While ATLUS is a broad publishing and development company with many unique IPs to their name, no series quite compares to the Megami Tensei franchise, specifically a spin-off series that many would be familiar with: Persona. Especially since the 2006 PlayStation 2 release of Persona 3, their formula of a group of high school students wielding the supernatural powers of Personas has seen dozens of releases across three flagship entries – spanning original releases, remakes and remasters, spin-off titles across multiple genres, anime and more. Released in recent weeks, Metaphor: ReFantazio is the debut original work from ATLUS’ Studio Zero development wing, featuring many of the creatives behind the ‘modern’ Persona games. True to the team behind its creation, what players have to look forward to is an interesting high-fantasy take on Persona, with many familiar gameplay mechanics, tweaked to varying degrees, a dark corrupt world to become integrated in, and a fantasy setting that genuinely offers a fun, immersive experience.
In Metaphor: ReFantazio, players step into the harsh and divided world of the United Kingdom of Euchronia, a nation on the brink of political and social upheaval. The story opens with the recent assassination of the king and the curse-induced coma of his only heir, leaving a dangerous power vacuum. However, through magic weaved by the former king, becoming ruler comes down to not hierarchy or genetics but whoever wins the trust and loyalty of the nation. With rival factions vying for control, the frontrunners having an air of corruption and potential murder to them, the narrative dives headlong into a struggle for dominance over a fractured nation. Players take on the role of a self-named protagonist, a young man from the Elda race—an ostracized and distrusted group in Euchronia—who embarks on a quest to break the curse that has incapacitated the exiled prince. Alongside a growing band of unique allies, the protagonist follows a path subtly rigged by the church and political elites to maintain their control. This journey traverses a world rife with prejudice, classism, and fanaticism, compelling players to confront the darker sides of society while attempting to forge alliances and gain influence. Players will uncover a world that I frankly found tough to explore — not from a world-building perspective, but one where segregation, poverty and disenfranchisement exist, including among children which tugs more than a little at the emotional heartstrings.
Character development is where Metaphor: ReFantazio truly shines. While it includes a “social link”-like system, it focuses on a smaller, carefully crafted cast that contributes significantly to both world-building and the progression of the protagonist’s mission. Your companions are richly developed individuals, shaped by the struggles and injustices that plague Euchronia. Strohl, a principled warrior, embodies nobility and dedication, though his commitment to justice often conflicts with the moral compromises he must make. Hulkenberg, a stoic knight, provides moments of levity with her relentless appetite for local delicacies; beneath her humour lies a character shaped by tragedy and duty. Although the game starts with a core group, additional party members are gradually introduced with the same care, including the “mascot” character Gallica. Each new member is thoughtfully integrated, adding depth to the narrative and creating a well-rounded cast that feels essential to the story rather than incidental.
While the character arcs offer moments of connection, the game’s core narrative thrives on its thematic exploration of power, ideology, and the blurred lines of morality. Through the election storyline, Metaphor presents a potent reflection on leadership, complicity, and the sacrifices required to bring about change. As they fight for the prince’s right to rule, players are encouraged to confront the ethical complexities of power, making Metaphor: ReFantazio not only an adventure into fantasy but also a thoughtful study of societal ideals, duty, and the resilience needed to push for a just society.
While not having the visual fidelity of some of the other “AAA” games out there on the market, Metaphor: ReFantazio clearly builds upon the learnings of Persona 5 and presents a captivating fantasy world that focuses on richly textured visuals, uniquely crafted cities and environments left me excited about where I would travel to next, and a grim yet fantastical atmosphere. I also appreciate the unique elements introduced in the game which help set it apart from other games of the fantasy genre – especially the uniquely designed mobile bases, the Gauntlet Runners, which are pretty much uniquely designed airships but with legs. For the most part, the development team hit the mark perfectly, although there are a few areas that kept it from being better. It is clear they have tried to go with the same style of creative user interface explored in Persona 5 and Persona 3 Reload, and instead ended up with something a bit too overly complex. Furthermore, the design of the incidental dungeons was pretty hit-and-miss, mostly offering standard forgettable layouts and some repetitive puzzles.
Composed by Shoji Meguro the soundtrack of Metaphor: ReFantazio veers into grand orchestral territory, once again highlighting the composer’s versatility in presenting each of their major games with its distinctive music style – this time with choir vocals, darker undertones and a very fantasy vibe overall. Although not as instantly catchy as Persona’s memorable tunes, the music in Metaphor gradually embeds itself, creating an atmosphere that is both haunting and majestic. Simple sound design elements, such as having voices and banter when traversing the streets, also built upon the experience.
