As we close the year, it’s time to celebrate the games that left the strongest impression in 2024. MonsterVine’s annual Best of 2024 Awards highlight the best stories, characters, and worlds that gaming has to offer, and this year’s pick for Best Story is none other than Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Atlus’s bold RPG delivers a narrative that resonates on both emotional and intellectual levels, exploring complex themes through an unforgettable cast and a richly detailed world. Here’s what our writers had to say about why Metaphor earned this accolade:
Best Story – Metaphor: ReFantazio
Spencer: The story of Metaphor is a moving one that tackles heavy themes like oppression, prejudice, and religious persecution with excellence. The characters are one of the strongest rosters in Atlus’ stable, while the world stands out as a rich, vibrant, and complicated place. From beginning to end, I was enthralled by Metaphor’s narrative, and I hope to see more games set in this intriguing world in the future.
James: Metaphor trades in some pretty blunt political messages, but this forwardness allows it to shine. What the narrative chooses to do with this bluntness, telling a story about a nation in crisis and the horrors that some of its citizens may find comfort in, creates a narrative that gains momentum early on and never hits the brakes. Combine that with the focus on doing the work for positive change and not just the results and Metaphor’s story reaches some incredible heights.
Samantha: While some aspects of Metaphor‘s story might seem simple, it balances that with a rich world and a great cast of characters. It’s a lengthy game, and it makes the most of those hours to immerse you in its world. Whether I was bonding with followers or sitting down for a series of exciting cutscenes, I found myself engaged with the story the entire time.
Frank: The characters, the world, the message. All of these things stood out to me so much as I spent the time talking to every character I could, overhearing the worry of the common man about the events going on, and even noticed NPCs who started out the game feeling one sort of way about groups of people in the world completely coming around by the end. Metaphor tackles some heavy themes about religious zealotry, prejudice and oppression and it manages to say a lot about it in a good way. One of my favorite recent RPG stories, for sure.
Diego: I’m only a little more than halfway through this game by the time this post goes up, but even from the jump I could tell Metaphor was swinging for the fences with the story it wanted to tell and I’ve been loving seeing how it unfolds. An incredibly topical, and necessary story that’s done with full earnestness by Atlus.
Metaphor: ReFantazio’s narrative succeeds by weaving challenging themes and bold storytelling into a cohesive experience, one that leaves players contemplating its messages long after the credits roll. From its complex world-building to its emphasis on character growth, Metaphor is a masterclass in narrative-driven RPGs and a deserving winner of our Best Story of 2024 Award.
