Why Metaphor: ReFantazio is a sudden GOTY front-runner | Friends Per Second #56

[@SkillUp]

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[@lifson22]

​@gobbledygook5000this 💯 . Please do some actual research on Ag1 it's totally a grift from a know grifter.

[@fl00d69]

@gobbledygook5000 I was gonna say the same thing. Not a good product.

[@BasilAbdef]

@@fl00d69 Pretty much every single product shilled by e-begging KZbinrs are trash: Raid Shadow Legends, AG1, Raycon, NordVPN, etc etc. Essentially if you see any of these grifters shilling for it, you know it's not worth buying.

[@fl00d69]

@@BasilAbdef Ah that probably explains why I've bought nothing 😁

[@mistro0014]

Wait, are you saying the Ramen noodles I just ate doesn't meet my recommended daily intake of vitamins and nutrients?

[@fragr33f74]

Dude, that Shawn Layden interview was brilliant. I've always appreciated executives like Layden who dont shy away from talking to you about the business needs, but he also understands the importance of creativity, experimentation, and scoping projects sensibly. I don't think it's a coincidence that when Shawn Layden was chairman at Sony Studios, there were a great slew of games that were produced.

[@abdalla8558]

What period was that?

[@aoBubs]

I believe that would be "slew" :)

[@layset1885]

​@@abdalla8558 ps1 to ps4 era. He sadly retired at the launch of the ps5 and left it to that fucking idiot that did nothing but push live service shit.

[@Ghost-In-The-Machine-II5]

Such a huge loss for Sony

[@X5J2UY]

And he was also one of the leaders that spearheaded Sony's AAA strategy. For good and bad

[@Klue_EoL]

Jake is the one guy buying the shirts at Game Stop.

[@cody3335]

That’s why we love him foo

[@KahranRamsus]

Makes sense. It's not like GameStop sells games, they turned into a toy store.

[@mota2028]

They are all tailored for his size too

[@thunderbandit5172]

@kalebnall3236 Lol

[@zztzgza]

Nowadays Gamestop is grading trading cards so, they gotta offload the shirts to someone, I guess.

[@fishsticks6611]

Fun Fact: Metaphor: Refantazio was first announced as Project Refantasy. ReFantazio means refantasy in Esperanto. It is an auxiliary language designed to foster communication between people of different native languages which ties heavily to the game's theme. The OSTs also features Esperanto lyrics.

[@jeji5860]

Did you know they censored Hulkenberg ass cheeks in the retail version

[@mouadelmoujaddidi6580]

Thought Refantazio was Italian

[@FullMetalB]

​@@jeji5860who cares

[@Paraguai123]

​@@jeji5860Literally no one asked and no one cares

[@athas65]

​@mouadelmoujaddidi6580 Esperanto in general takes a lot from Romance languages like Italian and Spanish, so I assume that's why it matches

[@ZeroEscape2074]

I understand Shawn is the former executive, but damn I love how he talks about the industry, yes making money is important, but creativity is also very important

[@sidew8ys]

We need more people who understand the need for that balance. Because none of this industry would exist without the creative part to begin with

[@SevaineEmiya]

I love how positive Jake is. When he said "I got one of the twists spoiled for me" and others said aww, he continued, "I was like holy shit, that's cool" 😂😂😂😂

[@mo-akif]

dude got Ant Man vibes, just happy to be there (and hes awesome, dont get me wrong)

[@daisuke133]

I'm reading your comment while hearing Jake saying "I hope baby Yoda dies, I hate him" haha

[@emperman]

Shawn Layden and Shu left the top spot at Sony and we've never felt their absence more than these past few years.

[@KidArkx]

Even as great as shu is, he's made his own share of mistakes too such as failing to own dark souls as an IP.

[@gamesux1590]

One thing I will say about Metaphor's menus is that they have a glaring lack of sorting options that really bug me and I feel like it's very unclear who has what equipped at any given time or who can equip certain armour. Really wish that stuff got more attention

[@Caesar-o8s]

Hi hi, while I def agree that no sorting option was annoying, there IS a "what archetype class can equip this" system, you just need to hover over the equipment and press whatever the equivalent is for Playstation's Triangle, it's a prompt on screen as well

[@drakeno4273]

While the racism theme in Metaphor is heavy-handed, i think the game does a great job of being racist towards the player in a way that feels impactful, and at times uncomfortable, without feeling preachy or disingenuous

[@pencilcheck]

not being personal, not being cheesy, and it ties to the story as well, pretty cool

[@patron7906]

I appreciate that cis male white players can play this game and finally see what racism is like. Outside of that experience it would be literally impossible for anyone to be racist against them, so I found some pleasure knowing some white boys would for once get to suffer and I hope they did, I hope they seethed and got upset or ended up crying in tears due to emotional trauma.

[@MattR8605]

Yea I was initially concerned about all of it. But, for lack of a better term, the discrimination feels “natural” and integrated into the overall world very well. It isn’t preachy, it just is, while also giving good motivation to advance further and change things

[@champton7106]

No the game is just good so you get over the preachy stuff. If it was bad the woke police would say this game is crap too.

[@RicardoAtenas]

Shawn Layden is my most favorite gaming executive and it's always a pleasure hearing him talk about the industry. He has the perfect balance between finance and gaming. He clearly understands how companies work to be profitable, but also loves gaming clearly understands what makes a game fun

[@dtanobo]

​@@heavyartillery-qm5huYou mean when he called out cringey people whining about Ghost of Yotei? And he was in charge when so many of the big titles we know from Sony were greenlit and released.

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

@@dtanobo When he said that games can't all be made in the west and japan. That's true, but if you make AAA games about minorities they will fail for obvious reasons

[@bigbox1431]

Make her gay and make her lame.

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

@@dtanobo I was talking about 38:15

[@dtanobo]

@@heavyartillery-qm5hu Oh you mean by getting different kinds of people into the industry? Like that's a bad thing lol

[@Pizza_force]

Just hearing Jess talk about the group relationships in Metaphor has convinced me to read her full review. I might have to tune out so I can go play the game...

[@MichielHaarlemHarlem]

Great review wasn't it? Conveyed her passion for the game brilliantly.

[@michaelrenee9738]

I’m 25 years old and this was my first experience with Silent Hill and I have never played anything like it in my life. My god what a deeply special game and i’m so glad it got remade.

[@popgoestheweasel7066]

You should try Alan Wake 2 if you liked Silent Hill!

[@a_brodo3158]

Even though the original is freely available abandonware on pc?

