Gamescom 2024 Hands-On Preview: Metaphor Re:Fantazio is style with substance

Metaphor Re:Fantazio has had an interesting development cycle. It was originally announced as Project Re: Fantasy in 2016, with updates about the game having gone dark until 2023. It’s announcement trailer was filled to the brim with lush graphics, a hyper-stylized user interface, and a glimpse into various gameplay systems anyone familiar with the Persona series would recognize. MMORPG was given the opportunity to play a small slice of Metaphor Re:Fantazio, and after having just a small bit of time with the game, I can say that I’m feeling positive about whatever this game is shaping up to be.

The slice of gameplay I checked out focused on the traversal and time management mechanics. Traversal and how the player chooses to allocate their time in Metaphor Re:Fantazio is different from the Persona series — I feel like this is significant to mention, as the same team of developers behind the original Persona 3 are attempting to bring a similar formula to a more fantastical setting. Players can pick the location they would like to travel to from within their airship, which also functions as a hub of sorts.

This is where you can select quests, interact with other characters to raise your “social link,” and increase your stats. In that way, everything feels relatively condensed, but strangely enough not restrictive. I wandered around the vessel for a bit, perusing what I could do while en route to a nearby forest. I could spend time reading books or cooking to increase specific stats, or spend time with companions to raise my affinity with them. Yes, this all very much sounds like Persona, and for the most part it is. Except some of these systems have been retooled in a way that feels more organic.

After I decided to cook after rummaging around for ingredients I was joined by Strohl, one of several companion characters in Metaphor Re:Fantazio, who proceeded to teach me how to properly cook the dish I had selected. It was more or less an opportunity for him to impart