Key takeaway from our Metaphor ReFantazio preview? It's good, and we need more of it.
Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change.Atlus’ Metaphor ReFantazio knows what it’s all about from the start. Fantasy and our urban contemporary existence have their heads smacked together; a feudal inheritance story meets modernity. ‘This is a fantasy,’ you will hear throughout the first hour of the game.
The main character hails from the Elda and carries with them an epic fantasy book of the modern world, steeped in irony and utopianism. It talks of ‘skyscrapers reaching the heavens’ and a world in which there is only one race. The conservative attitudes of ReFantazio’s institutions will shun your poxy ideas, but not before you’re able to radicalise the young feudal elite with dreams of social media, taxes, and the nine-to-five working week.
The meshing of real-time and turn-based combat works well. Creeping up on enemies and dealing a substantial amount of damage before engaging in full squad-based combat feels like a welcome direction for Atlus’ games. Although, I must admit disappointment that it feels very secondary to turn-based. It’s almost too subtle for me to be excited about, and I fear it could feel like a proprietary mechanic without really adding to the game’s identity.
The Hieronymus Bosch inspired enemies are a thrill to look at too. Despite each of the Megami Tensei games being different enough, the recycled pantheon of monsters doesn’t make it easy to become infatuated with each new title. Some of the monsters you encounter in Metaphor ReFantazio are pretty nuts, and I’m very much looking forward to discovering them all.It’s not a game about fantasy without its tropes and cliches though. The worst of them all? The annoying sprite companion guide.
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