Winter PC game sales have officially begun, making now the perfect time to stock up your library with some excellent new games to play over the holidays. Steam, Fanatical, GOG, Humble Bundle, and the Epic Games Store have each launched their respective Winter sales, and there’s a treasure trove of discounts to look through right now while they’re still live.
Below, you can see a few more of our favorite offers from the various Winter sales right now. If you’re curious to see the sales in full, just click on their individual links above.
Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 is a winner all around, with critic Michael Higham writing in his review, “Wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 paints itself into the pantheon of great RPGs with a brilliant combat system and a gripping, harrowing story.”
With Christmas coming up next week, this is an excellent time to treat yourself to some new games to play over the holiday period. However, if you have to get last-minute shopping done right now for other people in your life with a love of games, we can help there as well. We’ve also gathered up the 10 best gifts for gamers to help you find the best gifts to give this year, from Xbox Game Pass gift cards to the sleek Meta Quest 3.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Dave The Diver took over my PC around Christmas in 2023. I found Mintrocket’s wonderfully charming restaurant manager/ocean explorer a joy to flipper around the depths of, battling big fish, discovering ancient civilisations, and then returning to the surface to do some sushi waitering. I’ve honestly not thought about returning in a while, but the fresh look the devs have just offered at their upcoming In the Jungle DLC has me very much pencilling one in.
Eiji Aonuma, the producer of The Legend of Zelda series, recently dropped some hints about what players can expect from the next game in the series in an interview with Japanese news site 4Gamer. He noted that the collaboration with Koei Tecmo on Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment may influence the next mainline Legend of Zelda title.
While the Wii got Twilight Princess and the Switch got Breath of the Wild as launch titles, there has yet to be any announcement about an upcoming mainline Zelda game for the Switch 2. However, owners of Nintendo’s latest console do have Hyrule Warriors: The Age of Imprisonment to play. Age of Imprisonment is the latest entry in a spin-off series that combines Dynasty Warriors-style 1 vs. 1000 musou gameplay with the characters, lore, and locales of The Legend of Zelda. It allows players to experience the Imprisoning War that sealed away the Demon King Ganondorf. Like previous Hyrule Warriors games, Age of Imprisonment was a collaboration between Koei Tecmo and Nintendo, with Koei Tecmo and its new AAA Games Studio handling the development.
Zelda series producer Aonuma said that his team wanted to be the first to release a new Zelda title on the Switch 2, however Koei Tecmo beat them to it. “The Legend of Zelda: Age of Imprisonment is the first Zelda title released for the Nintendo Switch 2. To be honest, we wanted to bring out the ‘first’ (Zelda game on the new console),” he laughed.
Commenting on the collaboration with Koei Tecmo on Age of Imprisonment, Hidemaro Fujibayashi (director of Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild) said: “it was incredibly fun. They always had ideas we never would have come up with on our own, it was truly stimulating.”
In turn, Age of Imprisonment’s director Koki Aoyanagi talked about how motivating it was to receive such positive reactions from the Nintendo team, saying: “since they (the Nintendo team) were playtesting the game, we wanted to give them big surprises and moments of awe to experience.” Age of Imprisonment producer Ryota Matsushita described the Zelda team and Koei Tecmo’s team as being “on the same wavelength” when it came to collaborating on the game, noting that Fujibayashi’s knowledge of real-life castles enabled them to instantly understand each other regarding how Hyrule Castle should be depicted in Age of Imprisonment.
“We aimed to combine these two approaches; the Zelda-like, strategic back-and-forth of using Zonai gear and varied techniques against powerful foes with the exhilaration of musou (i.e. feeling mighty powerful as you cut down waves of weaker foes),” noted AAA Games Studio head Yusuke Hayashi. Even when Nintendo’s Zelda team gave feedback on points of concern, Fujibayashi said that Koei Tecmo would come back with “proposals that elevated it into something even better.”
