A year and a half after being officially announced, Octopath Traveler has released for the Nintendo Switch console. As a big-time fan of turn-based role-playing games, I’ve been looking forward for this release for quite some time ‒ the Switch was really lacking a title like this. And despite the admittedly goofy title, Octopath Traveler has, so far, been a pretty fun game to play.

As the name would indicate, Octopath Traveler allows players to choose from one of eight different playable characters (and also acquire the other seven in the party over the course of the game). There’s Olberic, the warrior; Alfyn, the apothecary; Cyrus, the professor; H’aanit, the hunter; Therion, the thief; Ophilia, the cleric; Primrose, the dancer; and Tressa, the merchant. Each character obviously plays differently in battle, and each has their own unique story to tell in the world shared between them. Also unique to this game are “path actions,” in which characters can perform actions outside of battle that can benefit them in different ways. For example, Primrose can “allure” townsfolk, charming them into becoming a temporary party member, while Therion can straight up pickpocket items off of civilians if he so chooses to do so.

Each character has their own story to tell, and accordingly has their own set of “chapters” in their personal tale. Looking at the world map, you’re able to see where each character’s starting point is, as well as where their next chapter will take place. What’s nice is that the game provides suggested levels for where your party’s power needs to be before moving on to a more advanced chapter, so that you know how not to get too far in over your head with an underleveled party.

I started my game with Therion ‒ mostly because I enjoy rogueish types of characters, but I also thought his path action would be a valuable one to have in the early parts of the game. After finishing his Chapter One, I took a look at the map, which told me that his Chapter Two took place clear on the other side of the world ‒ and that I’d need to be at about level 22 in order to succeed. So rather than grind that out, I’ve been meeting other party members (so far, H’aanit and Ophilia) and building up the party a bit, while also being sure to fully explore and complete those characters’ first chapters as well.

I’m only a few hours into the game, but I’m really enjoying Octopath Traveler so far. Besides a really cool party system, the game also boasts some cool battle techniques as well, such as Boost Points. Characters get a Boost Point at the end of every round, and can expend them on their turn in order to deal additional damage. It’s a similar concept to what was used in Bravely Default, which was developed by the same team of people, but I think it’s executed a little bit better here.

I also adore the overall look of the game. Octopath runs on the Unreal Engine, which is most often used for high quality, photorealistic graphics and whatnot. But the game instead boasts what the developers call “HD-2D,” with 16-bit sprites that would look right at home on a Super Nintendo title on a gorgeous three-dimensional backdrop. It’s something I don’t think has been done before, and it certainly gives the game a unique flavor to it.

So far, my first impressions of the game are positive, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with Octopath Traveler in the coming weeks. There’s a lot of cool things going on in this game, so if you are already into RPGs and own a Nintendo Switch, consider picking this one up.

-Carrie Wood