Metaphor: ReFantazio Review (PS5) – ATLUS has undoubtedly had one of their busiest years in 2024, and the release of Metaphor: ReFantazio marks an explosive conclusion to what was already a bumper year for them.
Being their first foray into high fantasy and moving away from the more urban settings of Persona and recent Shin Megami Tensei games, a lot was riding on Metaphor to prove that fantasy could work for the publisher in the same way.
And while this game shares DNA with Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, Metaphor is an entirely unique beast that frankly puts some of their other games to shame, especially with its narrative.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a triumph in every sense of the word and lives up to the scrutiny of an audience that is still waiting on Persona 6 with baited breath.
Metaphor: ReFantazio Review (PS5) – Time Marches On
A New Venture
It’s hard to properly state just how revolutionary Metaphor: ReFantazio feels. ATLUS have once again succeeded and made a game that demonstrates the very best of the genre in a totally new light, and in a way that smartly takes their strengths and brings them to a brand new flavour of fantasy.
Moving away from the distinctly urban recent entries of Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, Metaphor goes all in on steampunk high fantasy and soars in doing so.
The foundations of ATLUS’ other generational work fits like a glove here and is smartly adapted to fit a far more ambitious story in terms of sheer scope and moving parts.
For a story all about the tensions of a political race and the changing conditions of that race, the returning time progression system from Persona is given a new lease on life and manages to succeed in a totally different framework. The same is true for the other returning elements from other ATLUS games, that each take on new significance in Metaphor.
Forging relationships with your followers feels like it has a tangible impact on your own campaign, which goes double for completing the various requests around the towns that you visit. Even if progress is tied directly to your story, seeing your stats and rankings steadily increase really feeds back into the overall story.
This is all to say that – Metaphor stands tall and proud as a distinct third pillar to ATLUS’ major RPG series and is shoulder-to-shoulder with its siblings. These shared foundations allow for Metaphor to go off in more adventurous directions for the finer details, and it’s these finer details that help to set Metaphor apart as a landmark title for RPGs and one of the very best that I’ve had the pleasure of playing.
An Adventure of Grand Scope
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a game that doesn’t shy away from exploring real-life issues within the fantasy framework, and manages to do so with a shocking amount of eloquence and tact.
The plot of political assassination and plots for the throne is one that rings eerily accurately during our own turbulent political episode, and Metaphor pulls no punches in exploring the very real thought processes that contribute to such political dogma.
Following the assassination of the King, Metaphor’s story begins with your named protagonist leading the charge on an operation to kill the assassin – throne competitor Louis Guiabern. This simple premise invites a twisting and turning story that is stuffed full of compelling and interesting characters from both sides of the coin.
One of the most interesting aspects of Metaphor’s story is just how much time is spent dedicated to properly exploring its antagonists and their motivations. Despite some of these villains being among the most despicable individuals I’ve come across in ATLUS’ work, they were never mindless.
In the fairness of keeping these a surprise, there’s only so much I can really dig into here, but I was consistently floored by how phenomenally well these characters are written. There’s a fine balance between well-established motivation and downright forgiving a villain for their misdeeds. Metaphor fantastically treads the line and gives us some complex characters, and my favourites are still on my mind long after rolling credits.
Beyond this, the more fantastical elements of a utopian novel and the monstrous “humans” provide enough of a tangible threat and intrigue that combine well with the consistent layered political one that both camps will be satisfied by the story here.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t jokes though. While Metaphor does explore both sides of the conflict, it doesn’t waste time exploring meaningless political hot air. The candidate who so loudly proclaims that the young should be taxed because of their disrespect to their elders is played (rightfully) as a joke. There’s a real awareness of what schools of thought are worth thinking about here and it’s done with poise.
A Journey Full of Character
Beyond this basic premise, the cast of characters you interact with throughout the country-wide venture is one of the most well-rounded casts I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in any RPG.
There isn’t a weak link in your main party, with everybody contributing their own motivations and wonderful moments throughout. Even in the early hours, there’s a connection between the characters that I’ve not felt before – only helped by the industry-standard voicework here.
