Why Metaphor: ReFantazio is a sudden GOTY front-runner | Friends Per Second #56
PLUS: Shawn Layden on the state of the games industry, best gaming choices, and The Substance
Hey Users!
The nights are getting longer, the weather’s getting colder, and that means it’s time for some big gaming hours.
This week, we’ve all been absorbed by Metaphor: ReFantazio, the latest from a lot of the key creatives from the Persona series, and needless to say: we’ve been loving it. We have a spoiler-free chat about it with GameSpot reviewer Jess Cogswell who gave the game a 10/10. Please let us know who your favourite party member is and why it’s Hulkenberg in the comments below.
Also in this episode, Ralph chats to ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden all about the state of the games industry in 2024, and it’s an absolute must-listen. We also go over what we’ve been playing, some show and tell, and plenty more.
Games mentioned: Hitman: Contracts, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Warframe 1999, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid Delta, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Death Stranding
Misc. mentions: Jake’s shirts, Lululemon, HEALTH, colour theory, UNIQLO, Baby Yoda, Tokyo Game Show, the sick Kojima jacket, Day of the Devs, Kojima’s autograph wall, A Complete Unknown (Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan movie)
State of the Industry Chat with Shawn Layden
Ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has been hitting the headlines with his views on the current state of the video game landscape this week, and Ralph managed to grab him for a chat for the podcast. It’s a fantastic and wide-ranging discussion about how the industry got to this point and the volatile market publishers are finding themselves in, but it does end on a hopeful note.
Games mentioned: PaRappa the Rapper, Grand Theft Auto, FIFA, GTA Online, Starlink: Battle for Atlas (wow, remember that one)
Misc mentions: E3, TGS, Gamescom Asia
User question #1 - Edward Stockwell
If and when you go back to replay a video game, particularly one that involves a lot of choice, do you find yourself purposefully trying to make new choices in the new play through or are you following mostly the same path as before?
Games mentioned: Red Dead Redemption 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Mass Effect franchise, Cyberpunk 2077, Dragon Age, Baldur’s Gate 3, KOTOR, Fable, Disco Elysium, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Misc. mentions: Avengers, Justice League, Jimmy Champane, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot
If you’ve got burning questions you’d like us to answer on the show, email us or drop them in the comments below!
Metaphor: ReFantazio Chat with Jess Cogswell of GameSpot
Launching to a 94 Metacritic and strong first-week sales, Metaphor has been all we can think about since we all started playing it. GameSpot reviewer Jess Cogswell joins us to chat about just why the game works so well on so many levels and whether it’s a 2024 game of the year contender. Spoiler alert, it absolutely is.
Games mentioned: Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy 9, Persona 3, Final Fantasy 8, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Xenoblade, Persona 5, Persona 4, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Hades 2, Fields of Mistria, Astro Bot, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Misc mentions: Garfield, lasagne
What we’ve been playing
Ralph’s returned to Silent Hill and has been having a lovely time, but sadly can’t say the same for Diablo IV’s Vessel of Hatred campaign
Whoah whoah whoah, Jake’s revisited Uncharted 2 for its 15th anniversary, and has been beating up aliens (?) in Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO
Lucy loves the look and vibe of Phoenix Springs, but is a little mixed on its puzzles
Games mentioned: Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill 1, Silent Hill 3, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 3, Space Marine 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball Kakarot, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Diablo 3, Path of Exile 2, Destiny
Misc. mentions: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, David Lynch
Show and tell
We’ve been watching a bunch of films this month, some dabbling in body horror or monsters and ghoulies, others dabbling in another kind of horror: a rubbish plot.
Ralph watched Alex Garland’s Civil War (very different to the Marvel one, as it turns out)
Jake’s fully embracing spooky season and watching a bunch of horror flicks
Lucy absolutely loved The Substance
Movies mentioned: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Sleepy Hollow, Long Legs, Silence of the Lambs, The Birds, Psycho, Van Helsing, The Mummy, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, X-Men, Civil War, Captain America: Civil War, Men, The Substance, Joker: Folie à Deux
Misc. mentions: Devs
Thanks for reading! We’ll see ya in a couple of weeks <3
Major thanks to Lucy for rec Still Wakes the Deep a few episodes back. This game is freaking awesome. It's like The Thing on an oil rig. Also switched to UK English if you play
Big fans of all three of you. I'm compelled to push back on one thing you all seemed in agreement on however: if a game takes 10 hours to get good, even if that's typical for the genre, or fans are used to it, that is still a flaw of the game, not of the people who aren't willing to push past it. The people who make those games should learn how to make the first 10 hours as good as the rest of it, and fans should keep complaining until they do.