Spearheaded by a trio of veteran developers best known for their outstanding work on the Persona series, Metaphor: ReFantazio is the dawn of a brand new IP from Atlus. In its structure and mechanics, it feels comfortingly familiar, but in its fantastical setting and bold style — both in terms of visuals and audio — it breaks new ground in brilliantly memorable ways.
Right off the bat, Metaphor boasts one of the strongest overarching narratives that the Japanese developer has ever authored. Where the Persona games often let their deeply endearing characters all but carry the central plot, Metaphor crafts a tightly-knit tale that involves political machinations, racial tensions, religious corruption, and consistently creative worldbuilding.
In opting for a fantasy setting, it almost feels like Atlus is able to unleash a level of creativity that we haven't seen from the company in decades. While there's no doubt that the title borrows from established concepts and themes of existing works, it manages to meld something unique — a game that'll stay with you long after the credits roll. And in an era when so many modern RPGs either struggle to stand out, or are satisfied with simply riding the coattails of genre classics, that's incredibly high praise.
A cursed prince is the crux of Metaphor's story, and your wide-eyed protagonist is tasked with being the would-be king's saviour. The game opens as you approach the foreboding capital city of Grand Trad, your only goal being to meet up with a contact in the kingdom's military. Needless to say, proceedings don't necessarily go to plan, and before you know it, you're tangled up in the title's narrative hook: the royal tournament.
Essentially, the late king's final wish sees thousands of potential successors compete for the throne. Much like Persona, Metaphor operates on an in-game calendar system, which gives you several months to establish yourself as the leading candidate, all in the name of your curse-stricken prince. You travel the land via a beautifully drawn map, partaking in contests of brains and brawn at key locations with your rivals, all while attempting to win the people's favour.
Again, Persona is the closest comparison with regards to structure. Each time you arrive at a fresh destination, you're introduced to new characters and story beats across a number of in-game days — by which time a threat to the local populace is unearthed, and you're the hero in waiting. It's pretty formulaic stuff, but you're given ample amounts of free time in between the introduction of your current task and its looming deadline.
Metaphor shines during these player-driven sections. There are monster bounties to cash in on, optional dungeons to rummage through, and, of course, allies to converse with. Free days are broken down into afternoons and nights, and you're obviously encouraged to spend your limited time wisely. But if that sounds stressful, know that the game does an impressive job of making everything feel streamlined and accessible; it's a tightly designed experience where various systems feed back into others, ensuring that there's always something to work towards.
For example, 'Followers' are a collection of your closest allies, from party members to secondary characters. Spending quality time with them gives you access to a growing list of useful perks — benefits like reduced shop prices and enhanced combat commands. But a Follower's true worth is found in the Archetypes (read: character classes) that they unlock, with more powerful incarnations saved for more serious relationships.
Archetypes are the lynchpin of Metaphor's gameplay progression. Our protagonists can assume the form of hulking heroic entities in battle, granting them destructive magics and abilities so that they can go toe-to-toe with the kingdom's most dangerous creatures. While your party members do have statistical preferences — the stoic knight Hulkenberg, for instance, is primarily built to withstand damage — you're still free to have any ally channel any Archetype.
Naturally, there's a lot of potential for party-based experimentation. Tanks, damage-dealers, healers, spellcasters — it's your standard RPG job system, but it's brilliantly woven into the rest of the game's mechanical tapestry and its worldbuilding. Levelling up your Archetypes and pushing towards a specific party balance is always rewarding — especially since skills can eventually be transferred between Archetypes, allowing for yet more customisation.
That brings us neatly to the turn-based combat, which takes cues from both Persona and the broader Shin Megami Tensei franchise. Atlus' trademark weakness system, in which you exploit enemy vulnerabilities in order to gain additional turns, remains at the heart of battle — but generally speaking, fights are more strategically paced than what you'll find elsewhere.
The title's bestiary isn't particularly large — in fact, enemy types can grow quite repetitive as the adventure wears on — but your foes are well-defined in their behaviours and characteristics, in a way that's somewhat reminiscent of older Final Fantasy games. Take Goborns, for example — cruel monsters that fly into a frenzy should they spy a party member wielding any kind of magic-based weaponry. Or the bird-like Cockatrice, which is capable of one-shotting allies who aren't buffed by a defensive spell.
What we're saying is that there's much more to combat than just striking elemental weaknesses; there are a lot of details to take into account, and that factors into both your chosen equipment and Archetypes. Indeed, Metaphor can be a brutally unforgiving RPG even on its normal difficulty setting; enemies can be downright ruthless if you're caught underprepared, harkening back to the hardcore days of Shin Megami Tensei 3 and the like.
That kind of demanding difficulty curve keeps Metaphor engaging throughout; its combat system is constantly giving you something new to consider. It's worth mentioning, however, that if you're playing for the story first and foremost, there are easier difficulties to play around with — and those options are always welcome when there can be such a fine line between enjoyment and frustration.
