At what point does one make the decision to purchase and play a video game? A trustworthy developer? A promising trailer? Good review scores? The answer may vary for everyone–it may even vary for the same person depending on the entry. The critical commodities for enjoying a piece of art or content–choose whatever applies for you–are money and time. At some point the promise of a valuable experience overweights the price and tips the scales toward commitment.
Out of those deciding moments for me in this year, Metaphor: ReFantazio has a very weird one. To this day I still haven't quite figured out what did the trick. The music and score may be one major factor: the battle theme performed in GOTY orchestra from The Game Awards 2024 left a strong impression, and the mantra rapping in the original version was an addictive spicy kick. Turned out the GOTY version was merely a teaser. Overall I loved its music and scores. Soundtracks sure are one of JRPG's strengths–a valid reason to play as well–but there seems to be something else. Out of the JRPG I played this year Metaphor doesn't even have the best soundtracks.
It certainly wasn't the narrative, the thread to connect the parts into a unforgettable experience; the soul of RPG. I had no idea what Metaphor was about before playing. I did enjoy it though. The metaphor is obvious and while it's almost a fairy tale, in the aspect that it's hard to imagine such happy ending would happen in the real world, it did showcased the power of having hope, as I believe we should have hope. In a crazy world we live and having hope is the greatest resistance we can wage.
I had zero knowledge about its character build and combat gameplay as well. They were decently fun, matched my expectation of a JRPG. The quality of life improvements, however, were surprises. Whether they have been the common practice of a modern JRPG while I was absent from this genre for nearly twenty years, I do not know. Features such as battle reset or real time combat for low level mobs made the experience smooth and pleasant, for that I was certain and grateful.
The answer might be hiding in the previous game I played, a triple A RPG: Hogwarts Legacy. I shall write a dedicated post about Hogwarts as it deserves one for its impressive mediocrity. It did, however, contribute positive influence to my gaming experience eventually, for I wanted to forget about it as soon as possible, and Metaphor was what I found after. Oh the chiaroscuro between them, it felt like moving to a wizarding school from an abusive uncle's house. In fact, Metaphor was not only the better game between these two; it might be the best game I played in this year.
Several titles I have played this year. Out of them Metaphor does not have the best gameplay, nor soundtracks, art direction or narrative. Out of them, surprisingly, I found myself having the most fun while playing Metaphor. The game seemed greater than the sum of its parts, like a well oiled machine, pumping out hours and hours of pleasure. Perhaps that is the key factor for me: rather than outstanding highlights, the absence of friction has a greater contribution to a pleasant experience.