Metaphor: ReFantazio

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a role-playing game that incorporates multiple systems previously used in other Atlus titles, including dungeon crawling and social simulation. The game follows a male protagonist, named by the player, who is accompanied by his fairy guide, as he uncovers the secrets behind the previous king's assassination.

Players are free to choose how the protagonist spends his day, including exploration, spending time with allies, fulfilling requests for other people, and bettering his skills, though they need to be wary of any time restrictions. The game revolves around a day-night cycle and weather system, which dictates specific behavior in-game. The game features time-sensitive activities structured after a day-to-day calendar, which determines the availability of specific characters and events; this is also tied to the story, in which not completing a major story event before a deadline will result in a game over, forcing the player to return to a previous save. The calendar and weather systems previously originated from the Persona series. Also originating from Persona is the "Travellers' Voice" feature, a minor, asynchronous multiplayer element where players can see what activities other players did in a given day.

Metaphor: ReFantazio takes place in the United Kingdom of Euchronia, a medieval fantasy realm inhabited by various races called Tribes, including the horned clemar, the long-eared roussainte, the grey-skinned and white-haired rhoag, the winged ishkia, the bright-eyed and luminescent-haired nidia, the bestial paripus, the bat-like eugief, the three-eyed mustari, and the humanoid elda. Despite efforts to unite the Tribes as equals, discrimination is rampant, with some Tribes, such as the paripus and elda, suffering the most. Notable groups include the Sanctist Church, a state religion led by Sanctifex Forden that is rivaled by general Louis Guiabern, who follows an ideology of social darwinism, atheism, and meritocracy, and the Resistance, who has been guarding the prince since he was cursed. Following the death of the king, Hythlodaeus V, who possessed exclusive access to Royal Magic, without an apparent heir, the country is plunged into chaos amidst political tensions. The country is also terrorized by mysterious monsters called Humans.

The protagonist, named Will by default, is a boy of the elda tribe who has been ostracized by society and endures discrimination and prejudice for being "tainted" with the inheritance of forbidden magic. Along with his fairy companion Gallica, who assists him with her knowledge and ability to sense Magla, a substance that is the source of magic and is formed from anxiety, he embarks on a quest to lift the curse placed on his childhood friend, the prince of Euchronia. He and other party members also gain the power to call upon Archetypes, the souls of ancient heroes, while the mysterious author More, who resides in the isolated realm of Akademeia, helps them improve their Archetypes and unlock new ones.

Following the Japanese release of Persona 5 in September 2016, the game's director Katsura Hashino, who had been involved in Atlus' tentpole franchise Megami Tensei as the prior game director for Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (2003), Digital Devil Saga (2004), Persona 3 (2006), and Persona 4 (2008), as well as the creative producer of the publisher's 2nd Creative Production Department, later known as P-Studio, announced his intent to leave the development team and his duties with the Persona series, citing a personal desire to explore other projects due to what he considered a shift in creative direction with Persona 5. On December 19, 2016, Atlus Japan revealed that Hashino was establishing a new internal development studio within the publisher named Studio Zero. Their first game was announced two days later under the working title Project Re:Fantasy.

Metaphor: ReFantazio features Persona character artist Shigenori Soejima and music composer Shoji Meguro. The lyrics accompanying the game music were written in Esperanto and chanted by Myōhō–ji temple's chief priest, Keisuke Honryo. Other key staff include producer Junichi Yoshizawa, writer Yuichiro Tanaka, and gameplay designers Azusa Kido and Kenichi Goto. Alongside the game's reveal, Japanese publication Weekly Famitsu released an exclusive interview conducted between them, Hashino and Atlus company director Naota Hiraoka. The latter outlined the importance of Project Re:Fantasy as a new IP for Atlus, affirming that the goal behind creating Studio Zero was to "aim even higher" with original projects that could stand separately from either the Megami Tensei or Persona franchises, though the development team's formation was previously stifled due to the people of interest to the company being committed to other projects at that time, which partly led to Hashino's selection to serve as creative producer and game director for the project after finishing Persona 5.

Metaphor: ReFantazio received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic, while 98% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic.

The Verge praised the game's handling of the themes of racism and discrimination, finding it tackled such subjects with "refreshing nuance". The Washington Post called it the "year’s smartest, most exciting video game", praised its political relevance, and gave it 4/4 stars.