The boss battles, by the way, are clear highlights. We're talking unique and surprising mechanics that demand your attention, showcasing the best parts of Metaphor's combat design. You get the impression that Atlus wants each fight to feel meaningful, and that extends through to the fact that you can choose to just obliterate lower-level foes via action combat, which takes place as you're dashing around dungeons.
Much like in the recent Trails through Daybreak, you can stun enemies with action-based attacks, leading to an immediate advantage upon triggering the regular turn-based battle. However, the trade-off is that should you be attacked by a suitably strong opponent — usually because you've woefully mistimed your dodge roll — you'll end up being ambushed. And that's pretty much a death sentence when it comes to dealing with more capable monsters.
Whether it's through storytelling or demanding combat scenarios, Metaphor keeps you locked in — but it does stumble with dungeon design. The beast-infested areas that you'll explore during the main campaign are largely fine, but optional dungeons suffer from a noticeable drop in quality. Granted, their main purpose is to house encounters and get you excited about treasure chests, but they're shockingly bland to look at, and their repetitive layouts leave much to be desired. And no, they're not procedurally generated — although they often feel like they could be.
Speaking of presentation, Metaphor can be disappointingly rough around the edges; an issue that's amplified by the game's frankly incredible art direction. The character portraits, their designs, the painterly menus, the user interface... it's all stunning, and so it stings a bit when NPCs and environments are coated in terribly low resolution textures and dodgy anti-aliasing. Ultimately, the game's artistry overshadows these ugly graphical flaws, but it's still a jarring downgrade off the back of the utterly immaculate Persona 3 Reload, which Atlus released earlier this year.
And finally, let's touch upon the music, which has got to be some of longtime composer Shoji Meguro's most striking work to date. It's a booming orchestral score that makes use of incessant, religious-sounding chants and rousing choirs, resulting in a strange and arguably otherworldly tone. It's been a long time since we heard such unique but compelling tracks in a video game, once again emphasising Metaphor's creativity.
Conclusion
Metaphor: ReFantazio is one of the most memorable RPGs we've played in years. In pursuing a new property, complete with a fantasy setting, Atlus has allowed its creativity to blossom, resulting in a brilliantly rich experience — both in terms of narrative and audiovisual design. While Metaphor takes obvious gameplay and structural cues from the developer's previous projects, it combines and refines those elements to make an epic, kingdom-hopping adventure that feels unique and deeply fulfilling.
Comments 123
If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Picking a top five for GOTY this year is going to be difficult...
Looks really cool actually; I'm a big Atlus fan, so this should be right up my alley..
That said, October is STACKED. I need to make some priorities, and while this game looks fun.. the other games (Sonic, Dragon Age, YS) will take priority. Will be adding this game to my wishlist though!
@ShogunRok And some people said this is a terrible year for games... (egg meets face)
This sounds like it’ll be an amazing buy when it goes on sale next year, gives time for Atlus to polish it up, will be one of the first games I get next spring!
"Chugging frame rates" - Thats an easy no in my book.
I know the argument for 'its the sum of everything that determines a games score' but im very disappointed in this score with such a damning statement. Sorry.
@ShogunRok
I have a question! Can you please cover for me at work for like, a year or something. That way I can actually play all the gigantic rpg's that are still in my backlog before adding this.
Thanks in advance!
@ShogunRok couldn’t have said it better. Last quarter is always the most packed. Sadly a ton of stuff I can’t get right away (like SH2), but as a gigantic dead rising fan, I already know what my goty is. Really happy with 2024! 2025 will be a banger too with Yakuza Pirate and of course, Dynasty Warriors.
@ShogunRok Is this another 100 hour plus behemoth? I wanted to try Persona 5 but the sheer length of it put me off even attempting it.
All of the reviews so far have been incredible. Man, this has low key been a monster year for games. I can’t wait to dive deep into this RPG. Also, I want to apologize in advance - I didn’t read the review because I want to go in blind, but I’m sure it’s great as always!
@Ooccoo_Jr it most definitely is.
@Kraven for a sec, I thought you said you couldn’t read the review because you were blind! But yes. I agree with this sentiment.
Thank you for the review, it seems like everything I expected from the demo - I am going to enjoy this immensely, I am already over-tinkering with the job system in the demo itself 😅 (HP-regeneration on HP-consuming brawler? You gotta have it.) Day 1!
@Ooccoo_Jr Reviews saying 80 hours minimum so yeah….
@ShogunRok Thanks for the review! I want to pick up now, but am concerned about your thoughts on the dungeon design, as it’s something I’ve loved about previous Persona games (especially 5R). Are there some dungeons that you found enjoyable? Would you say the rest of the game outshines this issue?
Thanks again
@Rich33 Chugging framerates and graphically rough also makes this a backlog game for me.