Aonuma even suggests that this fruitful collaboration might influence the next mainline Zelda title. “The inspiration we received from this collaboration with Koei Tecmo may be reflected in the (next) Zelda we create. Please picture this while playing Age of Imprisonment, and look forward to our Zelda.”
Aonuma’s comment is mysterious, but this means that we might get elements from Age of Imprisonment’s gameplay in the next mainline Zelda adventure.
“In the first place, the reason I decided to make this a sequel to the previous work was because I thought there was value in experiencing a new game in that Hyrule place,” Aonuma said. “If that’s the case, if a new reason arises, we might return to the same world again. Whether it’s a sequel or a new work, I think it’s going to be a completely new game, so I hope you’re looking forward to it.”
Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi also chimed in with his own comment: “We are very grateful that so many customers have been playing Tears of the Kingdom for so long and deeply, so we will do our best to make the next game even more enjoyable.”
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
A platoon of Tingi, strange mutant babies that a goose with a very long neck keeps vomiting out, march along in Santa hats. As they crawl, fall, and drop into drinks which serve as orange-hued progenating pools where they merge with others to form bigger tingi, they earn money. Millions and billions of cash bills a minute at this point. It collates in a piggy bank far below, beneath the base of the goose’s neck, which just out of the stomach of a rather bemused beachgoer. Everything’s as it should be in Tingus Goose. Well, nearly everything.
It’s mighty high MSRP is $120, but if you don’t mind paying a little more, Amazon has got the elusive set down to $139.99 right now (sold and shipped directly from Amazon, not a dodgy third-party). That’s below market price, around $150, and even better than trusted resale sites like TCGplayer.
Unfortunately, it won’t arrive until after Christmas, but if you’re keen on picking it up, here’s a complete list of what’s included in the collection:
1 foil full-art promo card featuring Mega Charizard X ex
1 foil full-art promo card featuring Oricorio ex
65 card sleeves featuring Mega Charizard X
1 playmat featuring Mega Charizard X
1 deck box featuring Mega Charizard X
1 metal coin featuring Mega Charizard X
6 damage-counter dice
18 Pokémon TCG booster packs:
2 Surging Sparks TCG booster packs
4 Journey Together TCG booster packs
4 Destined Rivals TCG booster packs
4 Mega Evolution TCG booster packs
4 Phantasmal Flames TCG booster packs
A code card for Pokémon TCG Live
This should go without saying, but this collection really only makes sense if you want the exclusive TCG accessories included in the box, at least in my experience with it.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with what’s here, but the selection of booster packs feels just a tiny bit tired. More Phantasmal Flames, or even Mega Evolution packs, would have gone a long way.
Instead, the heavy reliance on Surging Sparks and Journey Together makes the whole thing feel a step behind where it should be. Still, if that isn’t an issue for you, than this is the best value going for the latest Ultra Premium Collection online right now.
If you’re looking to just chase cards, however, I’d also recommend checking out how much some of the best single chase cards are going for right now, to pick up individually. Or, to consult after you’ve cracked open all your packs. Good luck!
From aggressive Mega attackers to powerful evolution support, Phantasmal Flames brings a fiery mix of competitive threats and high-demand pulls.
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN’s resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
The nights are heavy, the sun is frail. The mountain moans its hunger. The rivers are frozen scars and the trees are become hard flashes of black lightning. Bells haunt the wind and peculiar bearded men appear in the fireplaces, to be chased away with pies and brandy. The roses, strangely, are in bloom.
Put on your slippers. Stoke the embers. Pull up a chair. It is time to remember. It is time to renew. It is time to succumb to a growing addiction. It is time… to play Skeal.
Nintendo has launched its latest eShop sale in the UK, discounting a bunch of titles for the Christmas season.
