Metaphor: ReFantazio Reviews
Metaphor: ReFantazio might just be the best JRPG of 2024. With a great story with more to it than it first seems, characters that have their own journeys worth experiencing, and excellent gameplay from the day-to-day events to the dungeon delving and battles, it's absolutely worth picking up.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is easily one of the best games of 2024 - a deep, addictive and rewarding fantasy RPG that proves Atlus has a very firm grasp on its strengths as a studio.
Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like a truly mastercrafted RPG that creates a tense high stakes world that players will sink countless hours into to experience the wonderful tale this RPG spins.
Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like another classic ATLUS RPG, with some enough new to stand out. The game is loud and proud with its message, and though it sometimes can write in circles, it features some real heartwrenching moments, loveable (and hateable) characters, and some classically engaging turn-based RPG mechanics.
Atlus clearly decided to mark their 35th anniversary with a bang. With Metaphor, they took one of their most fan-favorite formulas and transitioned it to an engaging, top-notch fantasy experience, with only a few, quite minor, stumbles along the way. JRPG fans the world over will delight in this well-crafted experience, even if a few of the most die-hard Persona fans might find issues with the battle system.
Metaphor: ReFantazio breaks the monotony of RPG games to deliver an impressive adventure in every sense. Taking the risk of inventing an exciting world with many things to discover. The best lock for GOTY 2024.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Metaphor ReFantazio is a visually stunning and deeply engaging action RPG with a rich story, versatile gameplay options, and high presentation values. Its combination of immersive graphics, dynamic combat, and extensive customization makes it a standout title in its genre.
I found Metaphor: ReFantazio to be a sensational game, easily making it onto my list of the best of the year so far.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Metaphor: ReFantazio is definitively Atlus Magnum Opus, bringing a new, extremely rich fantasy world, with unparalleled world-building and art direction, a thrilling story full of charismatic and very well-written characters. Along with that, the combat system is a natural evolution of what we've seen in Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, adding a new class system and real-time combat system, all drenched in the marvelous soundtrack composed by Shoji Meguro. Metaphor: ReFantazio can be considered Atlus 'greatest hits', bringing everything fans loved in their games in a single package, taking them to the next level and making Atlus and Studio ZERO a strong contender for the crown as the new RPG King.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Metaphor: ReFantazio checks all the boxes for a remarkable JRPG that not only tells a compelling story and features strategic gameplay, but also has a beautiful art direction and talented voice cast to back it up. This is a grand adventure you don’t want to miss.
Video games are a form of art and Metaphor: ReFantazio is the embodiment of that. The game’s ability to weave together thought-provoking themes, engagingly unique gameplay, and memorable characters in a beautifully stylized package is beyond remarkable. This is Atlus at the height of their creativity.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is one of the best JRPGs ever created and, although it is an evolution of the Persona formula, it knows how to create its own identity and improve those elements that were more tedious in Atlus' other great saga. It is an epic adventure with wonderful gameplay. You must play it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Let's be straightforward: Metaphor: ReFantazio is the ultimate JRPG, one of the best ever. Atlus managed to do the unthinkable, perfecting the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei formula to its theoretical limit. An epic, meaningful plot, an insanely fun combat system and a beautiful world: this is the culmination of 30 years of JRPG excellence by Atlus, just slightly suffering from a not-so-great technical presentation.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Metaphor: ReFantazio delivers a rich experience with stunning art direction, a layered story, and a deep Archetype system for strategic team-building and engaging turn-based combat. While the grotesque bosses are visual highlights, the real-time combat feels less refined, and the social system, though adding depth, lacks innovation. Still, it's a must-play for JRPG fans, blending familiar mechanics with refreshing twists.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a beautifully crafted JRPG from Atlus that mixes fantasy, philosophy, and politics into an engaging narrative. Its turn-based combat, intriguing world, and vibrant visuals offer an immersive experience, though some repetitive gameplay elements may stand out. Recommended for both JRPG fans and newcomers!
Metaphor: ReFantazio leaves little room for criticism, and you'll find very little to complain about except for the $70 price tag and grinding for the abstraction of social stats and the ambush mechanism during combats. Other than these, the game is a well-rounded great that is an all-out barrage on the senses. You don't just play it; you experience it.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a new IP from Atlus that combines Persona mechanics with medieval fantasy elements. It features innovative systems like Archetypes and a hybrid battle approach. The narrative explores modern themes within a fantastical world. While the game offers depth and challenge in combat and exploration, it has some technical drawbacks, especially on the PC version.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a game that walks the line between homage and innovation. Its deep connection to Persona and Shin Megami Tensei is clear in its mechanics and structure, and while at times it feels almost too similar to its predecessors, it ultimately carves out its own space with a compelling fantasy world and meaningful characters.
Intentional or not, the release of Metaphor: ReFantazio and its politically charged tale of governmental figures using hate and fear to rule over its people couldn't have come at a better time. Regardless of what 2024's tail end and beyond will bring, the game argues in favor of indulging in optimistic fantasies, especially when the harshness of reality can make these dreams seem impossible. However, one shouldn't lose their head in a book, or a game in this case. These fantasies won't become reality until someone takes the first step forward and fights for it.
Graphically lagging behind, but supported by a masterful art direction, Studio Zero's work immediately imposes itself as a title destined to walk a prestigious path, whose treacherous terrain, stemming from its being too anchored to the past, could sink a gem that, with more courage and innovation, could have shone like the crown of a king.
Review in Italian | Read full review