I will put this on the Christmas to play list. By then its been polished and probably at sale at the PS Store.
Those negatives bring the score down lower than that for me, but even a 7/10 or 8/10 is still decent and my pre order is being kept.
Just saw it has a metacritic of 94 as well which is possibly Atlus best ever game score wise.
I really started to get hooked toward the end of the demo so I can't wait to get going with the full game. I am ready for another Persona like experience to take over my life for a few months as the weather gets colder. Great review, thanks so much Robert!
I really hope that the technical aspect will be better than on the demo.
Honestly, there are too many games to play!
@ShogunRok The demo have terrible antialiasing (or lack of), is it better in the full version?
Imagine saying PS5's catalogue sucks when this week alone we have Silent Hill 2, Dragon Ball, and Metaphor — all of which are critically acclaimed. And that's one week.
Yes, they're not exclusive Sony published games, but you can only play them all on PS5 or PC. Crazy times!
Damn...might just have to preorder.
I've been chipping away at the demo. It's fine - definitely one that I'd like to play at some point, but I may just be growing out of JRPGs or something. I can't stick with one to save my life this year, even when they're good.
@Ooccoo_Jr Yeah my final playtime was around 90 hours, so it's slightly shorter than Persona 5.
That said, there's a lot more stuff in Metaphor that's optional. Optional dungeons, bosses, etc. And they all boost the runtime significantly.
Thing is, I wouldn't recommend missing out on the optional stuff — a lot of it will keep your party around the right levels and get you good equipment.
Hell yeah, can't wait!
My only wish was that Atlus would start letting us upgrade our games when the inevitable "super-complete-delux-edition" comes out in a couple of years. Kind of tired of having to double-dip to get the full experience. 😑
@Enriesto I found the main story dungeons (which are obviously the most important) to be perfectly fine. They have some interesting gimmicks and they're quite fun to explore.
It's really the optional dungeons that drop off in terms of quality. They're very basic in terms of layout and they're dull visually.
But yeah, the dungeon design wasn't enough to truly hurt my time with the game. You're going to be concentrating on the combat and your characters' progression anyway, so the actual dungeon issue fades into the background more often than not.
Ugh I gotta find a way to buy this soon. But dungeon designs is one of the things that kept bothering me in the demo. They were so uninspiring for a game that's coming out many years after persona 5. I just thought they'd have improved by now. But still it was a fun time. I look forward to the full game now. I'm hyped
So, I've been playing the demo and I'm feeling mixed about it so far.
I feel like the way you get thrown into the world is very jarring, especially considering how outrageous some of the world/character designs are. Granted, I'm only maybe 3 hours into the prologue demo, but so far there's already been some major events that have taken place and I'm struggling to figure out why I should care.
Can you speak to how this plays out as the game progresses? I loved Persona 5 and think this looks good, but it's another huge time commitment I'm not too anxious to commit to.
@Sveakungen Nah, as far as I can tell, it's the same as the demo, which is a shame. Like the review says, the art direction is amazing, but the actual graphics are pretty poor from a technical perspective. The AA is rough throughout (but it feels like something that should be patched).
N.i.c.e.9 is a excellent score.im happy that metaphor refantazio get a incredible score.more video games is always welcome.word up son
Strange to see 4 negatives only reduce the score by 1 point. Can't help but feel like if these same negatives were applied to another Jrpg it would've lowered the score more. Still, the game is amazing from what I've played of the demo. I preordered it way before that though, as I knew I'd love it anyway.
Dull dungeon design and repeated enemy types makes me a little worried, but glad to hear everything else seems top notch, especially if the combat is super engaging.
@Cloud39472 my thoughts exactly! Just typing out the same feelings...
When you haven’t had time to play P5 royal or p3 reloaded 😂
One day…
@ShogunRok Weird for a PlayStation site to be reviewing Xbox game Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Anyway, I was always gonna get this given how much I love Persona but I'm glad it seems to have turned out really well.
@sikthvash @Cloud39472 Just on the topic of the Pros / Cons, they're not necessarily of an equal weight. So Metaphor's Cons aren't really a huge deal when taking the whole game into account — the Pros outweigh them by a lot, if that makes sense.
The Pros and Cons are really just there to give you a summary of the review. So if a game's got a lot of Cons but still a really high score, then it's basically saying that the Cons don't drag the game down to any significant degree.
@Jedihillis Hmmm, I suppose it depends on what you're looking for in the story, but Metaphor picks up quite a bit after where the demo ends and you're given more of a narrative purpose.
I'd say it's a well paced plot overall, but if isn't quite resonating with you from the start, it's hard to say whether it'll hook you later, or whether it'll keep you hooked throughout.
It might be best to watch a chunk of a playthrough on YouTube or something, just so you get an idea of how things go story-wise. At least then you can make a more informed decision.