Ignoring the fact that the UK eShop site has it titled as the ‘Holiday Sale’ and not the ‘Christmas Sale’ – we’re on the other side of the pond, after all – there’s a lot to like here. To illustrate this, we thought we’d go through the games on offer and highlight the ones that we think you should check out. We’re looking at titles that happened to score 9/10 or above on Nintendo Life, so you know that these are among the best of the best.
Where to start? It’s a familiar mantra to those of us who have ridden into the lavish landscapes of Ghost of Yōtei’s Ezo. With a rediscovered home behind, and a world filled with revenge, myths and secrets ahead, it’s proven a wonderful dilemma to have. And every corner explored, each tale told, and duel won leading to further questions, one of which kept recurring throughout: how did this all come together? To answer, we reached out to ask two people who can speak to Ezo’s secrets best: the game’s creative directors Jason Connell and Nate Fox.
Sitting down with them, and a whole game to unpack, came the now-familiar refrain: where to start? The answer to that: begin at the end.
A word of warning then: this interview strays deep into spoiler territory. First, mark every member of the Yotei Six off your list, and discover every hidden corner of Ezo. The following chat charts game design choices, key side missions, the game’s conclusion and more.
Spoilers below
Note: This version of the interview is condensed for clarity and brevity. The full conversation will be available on PlayStation Podcast later today.
PlayStation Blog: The game’s final duel is a battle with Lord Saito. It really feels like it’s all been leading up to this moment, not just for Atsu, but also the player and that Saito throws practically every challenge you’ve learned to face at you in one single duel. Can you tell us a bit about how you approach the mechanics of this fight?
Jason Connell: We wanted the ending to be an emotional moment, one that brought together all of her journey of overcoming trauma. And it’s both about kind of figuring out that there’s something better to live for, but also to kind of celebrate the ways that the player has, through their efforts, kind of improved Atsu, made her more capable. And in Ghost of Yotei, that’s about mastering weapons, becoming more confident, more capable. And so, Saito himself will attack you with every weapon that you will need to counter with weapons that you’ve learned throughout your journey. This is a chance to celebrate your mastery and understand how to counter and deal with that. Ultimately, in the final battle, where it’s Katana versus Katana, it’s bringing it back down to that simple sword that your father forged in celebration of his two children, and that’s the weapon that you finished the battle with.
The Storm Blade story. It’s a fascinating one in so much that it reveals the fate of Jin Sakai. Can you tell us about how you approach the creation of this mission? Is there any concern about talking about the protagonist of the previous title in Ghost of Yotei, or confirming a relatively sad end to such a beloved character?
Nate Fox: I would say about a year or two into production, we had some ideas of where that might be and how we might be able to honor that character. We always knew it was going to happen. But then when we started placing it in the world, we just found this wonderful spot that really felt like it could be his spot, you know, and we could celebrate all aspects, whether it’s the tree or the Pampas grass or the or the Suzuki grass or the blade. Things you identify with his story and his legacy, and make it like a shrine / mission for him.
We wanted it to be in the right spot in the game. Like if you come out right out the gate, and it’s right there on your right, that doesn’t seem right. That doesn’t seem like it’s fitting. But putting it in the appropriate time space where you’ve sat with this game well enough, and you understand what this game is, and when you find it, it’s a gem, especially if you were a fan of the previous game. And getting the timing right was it was a big part of that too.
Was the intent always to make Takezo The Unrivaled the hardest encounter in the game. Or would you designate that as the hardest encounter in the game? I’m curious to know if the studio defeated him on Lethal difficulty, and how quickly you defeated him on that setting.
Jason Connell: Takezo was not in anyone’s plans at the beginning of the game. It was a great idea, put forward by one of the folks who makes missions, that we would keep to Takezo as a sort of ultimate battle after you’d finished the Atsu’s journey. And I couldn’t be happier that it represents this, you know, the hardest challenge in the entire game. In the most epic location. Our combat team set it to what many of us thought was impossible, until I saw one of the gameplay coders effortlessly beat it without all the upgrades. He said that he got it on his fourth try. Now, these people have been playing the game, programming the combat, for years! So that’s what you’re up against, if you’re having a hard time and you think this is impossible. The way to get better is just to simply make the game for many years and work in the combat team, and then suddenly it will all be easier.