[@michaelrenee9738]

@@a_brodo3158 yeah i never played it

[@a_brodo3158]

@@michaelrenee9738 you’re missing out, it’s a classic experience you can’t really replace with a remake IMO

[@sillylittlesheepjax6009]

@@a_brodo3158 calm down boomer, many players wont vibe with bad graphic, bad combat, bad controls and bad voice acting

[@salagoon]

Tokyo is massive. If you are going anywhere thats not literally next to you you can assume it will take about an hour so with that in mind Chiba is basically still Tokyo. Its the suburbs of Tokyo a ton of people commute from Chiba to Tokyo every day.

[@user-dj9iu2et3r]

That depends if you're talking about the actual city of Tokyo (which is still massive) or the Greater Tokyo Area. Chiba is part of the latter and not the former.

[@TheRealUcanUwill]

I have never been, but according to Internet, its biggest city in the world now. Bird point of view of that city is crazy, its just concrete jungle that doesn't end.

[@andrewcoehoorn6505]

I just decided to scroll down on the KZbin comments for the battle theme (I get so much work done when that's on loop) and was reminded that canonically the music plays in the main characters head through the joys of fairy magic. So if you're wondering why he's bouncing in his row, he's not in fact waiting to strike, just jamming out.

[@Jordanbiggs1473]

Quiet nerd

[@jaymoogle]

I didn’t notice that😮

[@andrewcoehoorn6505]

Gallica tells you that through text at the very start of the game. It's easy to miss.

[@thewhitewolf4968]

@@andrewcoehoorn6505 spoiler!!!

[@FutureTrunks1337]

I agree with Ralph about Maria’s outfit, on a ps2 the easiest way to show sex appeal would be showing a midriff because of a lack of details possible with a character model. She is much more seductive in the new version.

[@Verchiel_]

That's why half of terraria's female armor variants have 3 exposed pixels of midriff

[@alexs_toy_barn]

44:18 Ralph's love of renegade Shepard really explains his disappointment with Veilguard and the fact that you can never be mean to anyone ever in it.

[@pencilcheck]

metaphor is awesome because it doesn't stay stale in the story and objectives, it keeps the core but changes the stake and circumstances very quickly. not entirely pulling the rug situation but similar to like going to a different restaurants enjoying different cuisine

[@evandipasquale9255]

Atlas has such an amazing formula for their games that any activity you do benefits your game in the long run. Nothing is worth skipping over and that is just good game structure.

[@mew215]

Metaphor is a breath of fresh air for me. I put 75 hours in on hard, and I'm only halfway done, Iol. You will get your money's worth if you try to explore everything the game has to offer. How people are beating this game in less than 100 hours I can't comprehend. There is so much here if you seek it out. Definitely my Game of the year.

[@mace8704]

Nice dude. That’s like 8-9 hrs/day. Proud of you. Capital G gamer

[@PyrusnVentus]

I tried to do everything I could in the game and didn't spend too much time grinding and I beat the game at around 80 hours. The only content I missed was two bonds since I spent like all my time on the airship doing laundry so I didn't have my royal virtues maxed out by the end and I chose to do dungeons over maxing them, but bonds are like 5-10 minutes each and I was missing 3 levels. While the game has a lot to offer I don't know how you've only beaten half the game while I finished.

[@mew215]

@PyrusnVentus playing on hard is a huge factor. Visiting every vendor, reading every lore entry, talking to every npc, buying all weapons from every vendor, mapping out days to make sure I can max out both my virtues and every confidant, grinding archetypes, grinding money, exploring....I can go on and on but you get the picture

[@michaelcerrone1025]

I will definitely play this

[@PyrusnVentus]

@@mew215 I guess the talking to every NPC and reading stuff makes sense. I wasn't careful about planning time since I knew I was going to do a NG+ run soon anyway and I can take my learnings from my first playthrough there.

[@Jmerithew87]

People always talk about Phil Spencer being a gamer and all that but it’s always felt super fake to me. Shawn Layden seems way more genuine and actually passionate in my opinion.

[@Jmerithew87]

@@heavyartillery-qm5huinclusion isn’t some boogeyman that shouldn’t be present in gaming. When it becomes the main focus and prioritized over other elements like with Dustborn and Concord, or with Dragon Age where it’s starting to break the immersion of a fantasy setting sure, but there’s plenty of good games that have aspects of inclusiveness.

[@fragr33f74]

Phil Spencer is a fraud imo. The sign of a good business exec in the arts is someone who can help cultivate and nurture talent from within. Spencer and his group could not do that at Xbox, and so they decided to spend billions on acquisitions.

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

@@Jmerithew87 Making AAA games about a minority of users is dumb tho.

[@Jmerithew87]

Is it? It can tell stories in a different way or introduce settings we’ve never seen before. If done well it can be a breath of fresh air, unfortunately we’ve seen a lot of games recently that have dropped the ball.

[@oasisbeyond]

They are Millionaires, thry don't waste their time playing games.

[@Ryan-gn7up]

Idk if I liked the civil war movie but i feel like you could argue that by not giving a specific reason as to why this war is fought you could argue that the message was "is there any good reason for any war to be fought? as anyone actually a hero or a villain in a war" Hence why it makes sense that its focused on a war photographer because when you are a war photographer you aren't there to get involved or to pick a side you are there to take pictures and get information and those pictures aren't always going to show "heroic things".

[@simeonpaskell]

100% agree (just posted a comment to same effect). I think it's quite a misunderstood movie. I thought it was incredible...and left the cinema feeling genuinely shellshocked.

[@HenNgTr]

I got about 98hrs in Persona 5 Royal and got the platinum, I still think that was the best paced 100hr game I've ever played so I'm very excited to get through Metaphor.

[@fseiba6718]

It was 176 hours for me

[@amolbhatia1449]

It was drag. I enjoyed the 50 hours I played of it - fantastic experience but I couldn’t handle the repetitive loop. Pacing and float were its main weaknesses imo.

[@fseiba6718]

@@amolbhatia1449 Interesting take, I have always thought that it is impressive that p5 has a better pacing as a 100 hour game than some 20-30 hour game so your take is a very unique one even among persona game haters cus even the non enjoyers thinks the pacing is good but i have always remind myself that everybody loves the Doom games but i can't take the repetitive gameplay and the problem is with me not with the game. So it is a you problem at the end of the day not a real problem in the game cus if anything the pacing in Megaten games was always a high rated aspect.

