Pixel art bathed in light, eight heroes, eight roads, and that wild idea of making 2D feel like something new.

On few votes, but with fine consistency, Octopath Traveler's profile leans high almost everywhere. Its peak is the desert island, ahead of more than nine games in ten, and that's its most solid card. Right behind, the soundtrack and art direction shine too, ahead of the vast majority of titles, even if those two lines rest on very few duels and remain to be confirmed. The rest follows with dignity: attachment and rediscovery above the average, controls right in the middle. No real weakness here, more a game that wins the eye and the ear before the fingers.

In the modern Japanese RPG, this is the one that revived a whole aesthetic, the famous HD-2D that Square Enix has been rolling out ever since. A proud descendant of the 16-bit classics, but with a sound and a look all its own.

So, who's it for? For you if you love turn-based RPGs, sublime pixel art and a score worth keeping in a playlist. Much less if you want snappy gameplay or a single narrative rather than eight separate tales.