Octopath Traveler is a Japanese role-playing game with eight playable characters. Its battle system is wildly deep. In this video, I spend 13 minutes walking you through a two-minute battle. You’ll learn about exploiting enemy weaknesses to deplete their shield points and score an “untouched” victory. You’ll also learn what “weaknesses” and “shield points” are. Octopath Traveler encourages you to always fight strategically by giving you a 10% money bonus for winning an “untouched” victory. Sometimes it’s tricky, though it feels like it’s always possible. I’ll show you one example, and then leave your mind to boggle at the possibilities. Even the grindiest of grind sessions in Octopath Traveler has an addictive, puzzly quality. Even at their most mundane, the battles possess a cleanliness of design that recalls the best tabletop card games. In other words, I love playing this game on the train, and in the bathroom. I can see myself shredding through all of this game’s optional content—even if the plot isn’t exactly blowing my mind. I’ll have another, bigger video tomorrow, about the characters. Also, tomorrow is when you can read Jason Schreier’s review! If you want, you could subscribe to our YouTube channel. All our videos are there, just for you! There’s even a playlist of just my videos. Wow!