Nintendo has released a massive new demo for Square Enix’s upcoming turn-based fantasy role-playing game “Octopath Traveler.”
Nintendo announced the demo was coming during its E3 2018 Direct video presentation on Tuesday. The “Prologue Demo” gives players three hours from the start of the game (as recorded in their save game file) to explore its lovely world using any of its eight protagonists, just like in the full game. But, travel beyond starting regions will be restricted, and later chapters of each character’s tale aren’t available in the demo.
Nintendo officially unveiled “Octopath Traveler” in January 2017 under the working title “Project Octopath Traveler.” It uses a “HD-2D” art style inspired by retro RPGs, combining 16-bit character sprites and textures with polygonal environments and high-definition effects. Each of the game’s eight protagonists has their own distinct story and special abilities in and out of battle. Nintendo released a demo in September 2017, but it was a small slice of gameplay restricted to only two characters.
All of the progress players make in the new “Prologue Demo” will carry over to their saved game data if they choose to buy the full game, Nintendo said.
“Octopath Traveler’s” main story will last roughly 50-60 hours, Nintendo revealed during its Treehouse livestream (via Nintendo Life). But, with plenty of side content available, the game could last as long as 80-100 hours. It comes exclusively to Switch on July 13.