So past the intro encounter with The Snake, the game’s designed to let you choose which of the Yōtei Six to hunt and in what order. This can shape your play style, such as The Kitsune path expanding your stealth options, or bring a deeper connection with the world, like the Oni’s, leading you to encounter Jubei. How do you design the game to accommodate those different play styles that result?
Jason Connell: Well, when we set out to make this game, when it was just Nate and I, you know, dreaming up what it would be, something we talked about was just really leaning into what we saw fans really love about playing in the open world, having the freedom to kind of sort of do what they want to do.
So from the very beginning, we were like, okay, let’s go real hard at this. Let’s invest in design and tech that allows us to give a little bit more freedom, even from the beginning. And so that has wrinkles, you know, it can get challenging to tell a really solid story that needs a beginning, middle and end. So some of our first stabs at this were way too open, right? Like, you can just go after any of the Six. And in that process, Nate pointed out, like, how hard that might be to have that beginning, middle and end, and we need that, because that’s Atsu’s story: that’s the structure.
Really early on, you definitely get this kind of choice. It’s not just a narrative choice. We added weight to that, by giving it a mechanical sort of choice. If you like role playing, if you like being a stealth- like character, or you like playing games that have ninja-like abilities, then you know, this area up here might be more for you. Or maybe you’re intrigued by this over here, which has got more of a traditional big castle and some cool fire weapons and a spear, and we kind of hint you with a little bit of it. So if it’s not just the story that motivates you, or that you’re intrigued by that narrative seed that we’re giving you, maybe it’ll be sort of the mechanics, and we’re giving you a number of ways you might be able to be influenced to make an informed decision.
Briefly talking about weapons, the Sensei quests clearly indicate which weapons they’ll unlock from the start, but the conditions to unlock the rifle and gun in comparison isn’t as obvious. Why was that?
Jason Connell: Well, we knew that the hand to hand weapons were a great source of pleasure for players. They loved getting them. They loved mastering them, and it adds a lot of diversity to your experience of fighting enemies. And that combat, the lethal precision inside of the game, is something that is sort of dead center of the experience.
So we wanted to make sure players knew that they were out there and make it pretty easy to find them, because they’re such a driver of joy in the game. Range weapons are not as core. So the firearms, we didn’t want to make them totally apparent where to go, so that you would have some of the pleasure of discovering them for yourself, whereas the melee weapons we knew were just too important to let anyone miss out on. They are optional, so you could miss out on them, but we didn’t want just sort of missing their presence to be the issue. We wanted to be a choice on the player’s part to say, I don’t want to bother with that.
There are some wonderful smaller encounters in the game, such as the guy who disappears – poorly, I will say – in a haze of smoke bombs… or the fight with a ronin that, I think he’s labeled as “Irritating Ronin”, that elicits an angry response from Atsu once she’s defeated him. Can you touch upon how these came about?
Nate Fox: Just really early on we had people that would work on the main story, then we have people fleshing out the world. Some of those smaller bits just come from, “hey, how would people operate in this place?” How can we give this place a little bit of personality that you might be intrigued and interested to hear about these people. They’re just flavors in the world. Which, you know, honestly, we didn’t have a ton of time to do in the last game. So it was nice to be able to sort of try some of those unique flavors early on. That smoke bomb guy might have been one of the very first ones that we created in the game. We went through a bunch of iteration to make him who he is, but that might have been the first six months of the project. And I’m happy to see some of those make it through to the end, because there’s plenty that do not [laughs].
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It is a beautiful world. There are numerous moments in which, say, a cliff climb or turning the road leads to a picturesque scene that is worth photographing. How intensive was it to get those moments to hit the sweet spot? Did it mean the immediate environment, how to be continually reshaped, to have the camera angles hit just right?