@ShogunRok Sure, I understand that. I guess they just sound like big negatives, dull dungeons and repetitive enemies have been big problems in other games for me. It's all subjective though. The early game is fantastic and I just hope that carries all the way through.
@johncalmc it a game on ps only thing Xbox had was marketing rights
@ShogunRok Thx! I will wait and see if they fix it. Destroys the feeling for me. Played the demo on Series X also, and it was better in that version.
I thought this was suppose to be one of the worst gaming generations ever, and this year had no games.
we had 3 bangers in less than a month with astro bot, silent hill 2 remake and now metaphor. I cant keep up at this point Dx
@ShogunRok Does the Platinum require more than one playthrough like Persona 5?
I’m definitely going for it but want to know what I’m getting myself into.
@johncalmc It’s not an Xbox game, Xbox just had the advertising rights.
@HeeHo Yep, there are a couple of Trophies specifically that can only be unlocked on NG+.
@ShogunRok Hi Robert. Great review as always. Sorry if this has been asked already but would you still recommend this game to someone who has been struggling to enjoy anime tropes in JRPG stories recently? I find the writing style to be very bloated and predictable, with poor pacing. I found the demo to be a real slog and was calling out plot twists hours before they happened. Is this something I could expect for most of the main game as well or does it start to deviate from typical anime writing and becomes more original? Thank you!
EDIT: For context, I enjoyed the writing in SMT V: Vengeance and Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes, but really disliked the way story, pacing, and themes were handled on Persona 3 Reload.
@ShogunRok thank you for that response! I'll keep playing the demo and see where it goes and then maybe do what you suggest and take a look at the videos. Appreciate it!
What a year for Japan. Rebirth, Reload, Infinite Wealth, Erdtree, Astrobot, and now Metaphor. Absolutely keeping the industry afloat.
Persona 3 Reload looks a lot better going on the demo. This will be wait and see for DLC or new version
Looks fantastic, but I can't justify 100 hours for a while. Ive been playing persona 3 on and off for 2 years, it's so long
@ShogunRok Thank you, I appreciate the feedback!
@Rich33 didn't chug in my demo play through, the whole thing was buttery smooth
Medieval Persona, basically. Feels like a throwback to the older games when there was more of a focus on challenging gameplay and dark, compelling stories over social simulation. It's fantastic so far. Really looking forward to playing through this during the remainder of the year.
@Jayslow Japanese developers are why I stay a gamer.
@tabris95 Hmmm, that's a tough one. For me, Metaphor avoids a lot of the more cliched writing you'd find in modern JRPGs because of its fantasy setting, and it does subvert expectations every now and then.
But if you really didn't like what was in the demo, I'm not sure whether the full game will change your mind. Obviously it expands on things quite a lot, and the stakes are raised — and you get to meet many more characters — but the style of storytelling and dialogue tone is very much representative of the full game.
Again, I do think the story goes in some really interesting directions to the point where it becomes quite unpredictable, but you personally might still find it to be underwhelming.
I think based on what you've said, I'd wait until it's on sale and then consider jumping in. Or maybe you could look up some playthroughs on YouTube etc., to see whether upcoming story beats catch your eye.
But yeah, overall, if you found the demo to be a slog, I'm not sure I could recommend the full game. The demo's obviously quite limited in scope, but you can probably already tell how the wider game will feel.
Counting down the days for my collectors edition to arrive. Been keen on this game for so long it feels surreal to actually be watching a tracking number.
Got it pre-ordered, knew Atlus would nail it.
@tameshiyaku
The reviewer here says 'some chugging frame rates' and its a common complaint for the demo - its possible you cannot see framerate issues until they get bad enough as peoples perception varies greatly - some find 30fps fine, others 40fps, others like myself find anything much under 60fps to be complete no-go territory (even then 60fps is not what i would classify as 'buttery smooth' ).
Edit: i have no idea what caused an emoji to be placed but ive got rid of it now.
Glad it's reviewing well. I'm interested, but other games are keeping me busy right now, so this may be one for the wishlist. Plus, it's Atlus, so there's always the possibility of it getting a definitive edition or an expansion by the time I get around to playing this.
@ShogunRok RIP my free time.
Thanks for the answer and review😀
@Rich33
I consider not being able to withstand little hiccups in a game to be such a privileged 1st world problem that I always laugh when the inevitable complaints are filed in the comments.
"30 frames per second? I would rather die!"
"Chugging framerates? Uuuuuuuuunplayable!"
I am not telling you to change, just know how funny it is to someone with entirely other (gaming) problems.
I can't get enough of the proloque/demo. So looking forward to this!
@johncalmc is in the PushSquare towers playing sarcasm @HeeHo @C25CLOUD
I liked what I played in the demo, and the game seemed to run pretty decently on my PC, but I'll definitely wait on getting it since there's so much releasing at this time.
