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New Octopath Traveler demo available in Nintendo eShop, Eric rejoices

by: Eric -
More On: Octopath Traveler

Being a video games writer, I tend to get excited about a lot of stuff. Like a dog catching a scent and tearing off after some unseen prize, I am easily distracted and I have an endless well of enthusiasm for my chosen hobby. But if games are star-like points of interest that blaze to life in the sky of my mind - and burn out after a few moments of brilliance like so many meteors - one game has sat stationary on the horizon of my interest, burning steadily away, bringing light and life to my love of gaming.

Too dramatic?  Maybe, but then again, maybe not. I’m beyond excited for Octopath Traveler, the new RPG by Square Enix' Bravely Default team. Octopath is a Fallout-level-event for me, the sort of game that makes me sweep all of the other games off my table and focus laser-like on one game, abandoning them mid-play until I have plumbed all of its depths and revealed all of its secrets. If you are at all familiar with my buckshot method of playing games you will know that this is indeed a dramatic statement.

That’s why I was so ecstatic this morning when I went for my weekly browse around the Nintendo eShop, and saw the new Octopath Traveler demo sitting there seductively, whispering to me “Forget Father’s Day…lock yourself in the bedroom with me….”

The new Octopath demo is much larger than the previous demo released last September. Players are now able to experience the opening hours of the game with each of the eight primary characters, and their progress will save over to the main game upon release. This means that I can just sit there and grind away to my heart’s content, gathering up a bank of sweet cash and levels so I can be totally overpowered when I start the main title. Just how I like it.

In addition to the larger size of the demo, this time around sees a number of improvements made to the experience. Interestingly, the first demo solicited opinions from players at its completion, encouraging them to give feedback to the dev team. The team then took this feedback into consideration, adding such features as a brightness slider, improved graphics (though the game already looked amazing), and a dash button (thank you, lord).

In an interview with IGN, Ocotopath Director Keisuke Miyauchi detailed some of the changes made to the graphics and storyline after receiving player feedback. “For those of you that played the demo in September of last year, we want to let you know that the graphics have been brushed up and improved upon. We’ve also put a lot of effort into story events, making them a little higher quality then what you saw in the demo. We’d like everybody from around to have a lot of fun playing and trying out each of these eight characters," Miyauchi told IGN.

What is not clear (until later today when I break the demo open) is whether players can play through the opening for each of the eight characters, or if you have to pick just one. I will, of course, post some thoughts after I have had some time with the demo.

Even if players can only play the opening hours with one character, they won’t have long to wait before taking the other seven characters for a spin. Octopath Traveler releases July 13, 2018.

Six days before my birthday.

Just sayin.