[@WackoWambo]

The dungeons in p5 are horribly paced, and apparently that carries over in refantazio

[@fseiba6718]

@@WackoWambo You clearly didnt play persona 3 then. Persona 5s main dungeons were amazing. The mementos were bad tho conpared to the main dungeon but it is too little of a problem cus the game is utterly amazing. P5 royal with the car thing when you can just hit the enemys and die clearly solved that main problem tho.

[@rabb1tdotcom-ie3vk]

Odd it looks like no one has mentioned yet... to clarify... Path of Exile 2 is NOT coming out next month. It WILL be in paid early access IF you buy a supporter package worth X amount (I'll guess $40, they haven't said) or have paid X amount over the life of Path of Exile 1 (I think it was mentioned somewhere around $150.) Also, it is NOT the entire game. It's like the first 3 of 6 total acts, and only 6 of the 12 planned classes. They expect it will remain in early access for 6 to 12 more months after that. But yeah, it's out in early access, but actual release is still a ways off. At full release it will be free to play.

[@Monkeypuzzle]

Steam just says November and Free to Play.

[@shinkicker404]

Where did you see this?

[@Deminese2]

@@shinkicker404 Literally from the devs own mouths for over a year.The only recent news is that its only 3 acts. Everything else was verified forever ago. Full news of EA access etc is in a livestream soon.

[@rabb1tdotcom-ie3vk]

@@shinkicker404 Every single interview they’ve done.

[@zztzgza]

I don't know why you guys kept trying not to mention Persona during the Metaphor segment. Atlus's entire marketing for this game was literally,"from the creators of Persona" in bright flashing signs. Even streamers that got sponsored were told to mention Persona

[@blakty2]

It’s the Elden Ring thing again if not mentioning souls. They want to capitalize on their fanbase, but these guys don’t seem to realize this.

[@Farowlol]

@@blakty2 to be fair elden ring outsold the souls franchise to a point in which it no longer needs its original fanbase and seeing as metaphor is outselling persona 5 royal 3:1 the same may be true

[@makasete30]

Ralph says “own it” so probably agrees with you. I do think there are some people joking or unfortunately being derisive in saying it’s just a fantasy persona as if that’s a bad thing. And that might be one reason the reviewers are trying to avoid it, and it can get old, too. The fact that it has a huge different world, history, lore and themes makes it a distinct game, already. Then you have the other differences such as young adult characters with different concerns to the teenagers in persona. No dating. Job system. Open world attacks. Unique music. Etc. I think it’s done enough to be considered its own thing and the comparison with Perisona is relevant in what it improves and does differently.

[@callumanderson6373]

Because people bitch about it nonstop if a reviewer makes any mention of persona even though the game is very clearly an evolution of persona's gameplay. To me it's very much like bloodborne is to dark souls. The setting and themes are different, and their gameplay has differences, but they are very noticeably the same kind of game and you can feel that they're made from a very similar framework. I guess maybe people think that having similarities is a negative, but I don't see the problem with Metaphor being persona-like in some ways, especially because I feel like there aren't very many games out there that play like persona (life sim/dungeon crawler hybrid with emphasis on time management). I haven't found many games that hit the way that persona does, so I was honestly happy to see many of those gameplay elements carried over to metaphor, especially since there hasn't been a wholly new persona game since 2016.

[@goofygoober875]

​@@makasete30"no dating", "open world attacks" and "unique music" are your sufficient reasons for this game being its own thing? sarcasm?

[@thedude7250]

I only play the good route in games cause the evil route endings dont usually feel satisfying to me

[@zztzgza]

Never played an SMT game then lol

[@thedude7250]

@@zztzgza nope, does it handle it well?

[@NotGeno]

​@@thedude7250well there's usually order and Chaos routes, both of which have positives and negatives. There is also the Neutral route, which is usually the "good" ending

[@hav0cfanat1c]

Lucy saying she still listens to Slipknot - Vol.3 the Subliminal Versus was the highlight of todays show for me! I LOVE that album and I listen to music the same way. Finding new stuff here and there is fun, but I am a creature of habit and I like my old jams. Shoutout to my Metalcore favorite, 'The Fall of Ideals' from All That Remains. 🤘

[@TheMetalGaia]

The Fall of Ideals is an absolute banger. Still jam it to this day. BRB gonna put on The Air that I Breathe.

[@hav0cfanat1c]

@TheMetalGaia mmmmmmmm... yup. Gonna put that one on, too. Gotta be honest, though. Six is my jam.

[@TheMetalGaia]

@@hav0cfanat1c great choice!

[@LordlyWeeb]

I don't know why people talk about no romance in Metaphor being some big limit remover. It's barely there in Persona. The only thing it changes in Persona is whether you can do optional date scenes after you finish their social link. Nothing else. It's the same as in Metaphor.

[@goofygoober875]

even if the actual romance is late, the characters are written to be more emotionally intimate with the MC because of the potential romance. So even tho you can technically romance Haru on the 9th link, her whole story is about fighting against forced marriage and choosing a partner for herself. You are the only person Futaba is comfortable with touching. Everyone thinks you're Ann's boyfriend, etc. That sort of storyline/writing gets thrown out the window because there is no endgame potential romance. There is an inherent 'reward' in helping them, meanwhile without the romance element it's like you're doing favors for them non-stop.

[@LordlyWeeb]

​@goofygoober875 I disagree, those aren't inherently romantic scenarios.

[@homieplus8492]

@@goofygoober875It’s favors and creating political allegiances and getting to interact with the background cultures in the game. Infinitely more interesting than omgggg I want to date this girl she’s so shyyy omg !!!

[@vetreas366]

Eupha is literally right there if you want a romance that badly. Girl essentially proposes AND her brother accepts the relationship during her bond events. It's just not explicitly stated. The Bonds are extremely similar to Social Links and even more so like Confidants so I really don't get why more explicit romance was needed. I did not feel for a single moment that romance was missing as I was fighting nightmare monsters and trying to keep the world from becoming a literal hell due to Louis Cyphre's shenanigans. Both Eupha and Junah's Bonds are written like Persona Social Links anyway. Junah even is an actual Priestess to match the arcana she'd definitely be slotted into and if you can't see the similarities between Junah and Ann/Rise's progression, as they all fit the Lovers archetype, I dunno what to tell you. The girl metaphorically (hahahaha!) undresses for the main character and specifies she would only do it for him and nobody else and we need MORE romance than that? Like do we need them to just have sex on camera or what?