Nate Fox: One of the challenges of making an open world that’s as big as this and also trying to make a game that is artistically powerful and potent, that people step in the world and they feel the weight of the art… That is super hard to do.
The fact that we cannot control what you’re looking at makes it tremendously harder, right? Like, we have no idea where you’re looking. We have no idea what you’re doing. We have a clock that kind of moves when you’re in the open world. So we don’t know if you’re in day or night. Certainly, in some cases, we’ve specifically put you in areas where special times of day exist, like the Spider Lily mission.
But it is such a testament to the environment art team to be able to construct an environment with such beauty that no matter if I look that way, or that way, whether it’s daytime or it’s night time, shockingly, looks pretty good. That is very hard to do. Open World visual design: incredibly hard. Now they definitely know that you’re going to be coming up over this ledge during a Shrine climb. You’re going to be coming up over this ledge, and they might position those rocks to be, and that shrine, to look to the point where you know you’re going to be looking generally in this direction. They’ll definitely do that. And they do a wonderful job constructing what they think that you’ll do. But because we don’t know, we have to get a couple things right. We have to get the atmosphere right. We have to get lighting right. We have to get color. The pacing of the visual noise, and how much noise you have on the screen. All these things are just constructed in the open world DNA of the visual design. And we hope that we can guide you to areas where it just kind of puts a magnifying glass on that and makes it, you know, really pop in those moments. A very few amount of people on the team really get to contribute exactly to this, and I think they do a wonderful job bringing it to life.
Great RPGs can live or die by their final chapters – what’s been built up through a long journey could pay off with major revelations that leave a lasting mark or fall flat with cliches that undermine its best ideas. I spent over 100 hours with Octopath Traveler 0, and although I’d say about 80 of those are pretty good overall thanks to a fair share of ups and downs, it’s those last 20-or-so hours where it ascends to true greatness. If that sounds far too daunting, I get it, it’s a big time investment – but what you get in return is something that only games of this scale can pull off, making good on its various story branches and stunning you with one moment after another as you approach its wild conclusion. While Octopath already had a brilliant turn-based combat system, this iteration adds its own quirks to freshen things up as the HD-2D art style delivers its unique brand of modernized nostalgia yet again. And along with an outstanding soundtrack to beautifully frame both pivotal and quiet moments alike, Octopath Traveler 0 shows that this series can and has pushed the genre to new heights.
Octopath Traveler 0 is largely a repackaging of the mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, which is a prequel to the original entry. But by axing the microtransations and gacha elements used to recruit party members, as well as introducing some very important additions to story and gameplay, it has become a fully fledged RPG worthy of this wider release. I’m a bit shocked that this game in particular was once a mobile exclusive because it’s built as a traditional RPG, and I’m thrilled it exists in this form since I would have otherwise missed out on some of my favorite moments from any recent game.
However, it’s not always a smoothly paved road, and I’m not terribly surprised as any 100-hour game leaves plenty of room for valleys between its peaks. Story is where I had most of my reservations in the first half-or-so, and while I wasn’t expecting the most beautifully written script or deepest character study, I found some of the dialogue and plot beats rather shallow. Comically evil villains made for bosses who were satisfying to take down, but when their unabashed cruelty and simple thirst for power is the primary hook without much nuance, I didn’t feel quite as compelled by them as characters. But despite the inconsistent quality of its storytelling, Octopath Traveler 0 still runs at a decent pace and doesn’t sit on any one thread for too long.
