Metaphor: ReFantazio Review
thesixthaxis.comImagine a world where their vision of a perfect society is actually what we have today. What kind of culture and history would such a society have? Taking a step further than that, what if we were playing out a fantasy that fantasises about our ‘utopia’? That is the self-eating serpent at the centre of Metaphor: ReFantazio.
The Kingdom of Euchronia is a world of kings and magic, curses and dragons, all put together by a supergroup team of extremely talented designers and artists at Studio Zero. Having spun out from Atlus’ P-Studio with long-time Persona director Katsura Hashino at the helm, and bringing fresh influences like Koda Kazuma (NieR Automata) and Ikuto Yamashita (Neon Genesis Evangelion) into the fold, you know you’re in for a treat.
In terms of atmosphere, the team’s design pedigree absolutely shines. Euchronian society is split into eight main tribes plus your persecuted ninth tribe. The eight tribes have distinct features, from big ears or shiny eyes, to basically being a bat- or dog-person. The less ‘human’ tribes are at the bottom of a fierce hierarchy, put in place by a corrupt (and frankly evil) state church, and used for inhumane experiments for magical devices that prop up the kingdom’s economy. You are part of an exiled ninth tribe, persecuted by the church and such a rarity that most people thought you just a myth.
The king on the board is merely a puppet of the church until he is murdered in the intro by the game’s antagonist, Count Louis. That’s when all hell breaks loose.
The villain of the piece is exactly as evil as he sounds, and is hell-bent on releasing Humans into society to wreak havoc in his quest for the throne. In Metaphor, Humans are tremendously powerful beasts, lifted straight out of Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. Any semblance of humanity is long since gone, and they are now city-wrecking monsters. With Louis trying to burn down society with the help of the Humans, your mission is to create a utopia is one where
Read more on thesixthaxis.com