Banger after banger. Sadly, I'll be missing out on this for a few months but will definitely pick it up in the future. I've already decided on Silent Hill 2 Remake for this month since it's a perfect Halloween game
I'm buying the game no matter what. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the main character resembles way too much the persona three character and I know that was done deliberately. I'm not interested in seeing him in a newer game unless it was a direct sequel. Plus in P3 he was kind of a boring, so hopefully he's got a better personality.
I really struggled with Persona 5 so I just dropped out of the Atlus phase. I might pop back in for this and give the genre another go.
@ShogunRok This is great advice. Thanks for the reply. Getting old with changing interests is hard! 😅
Thought this was just ok untill I met the captain and that plotline started expanding. Probably getting it on sale.
@ShogunRok you ever felt tired (overwhelmed maybe)? you played P3&P4 remastered and P3R in a pretty short period and now Metaphor with a very similar structure. I'm talking about managing those social links and doing all those character activities and then suffering some of the most boring dungeons ever.
feels terrible even if you love these games.
If i didnt have so many work day trips that essentially put me a day behind coming up, would defintely be putting in that pto about now
@EfYI
I play games for the enjoyment, as probably do most people, unfortunately bad framerates (which for me is anything much under locked 60fps) literally kill any enjoyment in a game for me. I can tolerate small dips here and there, but much more than that is a no-go.
The thing is, you are looking at the problem from your own tolerance level, and as I have said in previous posts, people are very different - you are likely able to tolerate issues, but bad framerates or much less than 60fps literally gives me headaches and make me feel sick, and I cant get any enjoyment in that situation.
Therefore if i was scoring this game it would be an automatic 0 - I would actually get more enjoyment out of a 60fps locked game that was only worth a score of say 5, limited as it may be.
This is not as uncommon as you might think (and even today some do not understand what is causing their problems), and it is only exascerbated by newer TVs, and maybe age, exposure etc - it has certainly got worse for me.
The problem being that some people still believe that it is a case of 'I dont like' rather than 'I cannot tolerate' .
So, "Uuuuuuuuunplayable" - Yes, "30 frames per second? I would rather die!" - No, thats a little ridiculous, but completely unenjoyable, Yes.
The other point is that framerates like this are completely uneccessary on PS5, and usually down to Devs ambitions exceeding their ability, or poor/lacking optimisation (which may well be down to publishers forcing out games) - we have had many examples of games that look very good that easily when uncapped (with 120hz VRR) run at around or in excess of 80fps most of the time.
Thats why we usually get 2 modes - 'Performance" should be 60fps, and sacrifice everything needed to achieve that, 'Graphics' on the other hand should be the opposite, and is for those that dont care about framerates.
@CthulhuFhtagn Haha, thankfully Metaphor feels different enough to Persona in terms of atmosphere and tone that it didn't really feel like I was reviewing the same game again.
But yeah I've reviewed a lot of long RPGs this year and it does start to grind you down. It's important to take breaks and play something different if you can!
I am excited to play it!
@Rich33
Maybe all you need are glasses and 10 minutes break every hour.
Some experts will tell you that the human eye can see between 30 and 60 frames per second. Some maintain that it’s not really possible for the human eye to perceive more than 60 frames per second. Therefore, I find it puzzling that so many are maintaining that they can't enjoy less than 60. I struggle to find it credible. However, another source (how-to-geek) will tell you that some people will tell you they feel a difference.
I started playing games before Playstation even existed - we didn't get sick or complain at all. No one did. But maybe it has to do with transitioning to 3D. I remember a game dev saying that making the screen look right when the player was running was extremely important in not creating nausea.
Would love to play it day one. If I could just clone myself to finish Trails through Daybreak, Paper Mario TTYD and Reynatis before that.
@ShogunRok
I have read that the Dub is so good it should be played in English. I usually play with subs for JRPGs but if the dub is as good as some say should I change?
@MikeOrator I played the vast majority of the game with the Japanese dub and found it to be fantastic.
However, from what I've heard of the English dub, it's very, very high quality. Most of the characters have regional British accents and it's perfect for the script, like the Dragon Quest games. The only sticking point I have is with the protagonist and his fairy companion, who have American accents, and it definitely stands out compared to everyone else.
Overall though, I don't think you can go wrong with either dub. The Japanese version is more "safe" if you're used to playing games with a Japanese dub, but the English dub deserves a lot of praise for how varied and authentic it is.
With those cons, I really thought it would've been a lower score but it seems like that the pros far outweigh it which is good to see. Hopefully those cons don't deter me away from finishing it. This was one of my most anticipated games this year and it's doing quite well on Metacritic so I hope I have a lot of fun with this game
@EfYI
120Hz TVs (or higher in the case of monitors) would not exist if Humans could not see above 60fps - and I can assure you, I can see well above - I still see 60fps with a slideshow like effect, which disappears somewhere around 90fps, but I can still see an improvement in 120fps over 90fps, albeit more minor. Most PC owners im sure will agree.
