[PGDX 2024] Metaphor: ReFantazio Hands On Demo – A Detailed Look at Gameplay

At the recent PGDX 2024 demo event, we had the opportunity to experience a hands-on demo of Metaphor: ReFantazio, the highly anticipated fantasy RPG from ATLUS. This latest showcase builds upon the previous demo at ATLUS FES in Akihabara, Tokyo, which focused primarily on a boss rush mode featuring a single enemy. In contrast, the PGDX demo provided a more comprehensive look at the game’s various elements, divided into two distinct 15-minute segments.

Exploring the World of Metaphor: ReFantazio

The first segment emphasized story elements, featuring more cutscenes and narrative content. This portion allowed players to immerse themselves in the game’s lore, characters, and overarching plot. The high-quality cutscenes demonstrated ATLUS’ commitment to storytelling, with voice acting and cinematics that bring the fantasy world to life.

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The second part of the demo shifted focus to gameplay, allowing greater freedom to explore a dungeon environment. This segment showcased one of ReFantazio’s most notable features: its swift exploration mechanics. This structure gave players a well-rounded taste of what to expect from the full game.

One of the most noticeable aspects of ReFantazio is its swift exploration. The game introduces a dash mechanic, allowing players to navigate environments quickly. Players can navigate environments quickly using the mechanic, making traversal feel fluid and engaging. Additionally, attack animations vary based on character class, adding visual diversity to the gameplay.

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Combat and Innovations

ReFantazio’s combat system builds upon ATLUS’ previous titles while introducing innovative elements. Like in the Persona series, players gain an advantage by striking enemies first but ReFantazio expands this concept significantly. Lower-level enemies can be defeated in the dungeon without entering squad combat, speeding up exploration.

Your character’s weapon choice is limited by their current Archetype. The choice of weapon affects attack speed during exploration in the dungeon and not in combat. Squad battles are turn-based, where attack speed doesn’t impact turn order.

A core highlight of Metaphor’s gameplay, first introduced in the Atlus Fes demo, is the Archetype system. Similar to Personas, but with the ability to assign and change one for each party member, Archetypes give characters specific roles to play. This system works in tandem with the formation mechanic, where characters have abilities that only affect allies in certain rows. For instance, in the previous demo, a character named Hulkenberg could only heal characters in the same row as her.

Archetypes are diverse, aligning with standard fantasy classes such as mage, magic knight, swordmaster, and magic seeker. Each boasts a unique skill set, ranging from tanking capabilities to wide-area physical attacks. This variety allows for complex strategy and team composition.

The Synthesis system adds another layer of depth to combat. This mechanic allows two Archetypes to combine strengths and execute special techniques. However, to perform a Synthesis, characters must be free of ailments and have enough actions available. This requirement necessitates careful planning and timing to unleash these powerful attacks effectively. These mechanics collectively create a rich, multifaceted combat experience that both draws from and expands upon ATLUS’ renowned RPG formula.

Visuals and Art Direction

Metaphor: ReFantazio continues ATLUS’ tradition of creating visually striking games. The demo showcases high-quality cutscenes and an overall art direction that blends gritty medieval fantasy elements with vibrant colors and eye-catching UI components. This unique aesthetic sets ReFantazio apart from previous ATLUS titles while maintaining the studio’s reputation for distinctive visual design.

The Metaphor: ReFantazio demo impresses with high-quality cutscenes and overall art direction, providing players with a taste of different difficulty settings and core mechanics. This hands-on experience serves as an introduction to the full ReFantazio game, showcasing its unique features and gameplay style.

Atlus is renowned for its RPGs with distinctive and captivating aesthetics, but Metaphor: ReFantazio might be one of their most visually striking titles yet. The game’s visuals blend the gritty elements of a medieval fantasy world with vibrant colors and striking UI components.