[@LordlyWeeb]

@vetreas366 Who says *I* want more romance? All I said was that they weren't really a hindrance before. That's it. Calm down. Also, you should relax on the later game stuff. You have no way of knowing how far into the game I am.

[@JuliusKingsleyXIII]

The brilliant thing about Mass Effect's Paragon/Renegade system is not just that either are good and make decent sense, but the the progression from one to the other over the course of the series either way also makes total sense if you wanted to play it that way. An idealistic hero who just becomes so done and starts to play by their own rules because they have to in order to save everyone, or a militaristic space racist who slowly warms up to the idea of working with aliens and using diplomacy to achieve results. Love it.

[@TheRealUcanUwill]

Personally, I always end up playing Paragon, but I am always just a boy scout. I loved that question from Edward, its a great question. I am weird man who always ends playing the same way I did previous playthroughs, its counterintuitive, but I just cant go against who I am, I just can't side with goblins in BG3, I just can't, I will never see companion options that comes with that playthrough, but I just can't do that, I know its a game, but its a mental thing. Going back to Mass effect, I do not think it is balanced well, but maybe I had different idea what renegade is and I am just too much of idealist boy scout. One time I said - I will really try to be renegade for once! And I played entire ME1 extremely heavy into renegade, renegade bar is hugely in the lead. But then there is that Zhu prime mission where I get the option to either kill colonists who are in a way or stun them with gas grenades. And in my head, what Sheppard is, even if hes renegade, he is not just gonna kill civilians because its inconvenient. So I use gas grenade, and that action gives player so much PARAGORN points, it outpaces entire game of renegade run, that one option completely decides are you renegade or not... And I don't know man, at least in ME1, I can't be renegade unless I just flat out kill people who are in a way. Also, I always end up romancing Jack :D So shut your mouths badmouthing Jack, I am just too much of a ''I can save her'' guy. Also, I always let Ashley die, which is minority decision I believe. I just don't like her, too much right wingish racism under Ashley's skin.

[@jkagent]

@@TheRealUcanUwill The Paragon/Renegade mostly concerns means to an end, and as such is too much of a good/bad choice. In a better system, choosing paragon means should not always result in the "good" outcome; trying to save everyone should not always work. Maybe ME had some of these moments, I don't really remember all of it. But if it did, they were too few.

[@TheRealUcanUwill]

@@jkagent Yes, exactly. Games should be more like Frostpunk or smth, where sometimes, trying to help everyone or ''be good'', could really bite everyone in the ass and such.

[@kheops101]

Finally some video footage! I understand this is primarily a podcast but the fact you never really show b-roll videos respective to the games talked about, really make the format less attractive (personal take of course).

[@JamFlexx]

100% agree the b-roll was nice but won't be expecting it too often

[@baalernaruto]

The Shawn Layden interview was by far the best interview on the channel. Great questions, no interruptions. Keep on the great work. 👍🏻

[@tres4dayz]

Exactly... It's all hot air ​@@heavyartillery-qm5hu

[@KingSulley]

I loved hearing from Shawn, you can tell he really understands and enjoys being in the industry. I have to say though, for as much as you're calling it a chat, you're really just interviewing him Ralph. There are a few times during your chat that you can tell that he's looking for a back & forth, but you hit him with the "yeah, right- " and move onto another pre-written question. Not saying I hate the format, maybe you were sleepy or something, but this chat would have been better as it's own video on a second channel, because it feels so separate from the Podcast in tone and vibes.

[@Alex99876]

I totally feel that way about every interview on the podcast. It doesn’t “read” like a podcast guest appearance, it “reads” like the raw audio transcript of a print media interview. Which to me sounds far too clunky.

[@ianvaillancourt271]

Full agree, but there was definitely some time constraints in place that probably incentivized that fast pace.

[@gregperianayagam4522]

I only started enjoying the themes when your party memebers start reading the protagonists fantasy book. I assumed they would just say how good this utopia would be, but no, they push back a bit and go into a little detail on how this utopia may not work, like how you can't completely get rid of differences. They do wish to strive for this utopic ideals but from a realistic angle.

[@julianpischler9378]

Here for my ‘Metaphor: Refantazio - After You Buy’

[@cellovandervegte8986]

B-b-but my wallet…

[@restlessoblivion]

I'm more like, how TF am I going to find enough time to play all the good games that are out/coming soon?!

[@crisprvideogameofficial]

😂 I just bought Silent Hill 2 and Metaphor Refantazio. My wallet is dead.

[@drgonzo123]

Still playing Silent Hill, which is fucking scary, I don’t care what Ralph says! I downloaded the demo for Metaphor but the rest of the year is stacked and idk if I want to tie myself down with a 100 hour rpg right now. I still haven’t gotten to Baldur’s Gate 3 yet, that’s been sitting in the backlog since release.

[@libramartin]

@@restlessoblivion I'm already scheduling it in fear of the upcomming February

[@cellovandervegte8986]

@@drgonzo123 amen to all of that. Silent Hill got me going to the toilet early during game sessions because I don’t want to shi- myself

[@kyrias9391]

I mean the name Metaphor: ReFantazio makes perfect sense at the start if you just read the dialog and watch the setting down to the enemy design xD

[@WonOneWun]

Yeah these guy's don't seem too intelligent bahahahaha. Skillups ok can't stand the rest of em. Top right guest girl was cool and not dumb.

[@isaaccooper448]

Still doesn’t make it a good name 😂

[@weirdofromhalo]

Refantazio doesn't work though, because it's appending "re-" to what is a noun. But the re- prefix can only go in front of verbs when doing something again or going back to something, so it sounds super dumb.

[@WonOneWun]

@@weirdofromhalo I think you’re just super dumb.

[@thewhitewolf4968]

Ive never finished a persona game or even bought those games. Ive played 10 hrs of Persona 5. I played the demo of Metaphor Refantazio demo and fell in love! If it wasnt for the demo I wouldnt have bought it. So glad I bought it and so far I am so satisfied!

[@beefyboi64]

Amidst all the Persona comparisons (all very sensible, of course) I'm surprised no one ever brings up the turn based Like a Dragons since that class system is pretty much exactly what we got here. Metaphor's loop is basically Like a Dragon levelling, SMT combat, FF story, Persona everything else. Brilliant really.

