A different perspective on Metaphor: ReFantazio

If you were into story games at all in 2024, you probably heard about the newest game from renowned developer Atlus (known, to me at least, mostly from the Persona series)

In this newest game, the Japanese development studio seeks to create a "unique fantasy world" where people must fight their own anxieties. This all sounds rather good, and it is these words in combination with the extremely good word-of-mouth that made me buy this game and give it a shot.

Right away, you can see the great care that went into crafting this new world. Intricate politics, though based mostly on discrimination, fascinating technologies and strongly written characters are all part of the mix. Artistically, the game is absolutely fantastic as well! Every single menu exudes an incredible amount of class and taste, and I love it deeply.

Pretty soon however, the shiny new coat of paint wears off, revealing a fundamentally similar game to Persona 5 and 3. Every basic element is here: innocent teen boy awakes to an incredible power, discovering Archetypes (Personas) and also passing along this skill to their companions. This skill comes in the form of a magical avatar that wields very potent elemental powers, which can be used against enemies who have matching elemental resistances. The form is uncovered when at a most significant moment in their life, by ripping off their heart (Mask).

I will not continue this fancy way of telling you it's all the same from a gameplay POV. Every ideea is here: shadows/magla, Personas/archetypes, confidants/followers, the deadline and activity systems etc.

When the ideea of a new universe is in the air, my thoughts immediately go to a full reinvention... something akin to the differences between Guerilla's Killzone Shadowfall and Horizon Zero Dawn. Not a reskinned Persona 5... Maybe I'm just crazy, I don't know anymore.

As someone who has buried over 140 hours in Persona 5, I find it extremely difficult to do the whole thing again. To trudge through endless dungeons with safe rooms, to painstakingly find enemies weaknesses that are not telegraphed in any way, to deal with the deadline-quest systems... it's all dressed differently but fundamentally the same. I don't think the gameplay is engaging enough to sustain this playtime, especially if you've played Persona relatively recently.

I know the correct thing to do in this instance is to keep going and find out if there isn't something redeeming at the end that may save it, or perhaps the story is truly spectacular.... Unfortunately, I do not have it in me to invest the 65h+ required to bring this to completion, and I feel that not enough people really bring this point forth, for people who are on the fringe of buying this game.