Metaphor: ReFantazio continues Persona’s great handheld heritage

Atlus’ Persona franchise is mostly a console series, but it has a beardown handheld heritage. There were fantabulous portable versions of Persona 3 and Persona 4, and Persona 5 Royal connected Nintendo Switch was great, too. Metaphor: ReFantazio is simply a caller imagination JRPG from the squad down those beloved Personas. And while the crippled takes spot successful a different universe, galore of the halfway elements are coming successful Metaphor — which intends that it’s conscionable arsenic awesome of a handheld experience.

I mightiness beryllium understating it to opportunity Metaphor is Persona-like. The game’s UI is exceptionally flashy. You’ll walk a batch of clip talking pinch your friends and improving your bonds pinch them. Days tick by arsenic you navigate sprawling dungeons and walk clip pinch your companions earlier a looming deadline. The main characters moreover spell done epic transformations wherever they brutally rip an organ retired of their assemblage arsenic a mysterious sound talks successful “thous” and “haths.” Once, while taking notes astir the game, I called it Persona alternatively of Metaphor. It’s that similar.

But that intends truthful overmuch of what makes Persona games great portable titles useful for Metaphor, too. Battles thin to beryllium quick, meaning if you person a fewer minutes, you tin blast done respective to clear a dungeon floor. Doing activities successful 1 in-game time is capable to consciousness for illustration progress. Some parts of the crippled characteristic agelong bouts of text, but erstwhile I’m playing conscionable earlier I spell to sleep, seeing what happens adjacent tin consciousness for illustration an breathtaking section successful a awesome book. 

I’m playing Metaphor connected the Steam Deck. The crippled is listed connected Steam arsenic Playable alternatively of Verified, and while it is so playable, capacity is inconsistent, particularly successful municipality areas I’ve visited. (The towns are beautiful engaged places, pinch tons of characters and things going on.) I really capped the crippled astatine 30fps successful settings, moreover though it tin tally higher, conscionable because I didn’t want to woody pinch varying framework rates.

But fortunately, Metaphor isn’t a crippled that demands cleanable performance. In dungeons, you tin onslaught enemies successful existent clip to effort to get the jump connected them, but I recovered that framework complaint dips didn’t inhibit my expertise to propulsion disconnected a successful barrage. All battles are turn-based, anyway, and immoderate framework drops didn’t make overmuch of a quality to maine there. 

I’m much than good dealing pinch immoderate issues; being capable to return Metaphor anyplace I want is amazing. I play the crippled beautiful overmuch each nighttime earlier I autumn asleep, I play it connected the sofa connected the weekends while my caller babe naps, and I moreover took my Steam Deck connected 2 caller business trips conscionable truthful I could sneak successful immoderate sessions erstwhile I had spare time.

There’s 1 much measurement Metaphor is for illustration the Persona series: it’s perfectly massive. But a crippled that’s dozens of hours agelong is simply a batch much manageable erstwhile you tin play whenever and wherever you want.