As your first major party member, Strohl is your stalwart “buddy” character akin to Junpei, Yosuke and Ryuji from recent Persona games. Despite this parallel, Strohl is a strong and earnest character who is a voice of reason even to the end. I could very easily talk about every major party member here – and would love to – but doing that would take away your own experience. I was consistently surprised by how resonant these characters were and just how sympathetic their stories were.
Metaphor plays with familiar archetypes and invites new discussion in the nuance of their stories. The gruff older member of your party is complemented by an incredible exploration of grief and overcoming the anger of the past, another explores the pressure of performance and the tension between obligation and self-expression.
Each one of the bonds that you nurture feels very well thought out and manages to explore a new wrinkle of an incredibly detailed world.
Metaphor also avoids the issue of introducing characters too late into the story, which was an issue with Persona 5. Every character is given plenty of time to breathe and I could definitely see people’s favourites being diverse.
Exploring Your Options
When not fostering relationships with your comrades, much of Metaphor is spent delving into a varied lineup of dungeons with unique approaches to monster design and combat scenarios. Combat in Metaphor borrows liberally from its siblings but brings its own flavour to the table, which is wholly fresh and engaging in its own right.
The press-turn system from Shin Megami Tensei makes a return and functions the same. Attacking weaknesses gives your team more actions, whereas attacking enemies with resistances or even immunities can end your turn prematurely.
Where Metaphor really begins to dig into its own territory is in the Archetype system – a new iteration of the classic job system that has been a fan-favourite method of party composition for eons.
As you meet and develop relationships across the course of the game, you gain access to an increasing volume of “archetypes” to study and use in combat. These range from the standard “warrior,” “knight,” and “thief” which are a staple of the genre, before branching out into some more abstract areas.
The “Faker” lineage is one built around de-buffs and inflicting ailments, where the “Commander” lineage is one built on changing party formation and buffing them during the process.
Each archetype has its place and there was never a point where I felt like one was outright replacing another, outside of later archetypes in the same lineage. There’s a focus on the interplay between the various archetypes, with the ability to lend skills between various archetypes as you swap. The result is a system that is deeply flexible and open to experimentation, and I loved messing around with various builds.
Where Strohl may begin as your heavyweight bruiser in the early game, you may consider having him invest in some magic-based skills to increase his versatility and potential to capitalise on weaknesses.
You might also choose to have him invest in a defensive archetype in order to bulk a glass cannon out into an all-out tank. No options are bad options and Metaphor encourages you to stop and swap liberally.
Combat also takes a more action-focused angle, allowing you to defeat lower-level enemies on the field without having to waste resources in turn-based combat. This was a great marker for your strength and progression through a dungeon and gave a tangible reward for you engaging with the combat and offering you advantages across the board.
While early progression can feel quite slow, by the end of the journey I was easily able to max out and perfectly craft my party into what I wanted them to be, with each member filling a particular role.
Every pain point that could arise in a system like this has been smartly predicted and addressed ahead of time, making for an experience that – once it started moving – was full of surprise and excitement.
It’s All About The Journey
If it wasn’t already clear, travel is a key theme of Metaphor. Compared to Persona’s typically more intimate and limited scope, Metaphor spans an entire nation in the middle of conflict, with an incredible variety of sights to see across a variety of settlements. These range from fully explorable hubs of activity to more limited areas to shop and buy key items – with some incredibly gorgeous art as your reward.
There’s more to travel than just set-dressing, it ties directly into gameplay and progression as the story develops. From your hub town, you can receive requests from villagers or take on bounties for rewards, which require you to travel for in-game days at a time to reach a destination.
These smaller combat encounters fill the time between major deadlines and are fun distractions that offer great incentives, with how pricey equipment can be.
There’s no wasted time in traveling, you’re still free to talk to your party and develop your social stats as you would do otherwise. You can also cook curative food, gain permanent stat buffs, even do your laundry.
You’re left to your own devices as to how you spend the days between big missions. The expanded scope of Metaphor may not expand your options in real terms compared to Persona, but the bigger scale certainly felt weightier compared to what came before.
To ease pressure for newer players, it’s possible to check online and see what other players are spending their time doing in order to give you a nudge in the right direction. This feature has been a staple since Persona 5 and it’s seemingly stable inclusion is a great bit of functionality that doesn’t get in the way of purist players.
