Expecting video games to address topics like racism and discrimination through fantasy, as Metaphor: ReFantazio does, catches me off guard. These stories often stick to the basic theme of “racism is bad,” which has become so predictable that I tend to tune them out.
But Metaphor: ReFantazio breaks that mold. Its willingness to dig deeper into the real issues of racism and discrimination, rather than relying on overused fantasy tropes, makes it an exceptional game.
While Metaphor cleverly evolves series, what truly sets it apart is its refreshingly progressive message.
The game is set in a world where the idea of “equality” among different ethnic groups is treated as an unattainable but nice fantasy, while discrimination, classism, and the threat of monstrous creatures called “humans” dominate the reality.
In Metaphor, society is structured according to a racial hierarchy based on fantastical physical traits such as wings, horns, or long elfin ears.
The protagonist comes from the most hated tribe, whose members, to us, look like regular humans without any distinct features. Atlus calling this game Metaphor is as subtle as a brick through a window at a protest.
The story kicks off when the dogmatic king is murdered, leaving no heir. His idealistic son mysteriously vanished years ago.
The king’s death sparks a national contest where anyone, regardless of their background, can compete for the throne, provided they win the love and support of the people.
Your task is to earn that support through various contests, with the ultimate goal of putting the idealistic prince on the throne to reshape this racist, hateful world.
The game’s characters operate within a job class system called archetypes. Each party member begins with a basic archetype, such as warrior, healer, or mage, but through developing relationships with NPCs, they can unlock more. Like in Persona, combat revolves around exploiting an enemy’s weaknesses while defending your own.
One of the standout features is an overworld combat system that allows you to kill weaker enemies instantly, skipping the battle scene altogether. For enemies of your level or stronger, overworld combat lets you ambush them for a significant advantage.
These mechanics are an improvement over Persona’s combat, cutting down on grinding time while keeping the gameplay intense. Ambushing enemies is satisfying, but they can also ambush you, adding an extra layer of strategy.
The combat system excels because it requires careful thinking. Charging into boss fights with your most powerful abilities isn’t always the best strategy, and it can lead to quick defeat.
In my experience, even my high-level party was sometimes wiped out by enemies that would otherwise be easy to defeat—simply because they got the jump on me.
Conversely, I’ve managed to take down enemies several levels higher than me using newly unlocked, low-level archetypes that were perfect for exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses.
Metaphor is the only single-player game that has made me feel like a raid leader in an MMO like Final Fantasy XIV or World of Warcraft.
Beyond its solid gameplay, Metaphor is visually and mechanically satisfying.
The fluid animations, as you zip between options in combat, create a dynamic energy that feels more like an action game than a turn-based RPG.
The slick menus, reminiscent of the Persona series, are enhanced by a fantastic soundtrack, particularly the main battle theme. Even though I don’t understand the lyrics, the way they’re delivered gets me incredibly hyped.
But what sets Metaphor apart is how it handles the subject of discrimination.
Many fantasy stories use discrimination against fictional races as a metaphor for real-world racism, often reducing the message to “racism is bad” and showing over-the-top violence (like in Dragon Age) without addressing the underlying complexities. Metaphor goes beyond that, tackling both the overt and subtle aspects of these issues.
There’s a moment when a companion, while reading a fantasy book, notes that creating a world where everyone is treated equally isn’t enough. “Equal competition doesn’t mean equal footing,” Heismay says.
It’s the first time I’ve seen a video game acknowledge that defeating the big bad villain won’t automatically fix generations of oppression. The game also addresses issues of class and wealth.
One character wants to “eat the rich” and redistribute their wealth by force, but because of her low status, she views anyone with more than a little money as an enemy.
This mirrors real-world situations where people in poverty often blame others just slightly better off, while the real issue lies with the wealthy elite who exploit that animosity. I love that the game calls this out.
It’s tempting to label Metaphor: ReFantazio as “Persona with swords” because of its familiar systems and shared creative talent.
However, that doesn’t quite capture what the game truly is. Metaphor feels fresh, and its message resonates on a deeper level than the Persona series has ever reached.
The hard truth about racism, classism, homophobia, and similar issues is that the real problem isn’t just individual bad actors—it’s the systems and institutions that perpetuate these forms of oppression.
Confronting those individuals is easy compared to the long, difficult work of dismantling those systems. Most games stick to the more straightforward message of defeating the bad guy.
Metaphor stands out as one of the first high-profile games to acknowledge the much harder and less glamorous work of dismantling entire systems of oppression.
At a time when even calling out individual perpetrators of racism can lead to gaslighting, it’s incredibly moving, as a person of color, to see Metaphor take the extra step and say, “These systems need to go, too.”
That’s what makes Metaphor: ReFantazio so powerful, resonant, and, in every sense of the word, woke as hell.