I think im right in saying that VR devices try to target 90fps.
Glasses / break - at my last eye test my sight was found to be as 'close to perfect as they had seen in anyone in the last year' except 1 small floater. In terms of a break, the effect is near instant - it can be about 1 minute on the feeling sick front, and less than 5 minutes for headaches, though this will depend on how bad the framerate is.
3D is a possibility, but CRT TVs dont seem to cause the issue anywhere near as much, if at all - its also worth noting that 60fps is not a new thing though i cant remember the point we went down to 30fps.
Also, with the lack of information and education before around 10ish years ago, most who suffered these problems just didnt know what caused it and I would include myself in that - some still dont.
A less technically minded (casual gamer) friend of mine a year or so ago said that a game was giving them a headache, they thought due to flashing images or something - i looked at it and found the performance option as they were playing in graphics mode or whatever it was called in that game - problem solved. They didnt have a clue about modes before that and just used the default.
@ShogunRok thanks for the review, I am genuinely curious what you mean when you're talking about like the time constraints or something about days and then a looming time deadline or something. This isn't like cynicism or my typical critiquing what deserves to be critiqued type comment here Iactually just don't quite understand what you were trying to say that aspect of it was.
Is there an actual like time restraint or looming countdown in order to do objectives or are there side quests and or is it just streamlined into this checkpoint/way Point type gameplay Loop dictated by a timeline framed as a matter of in game "days"?
Sounds great but my backlog is stacked. Will wait for the Royal/Vengeance/Golden/ version.
How much I hate that Atlus practice....
I just played and really enjoyed the demo, so I will be getting this. I will, however, wait a few years until Atlus has released three or four new versions of the game, all with different additional content
@Rich33
Kudos to your eye health!
You have me convinced - it is a big problem, makes sense you prioritize it. I am lucky to be less discerning in this particular regard🙃
Considering Atlus's poor track record in portraying gay people (and how they treat women too), I'm curious if this game follows in the same tradition. Are there any gay characters? Are they portrayed as creepy predators again? Or did they simply erase them from the world? I'm only gonna buy this game if they have corrected that.
@KundaliniRising333 It's the same system as you'll find in the Persona games. Basically, the game takes place across a day-to-day calendar (this one stretches several months). Some days are just dedicated to story beats — so it'll just be dialogue and events and then you move to the next day.
But many of the days are shaped by your actions. If you go to a dungeon, that's one day. If you go hang out with a Follower, that's half a day — and so on. But these free days are ultimately limited in number, because the next story beat is going to happen on a set date.
So it's essentially about managing the time that you're given within the confines of the game. Your time is limited, but it's more of a structural thing than an actual time limit, if that makes sense. It's not like there's some clock that's constantly ticking away as you play — the calendar is there to keep the story moving along at set intervals.
Your second paragraph is pretty accurate in that sense.
@Jayslow Don't forget SMT V: Vengeance!
@ShogunRok gotcha thanks.
Oh boy, I still have to get through P3R, P5 Strikers, Soul Hackers 2, SMTV, all of which are barely started, but this is the one and only game I'm almost tempted to pay (near) full price for. The demo hooked me way more than I thought it would, and the glowing reviews make it so much more enticing. With the install size of this my Ally is loaded with nothing but an array of Atlus games at this point, lol.
Japan really saved this current gen of games from being a total disaster
@NEStalgia I get you, my Ally is already overflowing with Atlus goodness.
I wasn't interested in this, and I've yet to play the demo, but thanks to the reviews I've read so far, I am certain I will get this before the end of the year.
@Doomcrow Truth!
@HarmanSmith Yeah, I wasn't expecting this to be such a huge hit with me. I knew I'd like it, it's Atlus, but I got so hooked on the demo I kind of want to play it before SMTV and P3R now.... IDK why, but it just has that right mix of magic like SMTIV and P5 did that keeps me playing. It doesn't have the character charm of a Persona game, but somehow there's a kinetic flow to progressing through that makes it, from the demo, really addicting.
Any other non-Atlus game with those cons would have been given a 7 or 8 at best...
there was never any doubt in my mind that this game would turn out great with all the talent behind it. i'm a bit stunned by the lack of interest from the persona community, however. had no idea that such fans could close themselves in a box like that and not pay attention to a new, fresh IP that was planned entirely by ex persona members!
it's a little disappointing that the dungeon design can be bland in some areas since that was arguably the weakest aspect of the persona games as well. the performance and graphical issues don't bother me so much since this game was clearly designed and intended to be released on the ps4 long ago — delays brought it into the current gen and they decided not to take advantage of ps5's power. if you want a cleaner presenation for the ps5 port, wait for the "complete" edition in 12-18 months time.
congrats to the studio zero team for delivering on this long delayed project. currently sitting at 93 on open critic which should put it in the RPG of the year discussions with the possibility of establishing itself as a new tenpole IP for atlus.
