Metaphor: ReFantazio

Metaphor: ReFantazio makes a great first impression. Its journey begins with a genuine sense of adventure, supported by a striking fantasy world and excellent character designs. Unfortunately, the further I progressed, the more superficial much of it began to feel. The political story was the biggest disappointment. The game tackles discrimination and segregation constantly, but rarely with much nuance. Its criticism is so obvious and simplified that serious social conflicts often feel reduced to childish moral lessons. There are interesting ideas and individual narrative moments, but the story is also undermined by too many plot holes. Mechanically, it feels like a more limited Persona wearing a medieval-fantasy coat. Combat can be fun, but it often becomes strangely bureaucratic, with excessive preparation interrupting its momentum. As you grow stronger, many dungeon encounters can also become practically irrelevant. The dungeons themselves are rarely memorable. The Archetype system initially makes party-building enjoyable, but its lack of restrictions eventually works against it. Because anyone can assume virtually any role, party composition loses some of its identity. Instead of making each character feel mechanically distinctive, the system can make your choices feel interchangeable. The characters are the game’s greatest weakness. Heismay and perhaps Neuras are notable exceptions, but most of the cast feels dull and one-dimensional. That makes progressing through their personal stories surprisingly tedious, which is a serious problem for a game so clearly built from Persona’s social framework. I also missed the romance and dating elements, especially when the character designs are among the game’s strongest qualities. Worst of all is the protagonist: a blank slate with almost no personality. A later revelation should make him more interesting, but instead makes his emptiness even harder to ignore. Metaphor is not without good ideas, but too often it feels like the shallow outline of a much richer game.