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[Draugoth]

Metaphor: ReFantazio Is GameSpot's Game Of The Year 2024

Here's why Atlus's fantasy RPG is our choice for game of the year.

www.gamespot.com

Though Metaphor: ReFantazio is the former Persona team's first foray into high fantasy, it might also be the most grounded and deeply human game they've ever created. By weaving magical elements with universal topics--such as prejudice, poverty, grief, cycles of violence, anxiety, and the role religion and politics can play in both oppressing and empowering the people--Metaphor is able to examine humanity with some distance and through a unique lens. It poses countless questions to its players, all while admitting the answers might not be simple or absolute. And yet, it places special emphasis on one question in particular: Does fiction have the power to shape our world?

By the time the game comes to a close, the answer is a resounding yes. Metaphor: ReFantazio is a beautiful exploration into how fantasy is a vessel for ideas and humanity even in the darkest of times. It understands the impact that art and the ideas transferred through it have on society, and asks us to both believe in and scrutinize the media we consume.

 

[adamsapple]

That's a good pick.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Great game and in my top 5 this year but too rough and repetitive at times to be my GOTY

 

[Topher]

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Good stuff

 

[The Cockatrice]

Undeserved, but at least its not Balatro.

 

[Gaiff]

Great game and in my top 5 this year but too rough and repetitive at times to be my GOTY

Atlus games tend to get a bit long in the tooth. They’re usually far too long to sit through. That’s one of my gripes with them. They just don’t know when to end and indeed become repetitive.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

It's good, but weak for an Atlus game, IMO. Better games this year for sure.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Final Fantasy am cry!

 

[CliffBronger]

In my top 5 of the year.

 

[LectureMaster]

Danjin44 RN:

 

[BennyBlanco]

I really gotta get back to this

 

[bender]

 

[Nankatsu]

Horrible pick.

Insanely overrated.

 

[Represent.]

lmfao

 

[Meowtor]

great game, but not GOTY. Was higher up until final boss which after many hours of retrying i said fuck it, popped down to babby mode and beat him, finished the game and uninstalled.

 

[Danjin44]

Both Metaphor and Unicorn Overlord my all time favourite game this year.

 

[LordOcidax]

A Turn based rpg winning game of the year, meanwhile SE ruining the Final Fantasy franchise making it a hack and slash game . Excellent.

 

[Rambone]

Game is good and I'm glad that it is doing well but Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance is my personal GOTY.

 

[Dacvak]

That’s not Astro Bot!

 

[Paltheos]

Cool. Atlus continues holding its crown of high-profile games being critical darlings.

I'm interested in the game, but I still don't trust that it's the for real final edition, so I haven't bought it yet. Atlus may have released major DLC content for P3R, but SMTV: Vengeance still exists as a product, so I believe my doubts are justified given the studio's infamous track record.

 

[artsi]

I enjoyed my 100+ hours with it.

But I didn't like how some of the social links teased me with romance like in Persona, and the game never delivered.

Spoiler: Social link stuff

Junah was like "ohhh let's talk after your coronation" in a flirty manner and then complete blue balls when it was time for that.

But of course there's always Eupha's hand holding sex.

 

[Deerock71]

The fucking game is incredible, from what I've played.

 

[Fake]

Nothing to complain. A good game is a good game.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

There were better. But, I don’t mind getting more turn-based RPGs.

 

[Markio128]

I’ve completed the first dungeon and it was okay, but if I’m not exactly compelled to continue. That’s pretty much where I’m at with it at the moment.

It all feels a bit mid to me, and no better than some of the Tales games that I’ve played.

FF7 Rebirth is much more deserving of GOTY in my personal opinion.

 

[MISTER INVEIGLER]

I dropped the game after the first dungeon. I don't like the time and resource limits of this game.

 

[SF Kosmo]

I'm inclined to agree, completely worthy follow up to Persona 5.

 

[SHA]

And my first turn based game

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Haters just mad cuz it don't have their teenage waifus.

 

[R3TRO]

Deserved.

 

[TropicanaTwista]

I'm really torn on Metaphor. It has high highs, so I agree with a lot of the scores and it would be in my top 5 of the year. But God the pacing is horrendous. I've played persona, I know how these games go but metaphor takes it too far at times. Think I'm just about done the 5th dungeon but it's been over a week since I played it and really don't have the want to continue to play. Can tell I'm at a spot where it's just endless talking. And again, the pacing gets BAD. Ive had times already where I've gone multiple hours without playing much of anything, just watching cutscenes or people talk.

 

[VanCityGamer]

Not my style of game at all, but it has excellent reviews. So I’m not surprised.

 

[Markio128]

I dropped the game after the first dungeon. I don't like the time and resource limits of this game.

Agreed. The only reason I start a new day is because I always run out of mana, and refills seem to be as common as rocking horse shit. And the only way to effectively fight most enemies is to have a decent mix of magic. It ruins the flow of the game for me, and is one of the reasons why I’m in no rush to carry on.

The ‘human’ boss outside the first dungeon took me around 35 minutes to kill, and ended up being just an endlessly repetitive combat loop. It sucked the life out of me

 

[Shake Your Rump]

2024 was pretty weak overall, but definitely the year of the JRPG. Look at their top ten list. Astrobot? Sure it was a fine "one and done" nostalgia hit, but Playroom was arguably superior. Balatro? The less said the better. Elden Ring DLC isn't a game. Helldivers 2 is a contender. Prince of Persia is legit.

So, yeah, Metaphor is definitely the best overall game released this year. It has fun gameplay, a good story, emotional and memorable moments. The first half of the game had me thinking it was better than Persona 5, which is crazy talk. It fades a bit as the cracks show in the latter half, but not many long JRPGs can make it all the way through without plateauing.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Undeserved, but at least its not Balatro.

I have both. I like both. I have enjoyed Balatro more than Metaphor though.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Lets be honest here...the BOSS//BATTLE MUSIC won game of the year.

FUUUUUCCCKK YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Spoiler

and this one

and this one

 

[Pegasus Actual]

If I want to play this do I have to Regular Fantazio before I ReFantazio? Or maybe there's a PreFantazio?

 

[Danjin44]

2024 was pretty weak overall,

It’s weak year if all people play is western games but for someone like me who enjoys JRPGs and Japanese games overall, this year was one of the best.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

If I want to play this do I have to Regular Fantazio before I ReFantazio? Or maybe there's a PreFantazio?

You can ReFantazio now and Royal ReFantazio next year.

 

[xenosys]

Really enjoyed most of my time with the game, but it gets glazed way too much as if it's some sort of flawless masterpiece. It's a shonen fans idea of what a deep, philosophical political story is.

Repetitive side-dungeons with terrible level design, a terrible attempt at trying to implement action combat into the game, and a story where the pacing goes to complete shit the moment you get to the Opera House.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

You can ReFantazio now and Royal ReFantazio next year.

 

[Not_A-Cop_Maybe]

man i wish i could get into these kind of JRPG's. they look so cool but a lot of the random videos just scream anime cringe haha.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Yay!

 

[RobRSG]

Overrated.

 

[Lux77]

Meh

 

[BertleTheTurtle]

Their reasoning being because of the current political climate (paraphrased) is hilarious.

 

[Mossybrew]

anime cringe

It definitely is, there's just a large audience of weebs that get off on this kinda stuff.

 

[Nintendo's Witch]

NICE.

 

[Aenima]

Not my personal pick for GOTY, got bored from the main story after 100h of not going anywhere. Need to finish it soon. Combat and dungeon exploration is a step above what they did with Persona games, also great OST. Still one of the best games of 2024 so im ok with it.