I’m not sure what I expected out of Metaphor: ReFantazio but after the demo, I’m all in.
In fact, I was all in shortly after booting up the roughly five-hour demo. It drops you into a world rich with lore and rife with commentary on prejudice and discrimination.
Players quickly learn what’s at stake and what kind of flawed world you are fighting for fairly quickly. The best part? That all happens before you even engage in battle.
Metaphor: ReFantazio seems to be a story-first game that takes a lot of care in crafting its world. Atlus’ work pays off and you just scratch the surface in the early goings.
As you work your way through the demo, you’ll see what else makes this game special, particularly the combat. Aside from the story, the combat was the demo’s biggest strength.
Turn-based combat gets a knock these days, but Metaphor: ReFantazio has streamlined a fast-paced system that even incorporates action-based combat features. That all works together into a unique yet familiar form of combat.
I should disclose that I have not played a Persona game so I can’t make the comparison. That said, I have read many impressions that say this game takes the best of Persona and puts it in a fantasy world.
Metaphor: ReFantazio felt like it flew under the radar for most of the year. It had plans to release later in 2024 and it stuck it. Still, it caught me by surprise that it was releasing so soon (Oct. 11).
Fans of JRPGs will not want to sleep on this one. It may even appeal to those who aren’t typical RPG players. A big reason for that is the story and world it has developed.
As mentioned at the beginning, it only took five minutes for this game to hook me and that was largely because of the world. Few games have done that.
The most recent one to grip me so early because of its world was Scarlet Nexus. That game offered many of the similar world-building elements on display in Metaphor thought it left me wanting more.
Metaphor: ReFantazio doesn’t seem like it will have that problem since it is already slated to be a beefy game that runs upwards of 60-plus hours. If you’re going to spend that much time in a world, it should be good.
If you’re on the fence at all about Metaphor: ReFantazio, I implore you to check out the demo. You will get a great overview of the RPG and may fall in love with it quickly.
Sega and Atlus have quietly put together a phenomenal year of releases with Metaphor: ReFantazio capping it off. What better way to send out 2024 than with a deep, epic, and thought-provoking RPG that should keep you busy for quite some time.
What about you? Have you tried the Metaphor: ReFantazio demo? What are your thoughts on it? What has stood out to you the most about it? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Atlus (via Bonus Action)
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