Metaphor: ReFantazio

Metaphor-key-art-horizontal-1687296403155

Submission 567

Part of a series on Megami Tensei - Persona. [View Related Entries]

About

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a video game developed by Studio Zero and published by Atlus. The game drew significant interest ahead of release for featuring multiple staffers who worked on Persona 5. A demo released in September of 2024 generated hype for the game ahead of its release on October 11th, 2024.

History

Following the release of Persona 5, director Katsura Hashino retired from the Persona series and started Studio Zero within Atlus company. Studio Zero would focus on original games unrelated to the Persona franchise.^[1] After Studio Zero's formation, Atlus announced their first project was called Project Re:Fantasy, which became Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Katsura Hashino serves as the game's director. Other staffers from the Persona series working on Metaphor: ReFantazio include character artist Shigenori Soejima, music composer Shoji Meguro, producer Junichi Yoshizawa, writer Yuichiro Tanaka and gameplay designers Azusa Kido and Kenichi Goto.

The game's announcement trailer was released on June 11th, 2023.

On September 25th, 2024, Atlus released a demo for Metaphor: ReFantazio.^[2] The gameplay has been described as an evolution of the Persona series, as some elements, such as social elements — though not romance — and turn-based combat are present in Metaphor.

Online Presence

The creation of the /r/metaphorerefantazio^[3] subreddit was created on June 11th, 2023, and accumulated 9,800 subscribers as of September 30th, 2024. On August 28th, 2024, IGN^[4] published an impression of the game based on its opening demo and voiced a positive impression, gaining over 165,000 views.