-featured Octopath entry."

Octopath Traveler 0 evolves the series' turn-based combat with an eight-character party split into a four-member frontline and a four-member backline. The frontline performs traditional actions—attack, boost, defend, and use skills—while the backline passively heals the entire party's HP and SP based on their stats. Characters can be swapped between front and back, adding strategic depth. The game functions as a prequel that adapts and retools stories from Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent into a single-player format. A customizable protagonist seeks revenge after rulers destroy a village and pursues rebuilding through base-building mechanics.

Read at Inverse