Metaphor: ReFantazio is setting high stakes for itself

polygon.com:

Metaphor: ReFantazio’s developers are not being subtle about the themes they’re seeking to tackle in this game. The upcoming RPG takes place in a medieval setting that is a mirror to our contemporary world. The world-within-a-world depiction of a utopia, illustrated as a modern city during a cutscene, is considered an anomaly. The game’s characters read about it in a book, in which it’s told that no soul is born into discrimination, and all lives are equal. “It really does sound like a fantasy,” says Gallica, the protagonist’s companion.

The Persona series has always woven real-life issues into worlds riddled with fantasy. These efforts have faltered and not always stuck the landing, with Persona 5 Tactica being a recent example. Now, as key ex-Persona developers prepare to launch Metaphor: ReFantazio later this year, the stakes have never been higher, as they take a new step with a bold attitude, albeit also with some clear familiarity.

During a hands-on demo at Summer Game Fest 2024, I played three different sections of Atlus’ upcoming RPG, totaling about an hour. The first was set early in the game before the protagonist summons his powers, acting as a tutorial of sorts that introduced the story and some of the key design standouts when compared to Persona.

For one, the protagonist is voiced. This might sound like a small detail, but compared to previous Atlus games that often had more of a self-insert hero, the voice acting adds authority and a more specific sense of personality to the choices you make during conversations. From my time with the game, it seems not every single dialogue bit is fully voiced, but rather the ones that occur during main story-related sections as well as convos with key characters, which is fair. At other times, such as when taking on activities with companions — similar to hanging out with your fellow students to increase your Social Links — the protagonist said a few phrases instead, like Joker from Persona 5 does when performing