For the first time, this functionality also extends to combat layouts, as you can select a party that has beaten the current mission and see the archetypes being used. You can set the game to copy one of these party formations as close as it can, dependent on your own progress.
These additional bits of functionality signal a game that wants players to feel the comfort to experiment in their own experience, while not forcing players to go completely into the dark. While it’s easy to consult an online guide on optimal party setups, having an organic way to access this in-game is a great touch.
Ascending In Style
There’s a certain pedigree to the work put out by this team and it’s easy to say that Metaphor stands up to the standard of previous games from the developer.
Somehow managing to outdo themselves yet again, Metaphor is one of the most relentlessly stylised games we’ve seen in the mainstream in a long time. Jumping from games like Shin Megami Tensei V and Persona 5 once again speaks to this being a totally unique venture for the team.
Prior to release, presentations explored the minute detail that was considered when designing the architecture of Euchronia and the lives of the people that live within it and that painstaking dedication to detail is noticeable.
Characters are designed with classic European sensibilities in mind, from regalia to common clothing and the UI is full of bold blue and magenta to lean into that feeling of royalty.
Character designs are as expressive as always and full of distinct details that set each one apart in their appearance. The protagonist (as a more active player than in other ATLUS RPGs) has a brilliant design that has stuck with me for a long time, as well as the eccentricities of the rest of the team. This extends to monsters – that tow the line between typical fantasy fare and some frankly mortifying designs for some of the bosses.
Inspired by the works of Hieronymus Bosch, the “human” threat in Metaphor is horrific and a marvel to look at, even if it is in disgust. Sandworms with real faces in their mouths, eggs with faces, it’s all unsettling stuff and lends an otherworldly feel to Euchronia and the threats the team faces.
The standard monster designs may not square up to some of the more unique ones from other games but they certainly fit the world of the game.
The soundtrack is another incredible highlight that speaks to how versatile Shoji Meguro is as a composer, with an incredible score that’s wholly unlike anything I’ve heard in an RPG like this.
Jumping from the acid jazz of Persona 5, to the Esperanto-inspired music of Metaphor: ReFantazio feels impossible but this soundtrack is one that has well and truly ascended to something special in the annals of game music.
While I won’t be able to sing along to the battle theme from Metaphor like I can from Persona 5, I can definitely say that it lands with incredible force.
Characters themselves all have a subtle grain effect baked into their texture work, which is only noticeable during close encounters but these more fantastical designs clash brilliantly with the grotesque “humans” that form a central threat throughout the main story, outside of the race to the throne.
In animated cutscenes, these human threats are presented in an almost claymation style, compared to the stylised 2D animation of the main cast.
Succeeding Yourself
There are precious few things I can critique Metaphor: ReFantazio for, it truly feels like a labour of love in every possible way. Every moving part feels finely crafted to mesh perfectly with another system and it comes together in a brilliant harmony that had me trucking along all the way until the very end. Each twist on the long journey felt well forecasted, each character felt integral and each conflict felt earnt.
Every common pitfall in the genre is carefully sidestepped in favour of something brave and new. In an era where games are decried for daring to bear a political message in any sense, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a refreshing and downright shocking game in this era.
Where narratives are scrutinised in minute detail for no benefit, Metaphor places you in a world where it’s front and centre and navigates every issue with astonishing poise.
I was expecting a moment to stick with me, something to not land quite right. ATLUS have a history of not doing justice to certain groups when it comes to representation and with a topic like this – there was a real risk that something could have unintentionally slipped through the cracks, but no.
Every interaction and every character feels true. The way that even the main villains explain their motivations resonated in a way that simply speaks to the times that we’re living through right now.
For the sake of spoilers, these are issues I simply can’t even raise in this review – but they’re there. Metaphor doesn’t shy away from the most extreme aspects of our modern consumption of politics and it seems acutely aware of what it’s saying and when.
The fever, the drive and the extreme passion that come with topics like this is here and is here in spades. I found myself latching on to every line of dialogue towards the end, and I left feeling a sense of hope.
Not just for the world of Metaphor, but for us too. Truly sensational.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is now available on PS5 and PS4.
Review code generously provided by the publisher.