Metaphor: ReFantazio review

Our VerdictA beautiful, 100-hour-long journey from beginning to end, Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best elements of Persona 5 and somehow improves on them.

Our Verdict

A beautiful, 100-hour-long journey from beginning to end, Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best elements of Persona 5 and somehow improves on them.

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Need to knowWhat is it?A social simulator first and a turn-based RPG secondExpect to pay:£60/$70Developer:Studio ZeroPublisher:AtlusReviewed on:Ryzen 7 7700X, RTX 4080, 64GB RAMSteam Deck:PlayableMultiplayer?No, but has some limited online functionsLink:Official site

Need to know

What is it?A social simulator first and a turn-based RPG secondExpect to pay:£60/$70Developer:Studio ZeroPublisher:AtlusReviewed on:Ryzen 7 7700X, RTX 4080, 64GB RAMSteam Deck:PlayableMultiplayer?No, but has some limited online functionsLink:Official site

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve done nothing except live and breathe Metaphor: ReFantazio. At first this was so I could complete it in time for review: According to the game’s director, Metaphor is as long as Persona 5, a game that took some people 170 hours to complete. Unfortunately, Metaphor is not 170 hours long. According to my total play time it’s more like 110 hours if you do every last sidequest, major battle, and optional distraction.

I say unfortunately because I wish I could have stayed in Metaphor’s world for even longer than that.

Flight of fantasy

When I reviewedPersona 5 Tacticafor PC Gamer last year I said that its story overtook Persona 5 to become my favourite in the series. I’m now going to have to bump Tactica down to second place.

The overarching focus of Metaphor’s story is inequality. In the world of Euchronia, your race defines your class. As a result, racism isn’t just prevalent; it’s encouraged. The protagonist is an Elda, considered the lowest of the low, who vies to help a fair ruler take over as king and help oust those who’ve perpetuated the status quo.I initially thought this was a heavy-handed allegory, but it gets away with it for one reason. In the first hour of the game, you discover that the protagonist owns a forbidden book that describes a fantasy world—our reality—where everything is supposedly fair and equal. Although the book inspires the people you meet on your travels, I immediately understood that the version of our world they see as a beautiful ideal is intentionally inaccurate. Only you understand that the real world is a fantasy within a fantasy. It’s a clever bit of meta storytelling that both hooked me and filled me with dread from the offset: How can the protagonist realise his dream, when I’m the only one that knows he’s been sold a lie?

Out of all the groups of misfits that Atlus has produced, Metaphor’s quickly became my most beloved. Strohl, the first party member you meet, leaves a strong impression: A highborn noble cast into poverty is a great basis for a fantasy character, and I loved how he grew to be less uptight and more comfortable with slumming it as the story progressed. Although they may not be human in a literal sense, the people of Euchronia struggle with issues that struck me as genuine and relatable. I might not be a bat-like humanoid or an anthropomorphic dog, but I understand why someone would torture themselves over a mistake and I know what it feels like to lose a loved one.

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

At one point a character began crying and felt ashamed for doing so. Metaphor offered me a very simple choice; should I acknowledge their sadness in an attempt to help, or protect their self-esteem and pretend not to notice? Empathetic decisions are the norm in Metaphor, and I enjoyed the writing so much I was sad when it ended. Metaphor’s conclusion gave me the feeling of finishing a great book. I suddenly feel lost without it.

Split Persona-lity

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(Image credit: Atlus)(Image credit: Atlus)(Image credit: Atlus)(Image credit: Atlus)

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Meta-morphosis

Combat in general is a huge step up from Persona 5. Initiating turn-based battles is way more fun because instead of sneaking around and attempting to get the drop on your enemy, overworld combat in Metaphor is exactly that: combat. It’s akin to a basic hack-and-slash, where you lock onto enemies and repeatedly smack them. If they’re a lower level than you, they’ll die without ever transitioning into the more involved turn-based combat. If not, you’ll have to whittle down their stun meter until you can ambush them and begin the proper fight. This adds a snappy, concise layer of action to exploring dungeons, and realising I could now one-shot enemies outside of turn-based fight that I previously couldn’t gave me a satisfying way to improve my party while also picking up the pace.With four party members, you’ll start turn-based combat with four full “turn icons.” Attacking without exploiting your opponent’s weakness will remove a turn icon, but using an element or physical skill they are weak against will let you retain half of a turn icon. I quickly learned that just using these extra turns to do double the damage often isn’t the best course of action. Metaphor’s combat is consistently more challenging than any Persona game before it. Status ailments, debuffs and high-damage party-wiping AoE attacks are far more prevalent, which is why you need to use extra turns strategically and counter enemies if you want to survive. It can feel brutally unfair seeing your entire party get destroyed within the space of a single turn, but Metaphor does give you plenty of extra ways to turn the tables—resulting in victories that feel far more satisfying.

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

A crowning achievement

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(Image credit: Atlus)(Image credit: Atlus)(Image credit: Atlus)(Image credit: Atlus)(Image credit: Atlus)(Image credit: Atlus)

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio

I’ve invested over 100 hours in Metaphor, and yet I just find myself ReFantasizing about playing it a second time. I can’t say that about any other game of its length—not even Persona.

The Verdict95Read our review policyMetaphor Re FantazioA beautiful, 100-hour-long journey from beginning to end, Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best elements of Persona 5 and somehow improves on them.

The Verdict

95Read our review policyMetaphor Re FantazioA beautiful, 100-hour-long journey from beginning to end, Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best elements of Persona 5 and somehow improves on them.

95Read our review policy

Metaphor Re FantazioA beautiful, 100-hour-long journey from beginning to end, Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best elements of Persona 5 and somehow improves on them.

Metaphor Re Fantazio

A beautiful, 100-hour-long journey from beginning to end, Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best elements of Persona 5 and somehow improves on them.

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Our Verdict#

Flight of fantasy#

Split Persona-lity#

Meta-morphosis#

A crowning achievement#

Our Verdict

Flight of fantasy

Split Persona-lity

Meta-morphosis

A crowning achievement