That’s mainly due to how the main quest is structured. After a tragic prologue where your hometown is burned to the ground, you’re given three story branches in order to pursue the trio of villains who were responsible. Themed around power, fame, and wealth, those three paths then converge into a conclusion for what is roughly the first half of the overall story (at about 40 hours). And don’t be fooled by the fakeout credits roll, because you’ve barely seen what Octopath Traveler 0 has up its sleeve. It then splits into three new questlines that pick up those themes once again, and although they retread similar territory, the stakes get higher as more of Octopath’s world gets involved and your understanding of it deepens. Warring kingdoms and corrupt religious institutions across the land of Orsterra, where betrayal is more common than loyalty, start to face greater consequences as the full picture comes into focus and the story gains real momentum.
I can almost guarantee you’ll find that few games blossom quite like Octopath Traveler 0.
Rather than trying to build eight separate stories for characters that have to run in parallel, this game is able to tell a tighter tale by weaving its themes together, putting your custom character at the center of it, and elevating the important figures when needed. While your silent protagonist may seem like a typical “chosen one,” having the story revolve around the world’s eight rings that grant godly power turns a cliche setup into a strong foundation for its deeper messages. Octopath Traveler 2 was very successful with its cast of eight and made for one of my favorite games of the last decade, but this change of pace is a smart direction. Unfortunately it does mean most of the 30-plus party members you can recruit through sidequests feel rather disposable, but the dissonance that creates is worth the trade-off.
And like many of the seemingly frivolous features of Octopath Traveler 0, that roster eventually means something important in the grand scheme. There’s a reason why you want to recruit as many of these characters as possible, and this pays off in unpredictable ways that even had me – someone who’s played nearly every major JRPG under the sun – absolutely stun-locked. That’s a powerful example of how this game makes you care about the seemingly mundane things in retrospect and earns its big moments. Perhaps it could’ve benefitted from trimming its lesser parts (especially where it runs into problematic tropes or naive politics), but the time you spend along the main questlines builds an intimate understanding of the people who embody Orsterra and the leaders you collaborate with in earnest.
Avoiding any specific spoilers, once you hit the “final” questline, Octopath Traveler 0 mashes the gas and does not stop; it almost felt like I was playing a whole new game. Dungeons get more intricate, boss fights get a lot tougher, character arcs come full circle, and motives begin to make much more sense. Plenty of stories go for the complex and sympathetic villain or antihero, but the true antagonist of this tale represents an incredibly thoughtful, fully realized, heartwrenching, and intense exploration of this archetype. I was floored by the revelations therein because of how they’re grounded in things that feel real, with both gameplay mechanics and music wielded as storytelling devices to paint a complete picture without having to explain itself out loud. The more I peel back the layers that make its final chapters so moving, the more it’s stuck with me well after I rolled credits on the 0-exclusive true ending after 106 hours on the dot.
I’ve been on record saying Octopath Traveler 2 has one of my favorite turn-based combat systems ever; it shines here as well and for slightly different reasons. The Boost and Break systems give the typical dynamic of hitting elemental affinities some extra depth to devising how turns should play out. Playing the guessing game of discovering what enemies are weak against gets a little tiresome, but once that part is solved, scheming for your plan of attack based on turn order to Break enemies and tee up the big hits is oh so satisfying. Building each party members’ Boost points to add extra hits or increase spell potency gives you something to plan around for turns well in advance. And lining up all these variables while juggling the threat of hard-hitting bosses, who can impose some impactful status ailments or wipe party members in one turn, had me feeling like a genius tactician. Octopath might be playing on our nostalgia with its HD-2D retro-style visuals, yet this series has continually set a high bar for turn-based combat systems in modern gaming.
This series has continually set a high bar for turn-based combat systems.
Party composition is quite different this time around since you have eight active party members at all times – four in the front row and four in the back. With well over 30 characters in my roster, it’s an overwhelming amount to process and manage. While the fundamentals of Octopath’s combat system are familiar, matching character duos for the row they occupy is a unique strategic layer that allows for a lot of flexibility. And because they all build Boost points individually, you can dole out the big hits more frequently and keep up a brisker pace in battle compared to previous entries. You sacrifice individual character depth, however, as each party member has just one Job to progress through (aside from your protagonist), but you can at least master specific Job skills to then equip on other characters to diversify their moveset.
