Journeying to an ancient ruin is largely uneventful, as your party takes in the sights of a grand fantasy world and bonds over the sandworm delicacy you ate from the last town. But the calm quiet is interrupted when another political candidate attacks your Gauntlet Runner. Brutally beating them down gets you hundreds of new fans — that’s just what happens in a battle for the crown.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a massive new role-playing game from the makers of Persona — a grand tale of conspiracy, revolution, and societal anxiety. While Metaphor strikes out in its own direction with its bold narrative choices and tactical combat system, it stumbles when it integrates the tried-and-true Persona formula. Comparing Atlus games to Persona 5 is a tired practice at this point, I know, but in this case, it’s genuinely impossible to talk about one without the other.
