The team behind the Persona series, now known as Studio Zero, is famous for the style that oozes from everything they make. Their latest effort, Metaphor: ReFantazio, is no exception. This fantasy story about political turmoil and societal oppression could’ve easily been a dreary, dull video game, but it’s the complete opposite.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a moving portrait. You could screenshot just about any frame of the game, make it your desktop wallpaper, and it’d be beautiful. The cities and towns are gorgeous, colorful areas to explore. The Archetypes have a striking, royal look to them, and every NPC stands out with their own signature traits and features.
These qualities even extend to the menus. Every page pops with color, and the use of paint-style art of the party members makes the gear pages even more vibrant. Metaphor is a dense RPG, and you’ll likely spend hours digging through menus before the credits roll, so the fact that these screens are never boring to look at is an accomplishment in its own right.
Throughout Metaphor: ReFantazio, something is always moving on screen. The team at Studio Zero has poured so much into making this game evoke emotion through art style, and it’s one we’ll be thinking about for a long time.
Be sure to read over the rest of the Shacknews Awards in our Year of the Games: 2024 feature.
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Donovan Erskine posted a new article, Shacknews Art Style of 2024 - Metaphor: ReFantazio