HomeFeaturesMetaphor: ReFantazio
Metaphor: ReFantazio almost has me sold on its bonkers bad guy designs aloneArmy of eww
Army of eww
Image credit:Sega
Image credit:Sega
Having played the opening hour of Altus’Metaphor: ReFantazio– now mere weeks away from its October 11th launch – I think it’s high time to correct a games previewing injustice. Namely, that the majority of its pre-release buzz has centred around its proximity toPersona, and not its far more entertaining quality of having the most gleefully bizarreRPGenemy design this side ofElden Ring’s horn-tooting orbpeople.
That’s all fine. I’m actually more keen on the real-time instigation thanEdwin was when he played, partly because pulling it off starts the battle with a weirdly charming little animation of our protag grinning with bloodlust (as I probably am at that same moment). But similarities with Altus’ previous works are, at this point, so well-trodden you can see bootprints in the subsoil. I’d rather talk about the wonderfully weird beasts and critters on the other side of these fights, because they’re disgusting, and I love them for it.
Image credit:Sega
Frankly, there’s probably also something significant in the fact that nearly four weeks after playing ReFantazio, I canrememberPeril and the teeth boys, whereas its cast of heroes had faded into a blur until I looked them up a couple of hours ago. I guess it’s partly that contrast between mad cryptids and largely unremarkable anime people that makes the former seem so lively and farcial, though I’d hope that more time with your allies reveals them to be more than the fantasy archetypes they initially appear. The young noble striking out on his own, the chirpy fairy companion and so on.
Image credit:Sega
In fairness, there are other qualities to Altus’s new world. Exploring the fortress city of Grand Trad really does feel like being on the ground in a busy metropolis, its vast streets liberally dotted with gossiping citizens. Even though it takes half an hour of walking and talking ‘round these parts to get into your first turn-based scrap, it also rarely feels like you’re suffocating under dumped lore.
And my word, the stylishness. This is both another inheritance from the P word and something else that Metaphor: ReFantazio previews always bring up, but it really is an intoxicating assault on the senses, with ornate menus flashing in and out of view and exciting musical motifs thrown out with impressively maximalist abandon. Even a brief flashback is introduced with a fancy rewinding clock graphic.
If I do end up buying Metaphor: ReFantazio, though, it’ll be less because of the hyperactive UI and more because I want to see, fight, and slay more of these offbeat baddies. I want a bestiary of anthropomorphic kraken, of bipedal eggs with heart-shaped bagpipes balanced on their heads, and all evidence suggests I’m going to have it.