I found Octopath Traveler 2’s character progression more meaningful, especially as it tied to their individual stories, but Octopath 0 offers a welcome change of pace that hits the turn-based highs that’ve made the series special. The slow-motion cinematic camera cuts for Max Boost attacks and each party member’s tide-turning limit break still get me hyped up, giving combat the visual flair that truly makes the HD-2D style stand out when the action picks up. The tactical considerations you need to make in order to inflict damage well past the 9,999 soft limit requires effort and foresight that isn’t spelled out for you, but figuring out how to wield these systems and mechanics yourself is as satisfying as it is necessary to stand a chance in late game fights. Random encounters throughout dungeons and the overworld get overbearing, but that tedium pales in comparison to the gratification of landing a Break and busting out every full-powered ability to overcome a boss you had no business defeating.
While that turn-based combat supports much of the A-plot I’ve already praised, there’s also a B-plot that revolves around reconstructing your hometown of Wishvale. In the process of bringing it back to life narratively, you actually rebuild it with a town-building system in a similar vein as Fallout 4 or Ni no Kuni 2. You collect crafting materials naturally throughout which then allow you to build housing, shops, and decor within certain parameters on a grid-based layout. It’s an enjoyable side activity, with tangible benefits that come from new buildings and recruiting new residents, such as discounted shop prices, a self-sufficient flow of materials, and a training ground for inactive party members to continue leveling up. Town building may seem optional at first and isn’t particularly deep, but it becomes almost essential the further you get, especially when you consider the story’s broader message about what home means to you and the people you care for. And seeing the town you put together yourself in the background of cutscenes is a heartwarming touch that is its own small emotional reward.
This questline’s story can be a bit cheesy at times, but its heart is in the right place as it gets sentimental about what it takes to rebuild after losing everything. Like the previous game, the way poverty shapes a person and going from nothing to something remains a prominent motif, and even though it fumbles the messaging at times here, it’s willing to talk about those topics with clarity. In the same way the branching questlines eventually converge sensibly, the town-building system and story attached to it enrich the main quest in tangible ways. By having you take the actions necessary to pick up the pieces and offer survivors some semblance of the past lives of your hometown, Octopath Traveler 0’s overarching themes about holding onto your humanity comes across as more genuine.
[Series composer] Yasunori Nishiki deserves to be mentioned alongside the GOATs.
After 100-plus hours, I look back on this journey often teary eyed. Its prevailing messages and star characters really resonated with me, offering perspectives on how tragedy changes people. That hits hardest when I listen back to my favorite songs on the soundtrack that evoke those feelings. Series composer Yasunori Nishiki has a particular style that lends itself extremely well to the genre, but is an absolute madman when you break down the musicality of his work, especially here in Octopath Traveler 0. A rock orchestra with swelling strings, horns, and drums (sometimes backed by opera vocals and chanting choirs) boss battle themes make me feel like I can run through a wall; hell, even the initial normal battle theme slaps hard. It’s also in the softer town themes that round things out, and specific motifs that punctuate important moments and work their way into the most impactful songs. Twice during late game bosses, I had to put my controller down absolutely stunned by what I was hearing before picking it back up and using the power of music to propel me to victory – so yeah, Yasunori Nishiki deserves to be mentioned alongside the GOATs.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted Command & Conquer to come back. Some things are just gone, a product of their time, your fondness for them tied to some ephemeral capacity or limitation long since stretched out or hammered in by time and, in the case of games, a wealth of fresher and more convenient alternatives.
But Tempest Rising is not C&C again. Even though I’ve summarised it as such in a few emails, given the clear similarity of its design and setting. It feels more like an original work made with modern tools by a second team with roughly the same remit, and while I don’t love it, I enjoy and respect it so much more than a flat remake.
