Metaphor: ReFantazio Preview – Atlus Is Cooking Something Hot

As a devoted fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series and its spin-offs, mainly the Devil Summoner and Persona spin-offs, the new trailer for Metaphor: ReFantazio at the Summer Game Fest was a thrilling moment that was one of my favourites. The game’s trailer hinted at a departure from the traditional SMT style, leaning more towards the Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. series. In fact, it looked like a unique blend of Persona , SMT , and Devil Summoner , creating a distinct and intriguing gaming experience that I can’t wait to delve into.

During Summer Game Fest , CGM was afforded the opportunity to spend roughly an hour going hands-on with Metaphor: ReFantazio . Split between three missions, each would give a sense of different gameplay loops. The first is scenario mode, a more story-focused experience that would lead our characters through the opening of the game before they unlock their true potential.

The second is dungeon mode, which is pretty self-explanatory as this would lead the player through one of the early dungeons, giving us a sense of the battle system with the Archetype gameplay mechanics. The last one, and my favorite one that really cemented Metaphor: ReFantazio , was a boss battle that was a true testament to how much strategy players will need when it comes to overcoming the challenge.

During the first section scenario mode, we get a glimpse at the start of the game when our character is helping another soldier storm a “Human,” which in the world of Metaphor: ReFantazio are the bad guys that are demons in these weird messed up forms. This one had us running through a castle, getting the handling on basic combat, and striking before combat to stun and daze enemies. With weaker enemies, doing this negates the need to go into turn-based battling by outright destroying weaker enemies.

“ Metaphor: ReFantazio ‘s turn-based system feels like a well-tuned fight, taking a bit of a departure from the other Atlus games.”

However, this is only for weaker enemies, as the others will just give you a first-strike advantage. It was here that I first heard the battle music, which, like every other Atlus game, is top-tier. They understand the need for an absolute banger of a soundtrack, especially when it’s the track you will hear constantly. Since the story is something of a big deal when it comes to Atlus, we didn’t get much of the meat and potatoes, but just a general sprinkling of what the story would be like, and I was here for it.

Having learned that humans are these grotesque monsters that thrive on killing and that we are learning to harness our archetype was just enough breadcrumbs to have me incredibly excited for Metaphor: ReFantazio .

The second part of the demo was the battle scenario. It was shown to be what the majority of the combat would be in Metaphor: ReFantazio —having the player go through a dungeon helping out an NPC in a sort of sudo-side quest. We needed to help free her friend as she went diving into the dungeon, trying to find a treasure.

This was one area I wish I had more time with as the majority of my time was just messing around with the battle system, seeing what kind of abilities everyone had and how they stacked up against the enemies. I managed to finish the side quest, but I feel weird about spoiling it, after which I was just running around in the multilayer dungeon fighting enemies.

Metaphor: ReFantazio ‘s turn-based system feels like a well-tuned fight, taking a bit of a departure from the other Atlus games. Each turn, you have a certain number of action points. Usually, the number of people you have in your party is the number, and you can gain extra ones by dealing damage to an enemy’s weakness, much like in past Persona and SMT games. The more significant change here is that you can make synchronized attacks between a player and their archetype that take up multiple action points. The more action points, the stronger attacks usually are.

The final section of the demo was the boss battle scenario, which had us at around level 30, going up against some form of sea monster man. This was an incredibly tough battle, with the boss dealing with multiple attacks, statue effects, and regenerating sections. Being a fan of JRPGs, it was something that fans of the genre can deal with, having to switch tactics on the fly, and at times, needed to keep the party healed which, dealing out minimal damage just to keep that health bar dropping. It’s a good look at how strategic players will have to be during the later game. Once again, the soundtrack is intense but, at the same time, a bop.

Metaphor: ReFantazio was EASILY my favourite thing I got to go hands-on with during Summer Game Fest, and the wait to get my hands on the full game is going to be excruciating. It was an incredible peek at what Atlus is working on and the next evolution of their JRPG trappings. Needless to say, it feels right up my alley, and if you are a fan of Persona, Shin Megami Tensei , or Devil Summoner and you aren’t excited, now is the time to change your tune. Metaphor: ReFantazio is going to be INCREDIBLE.