Octopath Traveler 0 is just around the corner, with brand-new gameplay elements

Digital Trends

31-07-2025

Octopath Traveler fans, hold onto your seats: Octopath Traveler 0 was just announced with a release scheduled for December 4, 2025. Amid a slew of announcements in today's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase (including a new trailer for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment), the final mic-drop moment was Octopath Traveler 0. Although few details were given about the game, Square Enix hinted at the storyline and showed several gameplay features and an improved character customization screen.
The trailer opens with a town festival that goes horribly awry as a group of invaders set the town on fire. It goes on to show players fulfilling sidequests in an attempt to rebuild the town, placing houses and other buildings on a grid-like system. Each structure requires building materials like lumber, stone, and cloth, suggesting Octopath Traveler 0 will have town-building elements not previously seen in the series.
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One of the final frames of the trailer shows what looks like a group battle, with the player monitoring the statuses of multiple characters all at once. While it's just a guess based on the few details revealed during the stream, Octopath Traveler 0 looks like a major evolution from the previous games in the franchise.
There was another interesting announcement (also from Square Enix.) The company announced a new title called The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales, a game that draws heavy inspiration from Octopath's art style. However, the gameplay previews resemble those of Legend of Mana, featuring real-time action combat. There's also just a touch of Legend of Zelda there, too, with a fairy companion assisting Elliot in his quest.
Octopath Traveler 0 is the first official entry in the franchise on the Nintendo Switch 2, although the other games are playable on the platform. The series is a bit of a love letter to classic JRPG titles, linking multiple storylines together beneath a single overarching plot. However, while the stories can sometimes be a bit forgettable, the gameplay is where Octopath truly shines, capturing the feeling of Chrono Trigger and other classics.