If I were to describe metaphor it would be Atlus's magnum opus everything they worked on combined into one game.

They perfected everything the calendar system is more flexible, the followers/SL's are all good there's no bad one the worst one is good which is amazing.

Gameplaywise it's very addictive really love the archetypes and experimenting with em, and this is my first time playing an Atlus game with the SMT turn system which I love I wayyy prefer this over one more since it makes encounters much more strategic and using your turns badly will cost u since this game is hard and I'm playing on normal, they took the difficulty criticism to heart cause some encounters are just brutal and making sure to get an advantage is a must in this game otherwise you'll get steamrolled which brings me to the next section which is the overworld combat which is simple you only have one attack tho depends on the weapons like with OG P3 on what kind of attack you'll do like with a crossbow you'll do range and a heavy sword you'll do slow but massive hit that has some immunity in it in, some encounters are very reliant on which weapons u use which I really love Atlus needs to bring this back into P6 cause it's amazing. There's also a dodge which is a dodge you can actually have iframes with it test it out in the exploding squids and they're great for em if you can't do the finishing blow, sometimes ally will help you too but most of time you'll do the job tho if you get caught might as well just try n run cause unscathed triumph bonuses are too good to not get and also you're prob be dead by now cause again game is p brutal. Turn based wise it's amazing like the previously mentioned turn system and archetypes which are a lot and sticking with one archetype will lead to failure so always changing archetypes that fit with the dungeons is key that's why another feature I love are informants they'll tell you what kind of enemies/bosses are there and which archetype suits it well which is a very clever way to put a hint in the game and making it make sense to the world and adds some lore to it which is always welcome tho one nitpick I do have is the enemy design variety is p lackin but the combat makes up for it.

Since the game is still pretty new I won't spoil much but man this game's story is insane soo many twists and turns that are all brilliantly executed the prologue did feel a bit too fast for my liking but other than that it's all amazing especially the villain which is Atlus's best villain imo he's soo good and the party members asw they all have their time to shine and not get neglected even the final party member which is usually the least develop out of the party members cause you actually interact with em before them joining the party like with Naoto and yes the messages is deff in your face but it feels quite earnest in it and also speaks to the real world asw sure it is in your face but our world's problem is also in your face I feel like that might be the case on why. And lastly the OST and artstyle is just perfect just perfect no complains here it's perfect and yes technically it's not the best but when the artstyle is this good it ignores it for me honestly do not care how it looks on a technical side since I paid for 70$ to experience a story and the gameplay which it delivers hard.

Overall the game is Atlus's magnum opus everything is amazing, gameplay, OST, and Artstyle only reason it isn't my favourite Atlus game is because of P3R just resonated with me more but I cannot deny a good story and Metaphor has safely landed in my T3 thank you Atlus you cooked hard all that 9 years of work paid off and also thank you for making gallica she's perfect

+forgot to mention while writing this review but the gauntlet runner which is another fantastic feature on time management on whether to tackle said dungeon or not which is also why the addition of weather is amazing making plans on which to tackle first and what kind of weather is up atm another thing I forgot to mention are the side quests which is really great for side stories and world building makes the world more lively cause some side quests involve you travelling to a new location and see the beautiful artwork of the place and that's another amazing thing the detours on seeing beautiful art backgrounds that just looks out of an art museum. There is still soo much to talk about such as the royal virtues having interesting activities such as debating or learning more about a tribe this game truly has it all which is why Metaphor is my GOTY not counting reload ofc and also the bosses in this game are all amazing design and fight wise skipped the superbosses tho cause Ik i'll be slap to million of pieces.

Score: 10/10 Would recommend any JRPG fan trying this game out