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Metaphor ReFantazio and the brilliance of the library model

These demos are an attack on my willpower

Grayson Morley

Grayson Morley

— 5 min read
Metaphor ReFantazio and the brilliance of the library model

They got me again, folks.

It started with Octopath Traveler II in 2023. This was not a game I was intending to play. Then, I saw reviews come in. Well, one review in particular, which compared the game to a short story collection. You can’t compare a game to a short story collection and have me not play it. Still, though, I wasn’t completely sold. RPGs of this length can be a bit of a gamble for me, in terms of whether they capture my interest or not. So, to test the waters, I downloaded the demo, which allowed you to play three hours of the full experience with no limitations.

What’s three hours to a gamer? Nothing. So I loaded the demo up on my Steam Deck, and nearly immediately, I found myself drawn in by the visuals (it was my first 2D-HD title) and the gorgeous soundtrack (it still rips). By the end of hour one of the demo, I might’ve set the game aside. Too long, too much talking. By hour two, I found my resistance waning. Well, actually, these characters are kind of interesting, and, again, wow, that soundtrack. By the end of hour three? A tipping point had occurred. I was invested in the game and its story. I wanted to see it through. So I did. And, as readers of Backlog will know, I loved it.

Enter Metaphor ReFantazio. Contrary to Octopath, I was not unsold on Metaphor pre-release. Like a lot of dorks, I love the Persona series and have strong opinions on which is the best one (it’s 4). I was not exactly unsold on the game, despite its objectionably conceived and capitalized title. It’s just that, I didn’t really think I wanted to play it right now. Reviews pegged it at 80–100 hours in length, and, having recently completed Big-Ass RPG Month, I wasn’t eager to declare “Actually, It’s Big-Ass RPG Year, Thank You Very Much.” Mentally, I had slotted the game into my forthcoming winter break between Christmas and New Year’s, where I would have the time to fuse with my couch and chug through the game. I had a whole plan.

And then I played the demo.

It’s a very tricky thing these developers are doing these days with RPGs. It’s become a bit of a trend to release the opening of these games as a demo. As I’ve said, it’s how Octopath hooked me. It’s also how Final Fantasy XVI got me. It’s also how Unicorn Overlord and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth nearly got me. It’s a tremendously smart move, not just for the economics of it (free!), but for its understanding of the narrative arc of games. It’s not just that these demos are free. It’s that they end right at the moment of mechanical and narrative buy-in.

The Metaphor demo is generous. I was able to play roughly seven hours of the game before it prompted me to buy the full version, which, of course, I promptly did. In truth, I was probably locked in to a purchase by hour three, even though the game was still, at that point, explaining its mechanics to me at every turn. What can I say? You can’t put atonal chanting into a battle theme and expect me not to throw 70 dollars plus tax at you. That’s just math. That’s just chanting math.

But, four hours in, I wasn’t ready to plunk down the cash right that moment. I knew I would eventually play it, but I still felt that it was probably prudent to wait a bit. I had other stuff to play, some of it on deadline. I am in the final stages of completing a first draft of my book. I am attempting to improve my running form after ruining my YouTube algo by looking up how to improve my cadence. And I have, you know, like a job? Point being, like all of you, I’m busy! And this is a chonker of a game! I would finish the demo, I decided, but then I would shelve it until the holidays.

Unfortunately or fortunately, those mad lads at Studio Zero had other plans for me.

You ever had a library book out and just got to the good part when you were set to return it? Well, that’s what playing the Metaphor demo felt like. It ended, for me, quite literally mid-dungeon on the way toward what felt like a climactic fight. Some crazy shit had just occurred that had my mind spinning about its implications. Its characters were just starting to reveal their complicated backstories. Combat was slowly blossoming into something intricate and tactical. The engines were whirring, and then a screen popped up that said Thanks for playing!

Thanks for playing! my ass. Much like my experience with the Octopath demo, I had reached a tipping point. Momentum had set in. I felt invested. I couldn’t return the book to the library. I had to renew, to continue on. The demo was like reading the first 50 pages of a really long but excellent book. If you can get past that point, chances are, you’re likely to keep going.

So that’s where I’m at with Metaphor. I’m only a few hours past the demo at this point, and I will likely continue to write about it periodically for Backlog, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t a smart way to launch these kinds of games. Giving away the portion of the game spent acclimating the player helps not only to sell the game, but to take some of the pressure off with respect to the player feeling cheated for spending their hard-earned cash on something that has, frankly, a slower start than a lot of other games. But if that slower start is free? Something about your relation to it changes. And by the time that you feel yourself wanting to continue, they’ve got you. So, here I am, having checked out the book again, wholly bought-in on this world, this game, this (re)fantasy.

I’ve been very inconsistent with this feature, but, hey, that’s life, right? Anyway, here’s a few things I think are worth your time:

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