My Game of the Year has been locked down since January. I wouldn’t usually call a race 11 months before the finish line, but Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was a uniquely emotional experience for me, playing it in the days immediately after the passing of my Elvis-loving grandad, who died from cancer and extolled many of the virtues of Kiryu himself. There could not have been a more perfect game for me at that time. But looking back at 2024 as a whole, it also feels like there could not have been a more perfect game this year than Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Atlus’ fantasy adventure will feature very highly on my list too, but that’s not why I think it’s perfect. While Infinite Wealth’s perfection is more personal, it feels as though Metaphor’s is more global. The entire game is essentially an election cycle, and while the US can often be too eager to view itself as the world and impose its cultural importance as utmost, Metaphor does feel very pointedly like a game for our time.
It’s worth noting that Metaphor is a Japanese game and the developers have distanced themselves from making any specific commentary on US politics via the election motif. However, because games take so long to make these days, they’re far less able to make any kind of commentary on anything, because the world has moved on by the time they come out. The Florida Joker famously featured in GTA 6? That happened in 2017.
Because games are unable to reflect culture as easily as music, movies, or television, it’s rare to see a game like Metaphor. No, there is not a Trumpian figure in the game, but it still resonates with the idea of elections and the pursuit of power, because that is eternal. More to the point, Japan also had an election this year, which saw the Liberal Democratic Party finally lose its grip that had been weakening for years. That cycle was likely more in the mind of the developers, but it’s also worth noting that the UK, India, and (technically) Russia also held elections this year. It has been a tumultuous time for politics around the globe.
But it’s not just in the surface level sense that an election is happening in Metaphor that we can tie it to 2024. It’s the world of discrimination and inequality that Metaphor depicts, and the race for the crown itself that offers a deeper commentary on the world of politics. Had there been parodies of existing political figures either in Japan or in the West, this would not have been as effective. Politics has become a team sport and too many cheer blindly for those wearing the right colours. Metaphor removes those preconceptions to strike at the heart of why elections are so draining, so corrupt, and so necessary.
The Race For The Crown Mirrors Our Own
Let’s look at the race itself. Metaphor’s is technically not an election in the sense of everyone going into a booth and voting, but is instead a popularity contest where the ‘votes’ are tallied by a magical presence. Whoever is deemed the most popular candidate amongst the people by the end of the contest will win, wherein they will seize total power as king. That’s already an interesting idea – an election for royalty. It could be taken as a metaphor (oh, now I get it) for the way people deify their rulers, which has been the case in every country mentioned above, destabilising their political system to the whims of one man above the law.
Then there’s the way the contest works. The former king’s magic protects those in the race to avoid assassination attempts – ironic given this magic ends up saving the life of the king’s own assassin in the game’s opening chapter. But this magic only extends to the top three candidates, who are all part of the political elite. Those from so called lesser tribes, like yourself, Catherina, or Loveless, are out of luck.
As a result, when the frontrunners fight on the road to slow each other down, they only aim non-fatal blows at the legs of their ships – perhaps reflecting the ways politicians are often more concerned with keeping the status quo and winning symbolic victories than enacting real change. With radicals like Catherina, the voice of the voiceless, they are free to strike to kill. Catherina even fights with you, though she yields before any serious consequences occur. That too could be read as the underclasses squabbling amongst themselves, sabotaging their causes while the elites continue unabated.
Then there are the front runners. First and third as the race begins are allies representing the church, who want to maintain the status quo and ensure the richest remain at the top. In fact, the only change our third-placed king-to-be wishes to make is to cause greater suffering to the youngest so that the elderly can live in increased comfort at their expense. Most of Metaphor is subtle. That part is not.
The second contestant is Louis, the aforementioned assassin. He does not take part in the contest at all, lest he get his hands dirty, and instead sends a lackey to fight for him and tries to recruit others out of the race by offering them power and riches in his empire, so long as they trade in their ideals for his own. Though he was on the king’s personal council, he positions himself as an outsider, a man of the people. He tramples on the actual outcasts while maintaining his power as an elite.
Then there’s you. Throughout the game you rise in popularity as you impress the people with your ingenuity, kindness, and bravery. But there is one thing you can never overcome – you are an elda. Racism is rife in Metaphor’s towns and cities, with a clear caste system regarding race, though poor folk of every persuasion are ground down at the bottom of the system too. I think the commentary here could stand to be sharper (though ‘racism is bad’ remains a relevant message), but it’s clear that the developers have considered the society around the election race, not just the politicians themselves, which makes the plight and corruption seem more severe.
We’re all a little tired of elections in 2024, and it might seem like the last thing you want to do is play through a video game all about one. But in a medium where games so rarely get to be part of the current conversation, Metaphor is a fascinating and must-play experience. It’s not my Game of the Year. But it is the Game of 2024.
- Top Critic Rating:93/100
- Released
- October 11, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Studio Zero