[@Abobus101]

Probably because Like a dragon didn't invent this. The job system is a staple of jrpgs, and Like a dragon is being clear about taking inspiration from dragon quest, including dq3 with its job system

[@kyledouglascox]

I like that they took a mechanic from Darkest Dungeon and implemented stress and anxiety into the combat system. It makes the characters feel like real people

[@xander9460]

Me here being like. Nah man. It's BG3. BG3 is going to be GOTY. "Realizes that was all last year" WHERE... THE FUCK.... IS ALL THE TIME GOING!!! Oh yeah, it went into BG3 =D

[@phillemon7664]

Metaphor is Japanese BG3 so that winning would be excellent

[@Nergal134]

@@phillemon7664 How is Metaphor the Japanese BG3?

[@mo-akif]

turn based games r soo backkk babyyyyy

[@hododod246]

@@Nergal134 Yeah. It is way better than mediocre game like BG3.

[@dabsmasterflex]

That's a wild statement ​@@hododod246

[@dvfexx]

I like that this game bring up the old jrpg feeling and still has modern game vibe

[@whiterunguard6398]

To offer a different POV on SH2, I’m 17 and my first console was a PS3. Yet recently I played through the OG on Steam Deck before the remake and adored it. In fact I prefer the OG purely because of that PS2 grime. I sorely missed the surreal and dream like quality in the remake especially within the environment design and cinematics (those 2001 pre rendered scenes absolutely rock, genuinely unsettling). I’d say the problem with the remake’s combat isn’t the system it’s the amount. Enemies are far too plentiful and aggressive to run past like in the OG or other survival horror titles. To me the remake is still a great 8/10 but that OG is an insane 10/10 easily one of the best games I’ve ever played.

[@razxephon4873]

Thank you guys for keeping me sane while farming skeletons in Metaphor Refantazio Grand Cathedral

[@Evrgreens11]

At 1:22:48 when the guy on bottom left says something to the extent of, “well we know ‘racism bad’ but i like the storytelling to be subtle and leaves a lot more unsaid”, you (the viewers) kind of need to just think for yourselves a bit here. Part of why racism (and sexism, ageism, ableism) persists is because we aren’t actually taught why racism is bad but moreso just [told] that it is and punished by parents, teachers, and other small bodies of power when we push these bigoted ideas. The girl on the top right did a good job explaining that this game actually explains how racism is bad because it is upheld by systemic structures that seek to defer blame from bad actors to boogeymen like the minorities. This is a youtube comment section so im not gonna expect much traction here but the bottom left guy is not as smart as he thinks he is. Edit: just called them bottom left and top right cz i dont know their names other than jake

[@Take_The_Ride]

shut up.

[@sillylittlesheepjax6009]

they explain it in forced silly idealistic vision, it is not deep just your modern day shallow anime writing that jrpgs do

[@johnnyflannigan136]

OMG... Worst comment ive read in a while... And skillup is far more intelligent than yourself

[@kunimitsune177]

Wtf? That is not why any 'ism' is bad; that is the most brain dead take possible jfc. Racism is bad when 'minorities' do it too.

[@MarkHogan994]

He clearly said he wants things to be unsaid so that the player can think for themself and now you're telling him he needs to think for himself. Lol. Can't make this stuff up. The point he is making is that he doesn't like it when a piece of media just tells you what to think and what its message is instead of making you think for yourself by using subtlety in thought-provoking ways. Subtlety is something mature audiences tend to appreciate. You sound young.

[@msmoon6011]

The conversation around the use of colors in Metaphor made me think that maybe it's symbolic of all the different races that exist in Euchronia and how discrimination is one of its major themes.

[@kyledouglascox]

I think calling the monsters "humans" is so cool and immersive, like I'm actually in a different world totally divorced from our world

[@KyngD469]

Finding the protagonists and Strohl's awakening boring is crazy. You're not even a little intrigued to see where his storyline ends after having his family taken from him as a noble?

[@andrewjazdzyk1215]

I accidentally didn't get most of the end-game archetypes because I didn't find strohl's archetype adherent to my playstyle and having never played a persona game before didn't quite know what would be important to spend my time doing. Put wayyyyy too much time into royal virtues/cleaning things and was playing catchup at the end.

[@crissepiroth]

I love Metaphor man ❤️ I'm curious how much I'll spend with it. Persona 5 is my most played game on ps4 close to 200 hours so let's see, I'm really taking my time with it . Jeez I love these games, I'm also knee deep in P3Reload and it gives me such a sense of FLOW, such a comfort game with the music and connecting with different characters😍 A joy to play these 🔥

[@simeonpaskell]

Re. Civil War: I think the fact that it doesn't go into the politics of why the war started is intentional. It lets the film exist as purely a study of the horrors of a modern-day civil war, allowing space for the viewer to project onto it the question of... 'What would I deem worthy of fighting my neighbour in open warfare for?' I think - had it tried to cover the reasons for the war - it would have just served to split the audience into the well entrenched camps of current US politics. A really shrewd move I think and it's a stronger movie for it, especially given the times we're living in. It's a film that says.. 'Never mind the WHY, let's think about how horrific it would be if...?'. It's the opposite of stuff like The LAst of Us and Fallout - dramas that (as horrific as they are) - go some way to romanticising the apocalypse*..as in, 'yeah, it would be awful..but imagine how EXCITING it would be?'... In Civil War, it's pretty much just horror stacked upon horror...and it's asking you: Would be able to justify such horrors in support of [insert political beliefs here]? *I would add that i think the use of music in Civil War directly addresses this... e.g. by presenting a horrific scene of execution with a funky hip-hop soundtrack brings a real emotional dissonance...putting one one-foot in the excitement that comes wiht playing call of duty, with the other firmly placed in the reality of war.

[@DrogenShomuro]

I think I agree that many JRPG themes seem not-very-subtle for anyone over the age of 25. I remember thinking FF7s ecological themes were brilliant as a kid, but now they seem a tad heavy-handed to me. I don't think this is a bad thing though. Younger adults are exactly the demographic that would benefit from an interesting way to explore themes like this.

[@goofygoober875]

well yeah, but that was the peak standard of writing in games decades ago. it was heavy handed back then because writers back then were bad at nuance and subtext, it shouldnt be the case in 2024

[@sillylittlesheepjax6009]

@@goofygoober875 i dont think its bec of bad writers, imo jap devs just have diff style than modern western ones. they still use many overreactions and anime tropes in jrpgs

[@Romapolitan]

I don't really get what's meant with being heavy handed here. The whole theme of the game is equality and differing beliefs of what that means, with talk of differing political ideologies. You can't really be subtle there if it's your whole thematic basis. What I find more important is the complexity of the cultures presented and the different reasons why someone might want certain people to rule. And you find tons of it, especially if you talk to the NPCs.

