#hd-2d

#hd-2d

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.

I can't say I expected much from Octopath Traveler 0. I've long admired the HD-2D role-playing game series but each new entry eventually leaves me cold. All of the pieces are there but they don't solidify into an experience that's more than the sum of its grindy, retro-infused parts. So I was surprised by just how much I immediately clicked with Square Enix's latest tribute to the genre's pixel art golden age.