Good news! The first of the Octopath Traveler reviews are in, and by all accounts, the game looks set to become a smash hit. Which is good news for Nintendo.

Octopath Traveler is an RPG exclusive for the Nintendo Switch, created by the Japanese developer Acquire. Artistically speaking, it’s a striking mishmash of pixel art and funky Instagram filters; much of Octopath Traveler is rendered with aesthetically-pleasing ’tilt shift’ effects, and it’s very pretty.

Moreover – according to the Daily Star – the Japanese publication Famitsu has given the title a near-perfect score, which is very encouraging. (However, I have to take the Daily Star’s word for it. Famitsu’s website is all in Japanese, and despite engaging my trusty Google Chrome translator, I was unable to find the review score they’re referring to.)

We also have a glowing write-up from IGN, who describe the first three hours of gameplay as “a beautiful RPG dream.” Nice.

Gameplay-wise, Octopath Traveler is an open world adventure story made up of exploration, conversation, and turn based battles. You begin as one of eight protagonists (you will encounter the others as you progress, and build up your clan) and each of these characters comes with their own unique abilities and ‘path actions’ which influence the encounters. For example, the character of Primrose is able to ‘lure’ people into following her, meaning that she can track down missing people, or even draw enemies into traps.

I sure I used to know someone like that.

Have these Octopath Traveler reviews got you psyched for playing the full game? Will you be purchasing the title at launch? And if you don’t yet own a Switch, is this enough to tempt you to invest??

Octopath Traveler launches exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on the 13th July.

Here’s how it was presented at this year’s E3…