[@vetreas366]

@@goofygoober875 No, actually it really needs to be MORE heavy handed in 2024. People are goddamned stupid. They are incapable of actually grasping subtleties. Have you seen the internet lately? How you think anything can make a point by being subtle is beyond me. It's ironic because if it's not clear enough everyone complains they don't get it and if it's too clear they complain it's too heavy handed. Sorry bruh but different people have different levels of understanding when it comes to these things. What you think is heavy handed could be the subtlest thing someone else was ever exposed to.

[@the_wrong8673]

14:48 I thought Jake was about to pull a Robert De Niro impersonation😆

[@DanH11]

1:50:07 - "By the way, it's actually not that scary." Ralph having himself a little fun here luring hesitant fans into enduring Silent Hill 2's atrocities. 😆

[@jeremylamb12]

Im a horror movie and game superfan. Sh2 is terrifying. And the combat is incredible and fitting. Ralphs opinion is an extreme minority.

[@sbeeezz]

Some parts of the labyrinth terrified me.

[@DanH11]

@@sbeeezz I personally struggled with the Prison most. The way that area is designed was brilliant. The sheer amount of anxiety that layout inflicted upon me each time I had to re-navigate it to get to the next most recently unlocked door had me nearly in a state of dissociation.

[@ScottyDo3sntKnow]

Would love for you guys to do a “special” and just answer a load of the questions you get as I love hearing your interesting takes on some of the weird and wonderful questions everyone poses lol

[@snowstalker36]

I don't think Maria's bare midriff was ever intended as part of selling her temptation. That was just the standard fashion when SH2 was originally made. Unless the rerelease is set at the same time, it would be out of place in the remake. It would be out of place to the current audience either way.

[@battlep0t]

Either way Maria is supposed to be James's more sexually realised version of Mary and I think they still get that across with the new design. People who think her not having a midriff any more is 'censorship'... they're entitled to their opinion but I think they need to pick their battles.

[@MrXxsnipesXx]

@@battlep0t censorship is when midriff covered

[@MarkHogan994]

The remake IS set inn the same time period as the OG, so the fashion would not have been an issue from that perspective.

[@alextiedt4481]

Shawn's interview was probably the best one you guys have had so far

[@docicusalignjon]

Man I can listen to Shawn Layden talk for hours, the man is on point with EVERYTHING. He is sorely needed back at Sony.

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

Sadly he thinks that we need more games made about a minority of users. They will all fail.

[@ArtVandelay592]

@@heavyartillery-qm5huGo outside and touch grass.

[@Dan-hz4vf]

his new ideological perspective would make PS go bankrupt. He was touting the big triple A blockbuster and solidified sony in that position then he came back after being let go and changed his stance right after and sat in bed with tencent, the kings of exploitation and shallow games.

[@yomamasohot6411]

I can see the anti-woke squad has assembled already😂

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

@@yomamasohot6411 And we are only growing. Too many bad games caused all of this

[@YouTioubeurre]

the light on Lucy's face is great

[@gioduran2016]

Not Jake wanting baby yoda to die😂😂

[@iamadiduzz]

I love how optimistic Shawn is. He must be a great person and surrounded by a lot of talented people ❤

[@Jayy997]

Jess's review for Metaphor Refantazio was spot on but also incredibly well written.

[@SerLaama]

-2 to my appreciation for Ralph for shilling for the plague on the gaming industry that is Diablo IV. You're failing spectacularly to hold them accountable for their behaviour and business model when you just repeatedly say "oh but it's a good game".

[@BoknoyBuhisan]

man i wish shawn is still at playstation.

[@HOMER963369]

Civil War isn't about American Politics, that's why it is so vague in this regard. It is about War Photography, and I think the movie does a really great job in that regard. I liked it a lot

[@Caspeaon]

Short answer: its made by atlus and atlus doesnt know how to make bad games.

[@jjay_jupiter]

2:12 that sigh was hilarious 😂 😂😂

[@KaalKurayami]

From the answer the guys gave on games with multiple choices sounds like they haven't fully played BG3. Skillup just mentioned you can be an asshole, but it's more than that. You can literally go down the evil path and kill all the good guys, join the villians, romance the villians, recruite them, join a murder cult and choose to become a tyrant in the end. Completely different from the good path. Even as a Dark urge character you can choose to resist evil and the redemption arc is awesome. I was only disappointed with two things but can't expect Larian studios to do everything. I've played BG3 multiple times and discovered a new quest or something new in each playthrough. Not many games can achieve this.

[@MickSaladin]

the og sh2 line reads have a very uncanny david lynch twin peaks like delivery that adds to the creepiness for people i think you are either into that brand of weird and off beat acting or you arent really

[@friendlyneighborhoodedgelord]

I find it humorous how Ralph wants Metaphor to be more subtle, yet later in the episode he wants Civil War to spell everything out for him.

[@zztzgza]

Ralph has no idea what he's talking about. All 3 of them didn't know what they were talking about during the metaphor segment.

[@goofygoober875]

yes, story can be heavyhanded about its themes and also too obtuse/convoluted about it. congratulations on figuring that out.

[@ianfarrugia4495]

Yeah, it's another case of "Just because a person is well spoken on A, B, & C, you still can't take for granted what they have to say about X, Y, & Z". I think the hosts know a lot about video games & movies, and they know how to talk about them, but everyone is bound to have knowledge gaps here and there.

[@Avesevenfold]

Ralph convinced me to get metaphor and I'm very glad

[@jakej654]

I think it’s quite strange how Ralph uncritically parrots the “her outfit is censorship” take only to bring it down, even presenting it as a view to be refuted gives the grifters pushing the “it’s censorship if I can’t beat off to video games” narrative that it feeds into more credit than they deserve. Even weirder when Lucy is clearly trying to dismiss it as she rightfully should and he just plows right through her to get his smart sounding rebuttal out. Nobody cares bro, stop giving credibility to views that don’t deserve it

[@andrewjazdzyk1215]

He has definitely been warped by preconceived narratives more than he used to be.

[@humblebird]

I wonder if every time Ralph says the words JRPG now, consciously or subconsciously his brain immediately goes back to that one interview lmaooo

[@MilkPudding]

Metaphor answers many major problems in the game industry now, including how to do diversity right.

