Preview Metaphor: ReFantazio Won't Blow You Away in Its First Hour

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Huge JRPGs from Atlus are at their slowest and most basic at the very beginning, so playing the first hour of Metaphor: ReFantazio at Gamescom wasn't exactly the most impressive 60 minutes we've spent with the game pre-release. Full of tutorials and cutscenes, we wouldn't have encountered a single battle if we didn't start skipping dialogue in order to see more of the game before our time was up. Without its Persona pedigree and glowing impressions from previous expos, we would have come away from our hands on session a bit disappointed. Thankfully, that doesn't matter much because we already know it's set to be one of 2024's biggest highlights. This just wasn't the best demo for a noisy showfloor.

Probably the most meaningful detail we can report on from the opening stretch is the JRPG treats you, the player, and the in-game protagonist separately. Following the introductory cutscene where a king is slain in his bed, bringing you into the picture to avenge him, the game speaks directly to you. It asks what your name is, then does the same for the actual main character later, suggesting you yourself might have a role to play in the narrative. From there, the vast majority of our hands-on session was essentially a visual novel, buttoning through dialogue as the plot for a 100+ hour game is set up. The protagonist is voiced this time, providing him more depth and personality over a Joker in Persona 5 or Makoto of Persona 3 Reload.

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When we did gain control, it was in a new city on the lookout for fresh guardsmen. A pixie-like character named Gallica stays by your side, and activating its Fae Sight reveals more enemy information in real time. Another ability she has guides you to objectives. Other tidbits we picked up on during the hands on session were the ability to assign your own upgrade points across strength, magic, endurance, agility, and luck, as well as Turn Icons that need to be used by your party members entirely before the enemy takes their go. Essentially, you queue up all your attacks, and then the enemy retaliates.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is almost certainly going to be one of the best RPGs of 2024, but this Gamescom demo felt like a misfire. Time is a premium at a video game expo, so it was never going to be realistic to gain three or so hours of access to the Atlus title. However, to simply start a new game and have to button through so much setup and basic tutorials meant we had little time to see how the game actually plays.

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What we said having played the game at Summer Game Fest in June can pretty much be reiterated due to the confines of the demo: "Frankly, an hour isn't enough time to grasp everything Metaphor: ReFantazio is trying to do. It's brash, bold, and brilliant in many ways, but it's also a lot to take in – overwhelmingly so. The visuals, while fantastic, can sometimes drown out some of the text during fights. And there are lots of new systems involved that it'll definitely take a while to ease into combat. But even with all that, Metaphor is truly shaping up to be an incredibly addictive RPG."

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Is Metaphor: ReFantazio your most anticipated game for the rest of 2024? Let us know in the comments below.