Octopath Traveler
Game Pass of the Week
Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPGs)
If you have been following the first few entries in the “Game Pass of the Week” series, you might be starting to notice a theme; JRPGs. One of the standout features of Game Pass is, and will continue to be the ability to explore and fall in love with new genres. I have personally always been a fan of JRPGs but it has historically been a bit of a sore spot in the Xbox catalogue. However, under the leadership of Phil Spencer, Xbox has put a renewed focus on both the Japanese content and the Japanese market. This is a great time to highlight the emerging selection of games dropping into Game Pass so that you too can discover the joy of this genre.
A Nostalgia Machine
Octopath Traveler harkens back to the old age of traditional, turn-based strategy games in the vane of Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. If you are like me and a bit of an older gamer, you will know the moment you see the art style and hear the music whether this game is something you need to give a try. It pulls you back in time and fills you with that pleasant nostalgia that could only be elicited by memories of childhood gaming.
If you are new to the genre, likely the same holds true, all be it for completely different reasons. This game has a unique and joyful charm you are likely to have never experienced before.
Play It Your Way
This game’s design is based around the idea that you will likely tackle this massive JRPG in small junks. Additionally, it encourages you to prioritize or perhaps only complete the parts of the game associated with the characters that you find compelling. Xbox compounds these design choices by offering this game as part of the Xbox Cloud Gaming selection and is an ideal, play-it-on-the-go game. This makes it easy to dabble in this game as much as you want on PC, Xbox, iOS, and Android; all with the benefit of your saves carrying over between platforms.
This is not a game you need to finish to enjoy, and in line with other games I have spoken about recently, it lends itself well to being played as immersive, narrative experience or relaxed, mechanical podcast game. It is certainly worth starting, and based on how the conflagration of charm and nostalgia hit you, also worth finishing.
