Do I remember anything from December 2016? Heck no! It’s why I write things down! That month, Atlus teased its first full-scale fantasy RPG, Project ReFantasy. It slowly evolved into Metaphor: ReFantazio, which was officially unveiled during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023. This is a big game for Atlus and its new studio, Studio Zero, so since then information has been arriving at a consistent rate. And with today’s news of an October launch date you can bet there will be much more in the coming months!
The game has players journeying as the protagonist alongside his fairy companion as they try to lift the curse from the kingdom’s lost prince. Magical Archetype powers lay dormant in your heart but once awakened you will unlock the power to channel and combine abilities from unique job classes. During the day, go on quests, dungeon dive, and treasure hunt. Come night, strengthen relationships, build bonds, and increase virtues. The battle system combines turn-based moves with real-time action.
Metaphor: ReFantazio explores anxiety, a simple concept yet a complex emotion. The United Kingdom of Euchronia is a place where fear and anxiety are visualized. Comprising of three countries populated by eight tribes, the kingdom is a fantasy world… but even those living in a fantasy have their own fantasies. They want one tribe where everyone accepts each other and there is no discrimination. Also, no sorcery, so no fun either I guess. They want a massive metropolis built through learning and labour, with towers of glass stretching into the clouds. Here, all lives are equal. (Great, now I want to read Animal Farm again.) You think that the world they seek is impossible. They think the world you seek is impossible. But what if neither is really, truly impossible? Why would we think that, anyway?
The launch date news came during a special 30-minute developer livestream focused only on Metaphor: ReFantazio. It showed off the first hands-on gameplay shown to the public, provided brand-new details and teases, and explored Studio Zero Director Katsura Hashino’s visions and inspirations. You can watch that here. The narrated journey brings us to some of the game’s locales. Traverse the vast world in the Gauntlet Runner, a vehicle that is also your home base and HQ.
Here is a new trailer, titled The King’s Trial:
Metaphor: ReFantazio will be launched digitally and physically. Regardless of how you order, if you pre-order you will get some bonus things: 10 Hero’s Incenses, five Hero’s Fruits, 30,000 Reeve (the in-game currency), five Expensive Medicines, five Revival Medicines, three Magical Breads, and two Stale Blackbreads. In the West, the physical Collector’s Edition will include the base game, an artbook, a soundtrack, Homo Tenta metallic pins, a sticker sheet, a Steelbook case, a cloth map of Euchronia, a digital history book for Atlus’ 35th anniversary, a digital soundtrack featuring some of Atlus’ hits from those 35 years, a voucher for Costume and Battle Background Music Set DLC, and a voucher for the pre-order bonuses.
Developed by Studio Zero and published by Atlus, Metaphor: ReFantazio will be released for PC via Steam/Microsoft, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series on October 11. Pre-orders for physical console editions are now open. Details on Western digital editions are not available at this time.
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