The English voice cast shines, bringing nuanced performances that enhance both the dramatic and lighter moments of the story. What I liked the most is that they went broader with the voice cast, featuring voice cast members who have a range of different accents and vocal styles which contributed to the broader scope of the United Kingdom of Euchronia – kudos of the UK-based production studio PitStop Productions. Furthermore, they haven’t gone with the traditional voice actors for many of their major and minor roles, ensuring that each voice sounds truly fresh.
Metaphor: ReFantazio sees many aspects from the Persona series framework adapted into a high-fantasy setting, with more than a few twists and optimisations of its own which keeps things not only fresh but arguably a lot more approachable for newcomers. Much of the gameplay revolves around managing time across days and weeks, an established Persona mechanic that adds both structure and urgency as players work to meet critical deadlines and make decisions about how best to use each day. Unlike Persona’s city-bound structure, Metaphor allows players to journey across a diverse kingdom aboard a mobile base, the Gauntlet Runner, which serves as a transport, home base, and training ground. Aligned with the time-based nature of the game, while you can teleport between hub cities, travelling to any other area can take one or multiple days. Are the day requirements strict? Not really. Provided you aren’t on the highest difficulty setting, many story dungeons can be cleared in a couple of days, if not just a single day provided you are creative with your MP consumption. The only complexity comes down to completing 100% of the game on your first playthrough should you so be inclined. Exploration is varied and dynamic, with quests spread across different regions, each offering unique environments and challenges. Players can focus on main story objectives or embark on side quests and bounties, with potential rewards for completing them. However, as mentioned above, while there is a lot of versatility and uniqueness to the enemies you encounter, the dungeon designs can leave much to be desired – regarding both gameplay and aesthetics.
Combat in Metaphor combines turn-based mechanics reminiscent of ATLUS’s Shin Megami Tensei and Persona titles with a new real-time element, the latter primarily to mitigate some of the grinds behind lower-level mobs. Players can initiate or avoid encounters with weaker enemies, making the dungeon exploration more streamlined and reducing repetitive battles. For normal and stronger foes, the game retains turn-based mechanics, emphasising exploiting enemy weaknesses and gaining extra moves in return. My main qualm is that the Auto-Battle system is a bit too intelligent, and there is little stopping players from pummelling bosses on auto-pilot. There is nothing too unique about the combat system, with fans of ATLUS’ previous RPGs likely to feel at home and newcomers easy to jump in. But where the complexity comes from is this game’s take on the typical Demons / Personas.
The game’s Archetype system functions as a class system, allowing players to assign roles to characters that cater to different combat needs. Archetypes unlock immediately upon acquiring a new party member, or otherwise through building character bonds, making your time management all the more important as you cannot unlock new Archetype upgrades – and therefore new skills – without investing time into the primary and secondary cast of characters. Players can mix and match Archetypes to suit their party’s needs, with skills inheritable across classes, offering the flexibility to create versatile combat strategies. Players are also encouraged to experiment with Archetype combinations, utilizing powerful Synthesis Attacks that combine character skills for powerful moves in battle. While it means the typical cast of over a hundred demons sharing skills is no more, what you get is a solid system that enables you to reconfigure your party however you want, and while some classes are ultimately better than ever out of the box, being able to inherit skills and with scenarios better suited to some classes than others, Metaphor: ReFantazio’s take on an ATLUS staple is well thought out.
Another central gameplay element in Metaphor: ReFantazio is the social simulation aspect, which intertwines character bonds with gameplay benefits as you rank each bond up to Rank 8 – akin to Persona’s Social Links system. Having fewer characters to form bonds with leaves each character’s respective boons more impactful, with multiple upgraded Archetypes and gameplay perks associated with each – from shop discounts to a character sending you gift packages every so often. For better or worse, social stats also return with Royal Virtues – five stats such as Wisdom and Eloquence which need to be ranked up to complete certain quests and bond ranks. This is carried across from Persona verbatim, although enrichingly, is attached to many more written events.
Metaphor: ReFantazio brings forward several thematic and stylistic elements that feel distinctly reminiscent of Persona – namely a group of youngsters going up against the powerful forces and having a positive impact on the world – which in the high fantasy setting ups the stakes considerably. But calling it a Persona clone would be disingenuous, as while it has the foundations of what ATLUS has been developing for several decades now, the darker, politically charged fantasy world, alterations to traditional combat mechanics and a proper class system through the Archetypes make for a rich and engaging RPG experience. Though some dungeon designs and UI elements feel a bit clunky, Metaphor remains a bold, compelling adventure that will satisfy Megami Tensei fans and newcomers alike, showing that while many are clamouring for Persona 6, there is more that ATLUS’ development team is capable of exploring in the RPG genre… and I cannot wait to see what they have in store next.
Final Score for Metaphor: ReFantazio
A PlayStation 5 review code for Metaphor: ReFantazio was provided by Australian distributor Five Star Games to facilitate this review.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is now available to purchase for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