Would the Pro alleviate these graphics and performance issues?
OK, look.
Persona 3 Reload. SMT V: Vengeance. Metaphor: ReFantazio. Unicorn Overlord. LAD: Infinite Wealth.
Sega is unquestionably the publisher of the year (fully counting Atlus as Sega, since they're a subsidiary).
@ShogunRok
Thank you for the answer. I may need to switch back and forth until I find the right vibe. But I will probably stick with the Japanese voice acting.
Atlus simply doesn't miss. I'm not done with the demo yet but I can already tell this game is so up my alley. As exceptional as ever Studio Zero!
@Nei Say what!? Do share...
Maybe I am bias, but the english voice acting is rough.
@AaronElWhite without spoiling too much, you can inherit abilities from another archetype: the last ability you get for the healer at rank 20 is regeneration at the start of each turns and it really mixes in well with the brawler archetype, a class that uses HP for its special skills. Of course this will have you farming exp, if you want to do it in the demo, but I got addicted
I'm stoked for future me, who picks up the finished game in a year.
@Ralizah yeah, yeah... and then they'll go and spoil it all by releasing Sonic, lol.
Can´t wait to play it. I´m excited to see where the soundtrack will go later in the game
@EfYI If you get the chance, try just casually browsing on a phone or desktop with a 120 Hz screen. It´s not really something you just "see" but actually feel. 60 is fine but 120 is so ungodly smooth, it just feels premium.
I want this so bad but I think Atlus burned me one too many times... I can already see the RE-Election Edition in a years time being a thing...
While this does look decent, I've been put off almost every other Persona-style game by all the various DLC/GOTY update versions and remasters for previous games (most of which are spread across different versions, so there's never a single definitive version) that I can't in good conscience invest 100 hours into something only for them to announce some extra episode later on that requires re-buying/re-playing the whole thing again.
Nice, I'll play this of course since I love jrpg, between atlus and squareenix jrpg players is getting a lot of good stuff this gen
Very much looking forward to Metaphor. Thanks for the review.
@Porco What makes you think the Persona community isn't interested? Seems to borrow enough from Persona that I'd also be surprised if they weren't.
Though I also get a lot of persona fans love it because of it's very unique feel and theme and social sim mishmash, and might not be interested in a traditional high fantasy theme just because it has similar mechanics if it's the environment and sim aspect that draws them in. This game is definitely a lot more DDS/SMT/Devil Survivor-fan oriented in feel and tone, but with a lot of Persona gameplay systems.
@Ralizah SEGA has been publisher of the year since 1985.
@NEStalgia "This game is definitely a lot more DDS/SMT/Devil Survivor-fan oriented in feel and tone"
I knew exactly who they were aiming for the moment an enemy blocked my elemental skill and it erased two of my turns.
In terms of how there's no demon system, but full press turn, it feels closest to DDS to me. Just with a LOT of Persona structuring and stylizing to it.
Atlus is on fire this year. I feel like I'm back in the PS2 era where they just regularly dropped absolute bangers throughout the generation.
@NEStalgia it is somewhat speculative on my part, but compared to persona 5 and its lead up to launch, i just did not see the same level of anticipation with metaphor (generally speaking) on social media. i have no doubt that persona fans will like the game as well, but i am not convinced there is as much crossover within the community as there should be. maybe its due to the major shift in setting? the highschool/student life aspect is completely gone here. in my opinion that is a good thing — we've seen that 4 times now (including persona 1) so a fresh take on it was warranted. of course, sales will tell the story. i'll be impressed if manages to sell even 50% of persona 5's 9m copies.
@Ralizah Yeah, I think that's a little bit of why I seem to like it so much. Much as I love Persona and SMT, I've always had a soft spot for DDS/SH. Monster collecting can become a chore after soooo many games. Which reminds me I still only got 25% into SH2....I actually picked it up again the other day and forgot how fun it was, but I only picked it up to refresh myself because I need to delete it and probably armored core, and probably something else to fit the SSD hog that is Metaphor on my Ally.
@Porco To be fair, a ver long awaited fifth entry of a beloved franchise that hadn't seen a new entry since the PS2(!!)(unless you count the Vita remake of P4 - console port was after P5) was naturally going to have a much bigger fanfare than a brand new IP from the same devs after a glut of P5 and P3 goodness no matter what series it is. Combine that with some people definitely liking Persona specifically because of its super unique setting of high school slice of life that may not be as attracted to a "traditional" high fantasy RPG, I think the reception is where I'd expect it to be. It's going to draw a more "nerdcore" SMT/DDS/Standard JRPG audience that may not like Persona, and it's going to draw some Persona fans looking for a new thing from the same devs, but there's going to be a gap there. TBH, despite the Persona trappings added, like Ralizah and I were talking about the actual game is very much more oriented toward the SMT and DDS fanbase than the Persona fanbase. Which has always been much smaller (I.E. you'll see more overlap in terms of gameplay and theme appeal from the SMTV and SH2 fans than from the P5 fans that don't already like SMT and SH/DDS.
