2024 has been a year filled with great games so far, but Metaphor: ReFantazio is arguably one of the best among them. This turn-based JRPG from Persona developer Atlus received a widespread positive reception when it came out in October and, according to review aggregators like OpenCritic and Metacritic, garnered perfect 10/10 scores from more than 25 outlets. Metaphor: ReFantazio's critical success can be attributed to its lengthy, 8-year development time and the talent it had behind it. Persona 5 director Katsura Hashino, character designer Shigenori Soejima, and composer Shoji Meguro were all heavily involved in the production of the game.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is, in a way, a culmination of everything Atlus is known for. It features stunning UIs, impressive art direction, engaging characters, tactical battle systems, and thought-provoking themes. Although it does take cues from some of Atlus' prior works, such as Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and even Etrian Odyssey, Metaphor: ReFantazio still manages to distinguish itself from its predecessors instead of being just a mere reskin. That being said, the game isn't perfect and can use more fine-tuning in some areas. Its calendar system, for instance, is bizarrely missing a quality-of-life feature that's present in one of Atlus's most iconic games, Persona 5 Royal.
How Metaphor: ReFantazio's Combat Features Strike the Perfect Balancing Act
Metaphor: ReFantazio strikes a balance between challenge and accessibility with its myriad combat features, encouraging mastery of its mechanics.
Metaphor: ReFantazio's Calendar System Lacks a Helpful Feature from Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal is a Re-Release That Makes Some Major Changes to the Base Game
For those who are out of the loop, Persona 5 Royal is an enhanced edition of the original Persona 5, akin to other Atlus re-releases like Persona 4 Golden, Persona 3 FES, and the more recent Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. The fifth numbered installment in the Persona franchise initially launched on September 15, 2016, in Japan as a PlayStation console exclusive. P5R, meanwhile, came out on the PS4 in Japan in October 2019, before ultimately receiving an international release in March 2020.
Most re-releases these days tend to bundle in previously-released DLCs and minor pieces of content without making significant changes to the game they're based on. Persona 5 Royal, however, wasn't a traditional re-release. This version of the critically-acclaimed JRPG not only added over 30 hours of important story content to the original Persona 5, but it also overhauled some of its gameplay systems, in addition to making some small tweaks here and there. One of the more well-received adjustments in Persona 5 Royal is the one related to the game's free time mechanic.
Persona 5 Royal Gives Players More Free Time After Completing Dungeons
Like the previous mainline entries in the series, Persona 5 takes place entirely during a single calendar year. Each in-game day is broken up into two activity slots, one for daytime and one for nighttime. In between major story events, players are given some free time in P5 so they can take part in miscellaneous activities, like brewing coffee, completing social links, and studying for school. In the original Persona 5, spending time in a dungeon took up both of the activity slots on any given day. This was changed in Persona 5 Royal, so that even after completing a dungeon during the day, players could still take part in other activities at night before going to sleep.
Metaphor: ReFantazio's Omission of Persona 5 Royal's Quality-of-Life Feature is Disappointing
Strangely, Metaphor: ReFantazio does not include this useful improvement from Persona 5 Royal. Although it also features a Persona-style calendar system and a day-night mechanic, the game does not give gamers the freedom to read books, cook food, or perform other side activities after traveling through a dungeon. The only instance this isn't the case is when players set up camp near a dungeon at nighttime and resume their dungeon exploration in the morning. For the most part, Metaphor: ReFantazio provides gamers with ample free time throughout most of its in-game year, but the fact that dungeons are so restrictive in this regard is nonetheless disappointing, especially considering that Persona 5 Royal had already fixed this issue.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 93 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- October 11, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Studio Zero
- Publisher(s)
- Atlus
- Engine
- GFD
- Number of Players
- 1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
WHERE TO PLAY
From the creative minds behind Persona 3, 4, and 5 comes Metaphor: ReFantazio, a unique fantasy world, where your protagonist will journey alongside his fairy companion, Gallica, to lift the curse from the kingdom’s lost prince.
Control your destiny, face your fears, and awaken magical Archetype powers that lie dormant in your heart. By awakening to an Archetype, you will unlock the power to channel and combine the abilities of unique job classes. Strengthen your bonds and build your party to take down powerful foes and discover the kingdom’s true nature.
- PC Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- How Long To Beat
- 65 Hours
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 104 hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 81.15 GB
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