[@XGiveMeLibertyX]

Black Myth Wukong showed how to do diversity properly

[@zztzgza]

@@XGiveMeLibertyX what? it didn't have anything to do with diversity in its story. It was just an adaptation of Journey to the West. Dragonball did the Journey to the West adaptation better than black myth wukong

[@PyrusnVentus]

@@XGiveMeLibertyX No, that game did many things correctly but diversity? That game's plot and setting couldn't give fewer fucks about diversity and it was all the better for it.

[@paul2609]

@@XGiveMeLibertyX It's CCP propaganda though

[@ronburgundy3023]

It ain't that deep

[@kwongwahwong6289]

The Tokyo-Chiba thing amused me... I found during my two years working there, it kinda depends on who you ask to whether Chiba is part of Tokyo or not. Part of the problem in finding an answer is the cultural reluctance to say "no".. Technically it's not. Tokyo itself is just the city itself but when you start talking about the various principalities and the Kanto region, it gets super confusing. You'll find alot of stuff they say is in Tokyo can happen within the Kanto region in which Chiba is part of. Another example is John Lennon's museum is referred to as being in Tokyo but actually it's in Saitama, again within the Kanto region in the north. Narita-Tokyo airport is also another example where Tokyo's nomenclature can get confusing, cause again the airport is actually in the Chiba region, not anywhere near Tokyo city itself. I found it best if you are just referring to the city is to literally ask "Tokyo city" as opposed to just "Tokyo", cause the latter as I explained some people will see that as the entire Kanto region.

[@RebatoGaming]

I strongly disagree with Ralph's take on "Civil War". The film is a commentary on the nature of dangerous professions.These professions can be noble, but they can also be thrilling. It can be easy to lose sight of the danger in your excitement. It's also easy to lose sight of your goals in the excitement - did they really anticipate insightful commentary from the president? The setting is just a backdrop, it doesn't matter what nation the film took place in. Maybe it was the fault of the marketing that everyone anticipated commentary about American specifically.

[@raymondfranklin6478]

“That’s what they used to call me in high school” I cackled. Corn ball.

[@dingus2k]

metaphor is the first atlus game that’s finally really hooked me. the archetype system is a blast and i love this steam punk world

[@cylith5627]

Its totally just my own perspective, but Metaphor is an 8/10 for me. 8.5 being generous for my personal tastes. I put 90hrs in it(I get my money's worth even if I dont love the game so I have a full optinion). The gameplay, systems, and QoL are great hence the 8/10. Its because I was not impressed by the story or the whole cast For example: Racism bad....thats it, the whole point of what the main drive is. Also oh look, the Church is evil....for the billionth time....wow...so original. The villain, though having more charisma for sure, is generic strong eat the weak.

[@shutup1037]

Better than Persona

[@vetreas366]

Please stop blaming the game for your inability to read into it more than surface level. If "racism bad" is all you took from the story, that's a "you" problem.

[@realramas]

Hope not, this game is very mediocre to me and i am Persona fan and Atlus i like

[@bloomleaf8310]

44:58 this is really where mass effect 3 does not get enough credit, when you can see really see some of the choice paths start coming to fruition. My go to for the writers just not getting recognized enough is that you can save mordin(unfortunately not much is done with it). Yes the main storyline was weak but everything around it is really good.

[@cultus_diabolus]

Why? I think all Atlus fans knew when it was first revealed last year they were cooking with this one. With how good P5 and the Royal additions were I don't think it's surprising at all.

[@DontuseMyRealNameYTplz1425]

It’s literally led by the same guys who directed Persona 3-5, this game was always going to be good

[@Caspeaon]

@@DontuseMyRealNameYTplz1425 yeah it would have been more surprising if it was under a 7-8/10 considering Atlus's track record of being allergic to making bad games.

[@Paraguai123]

It is surprising for people that think "Persona team? Persona game", because the school setting and hard JRPG style gameplay (not difficulty, mind you) turns them off. For fans of the series like us, this was expected.

[@Yagisho]

can we get the face ralph makes at 2:17:57 as a stock reaction face for thumbnails please thank you

[@brachialplexus100]

Gotta say, Jess review was spectacular. Not because she gave it a 10 as I also happen to like the game but because it was so personal, deep and meticulous. My new favourite reviewer, gotta say.

[@gareth2582]

the shirt is throw back to 70's TV where you got to watch static/snow for half of the day :)

[@Muck-da]

Garrus imma let you finish but Tali is the best Mass Effect romance of ALL time!!!

[@TheRealUcanUwill]

Man, all you guys want me to go back and replay Mass effect. If we count all 3 games as one, Its my favorite game ever made. But I missed on most romances, I ever only romanced Jack and Liara, and I never completed full 3 game playthrough as fem shep. I hate that EA does not put legendary edition on STEAM, I want my games on STEAM damn it, no body likes your damn launchers EA, UBI< etc.

[@zin0719]

​​@@TheRealUcanUwill Uh Legendary Edition has been on steam for a while... Edit: Unless you meant with EA app removed entirely. Then ignore me.

[@TheRealUcanUwill]

@@zin0719 Oh, I didn't know it was on steam, maybe I am stupid, but some games just never appear when I search them, they only appear when I google them, am I stupid? Yeah, I will take it with EA launcher, but I do hate that, if you sell game on STEAM, don't make me log in to another launcher. Basic SIMS 4 on steam is now free, but I never booted it, because it needed that launcher, and I just refused to support that behavior. With Mass Effect, I might overlook that.

[@tohotmoss4504]

I managed to find the secret boss in metaphor it took me a while but I made a team and build of archetypes made to crush him and I did it. It felt so good on all fights too with any boss I havent played something like this for so long it was awesome!

[@gregeichler5237]

I’m surprised to hear people gushing about Metaphor. I’m nearly finished with the demo, and it’s just not very good. Tedious day-to-day gameplay, annoying music, annoying UI and visual design, no standout characters, a predictable storyline, and a combat system that isn’t particularly challenging. There are also a lot of loading screens, which is fine, but it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to any other game I play on PS5. It just seems like people want the game to be great, more than it actually being great.

[@sillylittlesheepjax6009]

it is good jrpg but nothing special

[@SonicBoyster]

Read back what you wrote here. "I don't know why people like this thing I don't like. I don't like it. They must be trying to lie to themselves about it being great." C'mon, man. Level up your critical thinking stats a little bit. If the game isn't for you, it isn't for you. Surely things are allowed to exist in this world that you do not personally appreciate.

[@user-kr5vm8nk1d]

Yup, I bounced right off the demo. The loading screens took forever and the menus were just too busy for me. Didn’t even get as far as the combat which was the part that interested me.

