‘Metaphor ReFantazio’ takes us into its fantasy world

Within our gamescom latam coverage, one of the most attractive demos to play was ‘Metaphor ReFantazio’. This is Studio Zero’s first original game, a title that JRPG fans won’t want to miss. Although the game had already appeared behind closed doors at the Summer Game Fest, this event was the first to make the demo available to the public, giving us a chance to play it.

Thanks to three short fifteen-minute demos, we were able to see what ‘Metaphor ReFantazio’ has in store for us. These were divided into sections to highlight the narrative, combat, and a boss fight, as well as other details about the social elements. Enough to give us an idea of what the game has to offer, but also to show why it is one of the most anticipated titles of the year.

The “mirror” of fantasy

One of the first things you notice when playing the game is its familiarity with the Persona series, as it inherits many elements that fans will immediately recognize, both in gameplay and aesthetics. It is a complete change of scenery. In fact, without revealing too many details about the first demo, the story shows us that this fantasy world is a “mirror” of the modern real world, with many enemies being called “humans”.

Exploration and combat are very similar to the Persona installments but with some undeniable improvements. Combat is still turn-based, and elements like magic and archetypes are still an important part of the gameplay, but there are a few more layers to consider. What caught my attention the most is that you will now be able to identify enemies weaker than you and take them out with a single strike, avoiding fights that are resolved more by button-mashing than strategy. On the other hand, elements such as attacking enemies before entering combat will give you the typical advantage. Another interesting part of combat is that you will now be able to make joint moves between two characters during this phase, either to attack or to provide some sort of boost or healing to your team. You will also be able to move your characters forward or backward, which will affect the damage they deal and take.

On the other hand, and although it was a bit short, the last demo put us on a boat to test the social elements and interaction between our team. And yes, it feels like Persona. This one also put us in a confrontation with a strange creature that I could describe as an octopus with a human face. An extremely complicated battle.

The art style is a real treat. From the design of the characters to the scenarios, the art is very particular, everything has a touch of Persona, but with details that go more towards a style where the heavy use of streaks stands out. As always, the interface is very dynamic. There is no fault in this aspect.

For now, we can only wait until October 11th, when ‘Metaphor: ReFantazio’ arrives on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.