CytosMar 24, 2025 · PS5 · PS5
10Atlus created another JRPG Classic
Metaphor Refantazio is an amalgamation of all the things that made Shin Megami Tensei and the Persona series special. A memorable and charming cast of characters, insanely good music, challenging gameplay, and artwork and design that’s just beautiful to look at. (Look at the pause menu during the game’s prologue, and look at what it turns into after the prologue).
Just like I did when I first played Persona 5 years ago, I went into Metaphor completely blind, only having watched the initial reveal trailer and deciding to bookmark the game until it released.
I wasn’t disappointed.
The game sees you filling the role of a protagonist who actually isn’t silent this time around! It was definitely surprising that Atlus went with a protagonist whose replies are not only voiced, but do give you more of an idea of what kind of person the protagonist is.
Regarding combat, the press turn system from SMT makes a return, but instead of summoning demons or personas, you wield powerful beings known as Archetypes, which there happen to be a variety of due to the game having a Job/Class system as seen in traditional RPGs. As you progress through the game and meet other members of your party, you’ll unlock new Archetype classes and will be able to switch between them.
Also, the life sim functions from Persona are also present here, so this should be familiar territory. Each segment of the game will present you a larger objective that must be reached by a certain deadline. You have the freedom to spend your days bonding with your allies or strengthening your party by tackling side quests, progressing through that segment’s dungeon, or by improving your Royal Virtues, Metaphor’s version of social stats. While all of these gameplay mechanics can be overwhelming, here’s some advice: *take your time.*
The only complaint I’ve got about this game is in regard to performance. Metaphor runs very well on PS5, but there are certain situations in which I experienced frame rate drops that were pretty jarring. These frame drops occurred more often toward the end of the game, specifically the final dungeon. Other than that, the game looks amazing, and runs incredibly well.