[@lewicy165]

@@SonicBoyster bro some things about the game are just objectively bad. Writing in many cases just sucks. spoilers down below Quite early in the story a saintess, town lord is cought by the main character and the gang to be responsible for kidnaping children and feeding them to her monster baby, after you kill the baby she falls to her knees and weeps, instantly acknowledges that she was doing horrible things and says she will even confess everything in front of their worlds pope... and then the gang starts sympathasing with her... like hello?? are we gonna forget everything? no mention ? Hulkenberg you were prepared to go on a fcking bloody crusade for your prince but some village kids dont matter when a saintess is crying and showing remorse?? Disgusting. It's like atlus forgot that its not persona 5 and villains shouldnt suddenly do a 180 when its plot convinient.

[@andrewjazdzyk1215]

​@lewicy165 nah they weren't going to forgive her for her crimes but can also acknowledge that they understand why someone became who they became. They even do it with the final villain at the end.

[@SaintVeloth]

The Persona comparisons are obviously warranted for Metaphor, but also the game builds off of Shin Megami Tensei's strengths in a meaningful way as well. Y'all are missing out if you haven't played SMT

[@riksweeney]

Tokyo Gaming Show being nowhere near Tokyo reminds me of half the England airports being named "London (something)" despite being nowhere near said city.

[@themightyant.]

100%. They do this with airports a lot. London Luton, London Southend etc. it’s false advertising.

[@paul2609]

Chiba is within Tokyo, it is a suburb of Tokyo that just happens to be not in the middle of the city of Tokyo....

[@kunimitsune177]

@themightyant Luton is considered *greater* London.

[@thequestline2227]

I think the D4 take is quite generous. They pretty much got the game to a release state in the season prior to the expansion. I don't feel it's a fringe opinion to say they framed an early access product as a full AAA release and the cadence of updates is mainline dev and damage control.

[@galacticmaui2]

😅 Playing Metaphor has made me realize this is not my style of game…like a really want to like it but 15 hours in and I’m so bored. Guess I’m too much of a lizard brain to appreciate. Been liking Astro Bot and Sparking Zero a lot though.

[@wardy4903]

Turn based Jrpgs haven't found a way to make it feel like you aren't just navigating a menu for combat yet. Sometimes they get tactical with positioning which is better but the ones where people just stand in a line and take turns waiting for the player to select a menu item feel outdated and slow.

[@goofygoober875]

​@@wardy4903I'm willing to bet turn based isnt the problem for OP, it's the visual novel storytelling style. Endless stream of dialogue from every character commenting on every single thing. It is treasure for someone who is into the story from the start but coal for anyone waiting for plot developments to hook them in

[@kunimitsune177]

It's exactly my kind of game but I still find it wildly boring - Atlus games, for sll their praise are usually an awkwardly paced ~100 hour slog.

[@oldmatttv]

Always look forward to this podcast. It's the best in gaming, but also in just vibes. Thank you.

[@SupaFly-gx1zo]

I don't know, Metaphor is neat but it feels like watered down Persona. I'm 10 hours in and the amount of times the game wrestles controls out of my hands to make me watch a cutscene that takes 2 minutes to sit through to communicate the simplest things is super irritating. I legit would refund it if Steam's policy didn't require less than 2 hours of gameplay. It's a cool concept, but it's executed terribly imo.

[@AmandaDS]

Did not expect Lucy to tell the boys to 'get their colours done' first thing, lol

[@RC93725]

Ralph being so addicted to elden ring that he wants james to be less capable & have a stamina bar in sh2 is crazy 😂😂😂 yall gotta give the fromsoftware games a break man.

[@crushtinbox1]

"I can branch out to dark blue"... man I feel that in my soul

[@samburriss]

Metaphor Refantazio is not a bad name, as every podcaster i've listened to talk about this game say its name like 10 times

[@kunimitsune177]

It's an awful name

[@sweetproject6337]

​@@kunimitsune177wait really...I think it's pretty cool..

[@symphoricquoz3763]

@@sweetproject6337 A lot of people get hung up about marketability and brevity when discussing titles. Sometimes it makes sense when it's comically generic, like Immortals: Fenyx Rising, but I get the impression that people like pointing out potential Fenyx Risings so much that there's no room for a middle ground of "okay" names. M:RF is fine, especially since it's actually representative of the game experience.

[@AmateurHuman19]

It's complete nonsense, but nonsense does tend to be memorable and that's why all anime games seem to be named by random word generators. It's like they went to Google translate and refused to change it into actual English. Bravely Default comes to mind lol, total gibberish

[@fseiba6718]

​@@AmateurHuman19Japanese lightnovels takes the cake here. Have you heard the title- [I'm A High School Boy and a Successful Light Novel Author, But I'm Being Strangled By A Female Classmate Who's A Voice Actress And Is Younger Than Me]

[@mercurymachines4311]

I’m 52 hours in and it’s sitting at around an 8.5/10 for. It’s definitely not my favourite JRPG of the year but this year has been insane for video games.

[@andrewjazdzyk1215]

It definitely got a bit overhyped by everyone. I bought it purely because of the hype, not wanting to spoil myself from reviews. And I really liked it- mechanics are FANTASTIC and the story is impactful, art is great. But it is a $70 game with almost like 360 production value? To me it should be taken down a few points just for its price:production value alone.

[@jubjub388]

Astrobot is GOTY for me, followed by Wukong. The only big game left this year is Veilguard, which I don't think will be like old Bioware games. But lets see.

[@Bones1701]

Definitely my GotY so far, I have yet to play Metaphor though. FFVII:Rebirth is also a contender but I forgot about it because it was so early in the year

[@MagicManCM]

As someone who played Silent Hill 2 for the first time just this October via the Enhanced Edition on PC, the original voice actors did a phenomenal job! Some bits come off as awkward or stiff, but I think that sells the point at just how the town is affecting them. And even then a lot of the performances are just perfect, especially Maria and Mary. I mean, why else would it be such a big deal when they changed it all in the HD Collection?

[@sillylittlesheepjax6009]

MEtaphor is not a 10/10 or GOTY. Common guys, this is worse Persona. Story is way worse and long hours you spend in same looking dungeons is overkill Atlas formula. IT doesnt do anything new for jrpgs

[@maxbinski]

Re: Silent Hill 2’s combat. If James is, in fact, in a time loop, he would gather enough prowess around any kind of weapon and overpower his own stamina bar easily, ‘all you need is kill’ style 😅