It's weird with all the nuianced sub-series that come from SMT, how different the games, and its fans, are from one another despite on the surface all seeming extremely similar with variations of press turn/once more/etc.
After all, Persona until P5 was branded as SMT, but there's surprisingly little overlap among fans. There's "Atlus" fans and "Persona" fans, and while most Atlus fans are also Persona fans, Persona definitely has it's own fandom much larger than the core Atlus fandom that likes all their games.
Working FOR it for persona fans: A lot of similar systems, some time management, a lot of familiar structure.
Working AGAINST it for Persona fans: It's a "traditional" high fantasy, much more serious tone, theme and art style instead of wacky/fun/funny Persona, Much less life sim even though it does have time management aspects,
I think the school setting is what sells its appeal. Not many games are light hearted comedy type games despite its serious tones, Persona rarely takes itself seriously, and I think the rarity of that in gaming is a big part of its appeal. Metaphor isn't nearly as grimdark as always-postapocalyptic hellscape SMT, and as noir, eve of apocalypse as DDS/SH, but it's still a "traditional" "serious" game I think more in line with SMT/DDS fandoms, which, sadly, have always been way smaller than Persona at least since PS2 (Don't tell Nocturne fans )
@Tsushima P3R looks so much better, not sure how that happened
Overall, I found Metaphor plays fine on PS5, but since I have the choice, I decided to get it on PC. I can get a solid 4k 60fps smoothness, so if you have a decent rig and don't want to have any issues with stuttering, PC is the way to go for this one.
Until Dawn is actually the opposite right now! I bought it on Steam and had to refund it because it looked like trash, the framerate was horrible, and there was a strange blur thing happening that made the game unplayable. I refunded it and got it on PS5. Though there are some quirks on the PS5 version, it is significantly better looking and smoother than the PC version right now.
pure xbox gave it a 10 and said no performance issues so they both cant be right about performance?
@NEStalgia true, but don't forget that metaphor (former working title: project re fantasy) was officially announced in the fall of 2016, right after persona 5 launched, giving it plenty of time to grow its own levels of anticipation. considering the success of p5, people were very excited about project re fantasy right off the bat. but after a teaser trailer a year later, the project went radio silent for years... i think many people moved on, completely forgot that this game existed or weren't aware of it in the first place. i bet many "casual" p5 fans don't even know that metaphor is created by the same core team. yes, the change in setting is definitely going to divide some of the persona community which could hamper sales to some extent. if metaphor manages to sell 5m copies, that will likely be considered a success for atlus all the same, especially for a new IP. they might even bring in some new players who are attracted to metaphor specifically because it is set in a fantasy world and not in another contemporary highschool.
Great review, thank you! Had a lot of confidence in this game from the beginning, very happy to see it already doing so well.
@Porco True, even as a huge Atlus-fan I more or less forgot the existence of re fantasy until metaphor dropped out of thin air. I doubt the Persona-only fandom was more plugged into that than myself as a dyed in the wool Atlus faithful.
So far it seems Metaphor is doing great. It's always hard to tell though if the launch sales are the bulk of the sales with all those "in the know" couldn't wait and everyone else isn't interested, but I feel like with games these days the word of mouth factor is what really drives them more than "launch day hype." The good games, people talk about, and sales keep coming.
@johnedwin Could just be that it plays better on Xbox, which would make both of them right, but haven’t seen a comparison.
Enjoyed the demo really good at keeping you engaged dialogue wise and interesting class based Archetype system. But I feel like I can wait a while since I got a lot on my plate game wise. I feel like so far it's like a 8.0-8.7 from what i've played.
I expect there be a game of the year or enhanced edition.
That demo was super boring. The main character did no favors in making me want to play as him throughout the whole game. The combat was plain and boring, I don't understand the hype for this game.
Can't wait to sit down tonight with a bucket of chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of lemonade and crank this game on for the first time. Going to be one for the ages boys
How accessible is this game for people who are completely cold/new to the ATLUS portfolio? I've never played the Persona/SMT titles, but Metaphor has really piqued my interest.
I'd never played a CRPG until last year (BG3) so I am definitely open to new genres.
But equally, I'm conscious that the game might take for granted that the player is reasonably fluent with other ATLUS mechanics/systems?
@Magatsuhi the MC has all the personality of an NPC. 100 hours controlling this man? No thanks.
Atlus are having a blast of a year with Persona 3 Reload, Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance and Unicorn Overlord (Technically developed by Vanillaware, but Atlus was also involved)!
Metaphor is gradually becoming my game of the year so far.
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