The next game from the studio behind Persona 5 is blowing up on Steam, even though it isn't out yet

One of this autumn’s most compelling upcoming games is Metaphor: ReFantazio. Created by Studio Zero, one of Persona 5, Shin Megami Tensei, and Catherine studio Atlus’s internal divisions, Metaphor looks to be an aesthetically vibrant and narratively original take on the kind of RPG game design featured in the Persona series. Audiences on Steam seem to agree that it’s worth getting excited about. Though Metaphor isn’t out for a couple more weeks, the game’s demo has already found a massive audience, rocketing up the platform’s charts in the few days the playable sample has been available.

Metaphor: ReFantazio put out a sizable demo earlier this week, allowing eager players to dig into the fantasy JRPG through the introductory portion of the game, with progress carrying over into its final version. Considering that Metaphor is likely to come with a runtime as lengthy as Persona 5’s 100-odd hours, checking out the demo seems like a good way to either see what it has to offer or get started with a lengthy experience ahead of time.

Others seem to have had this same thought. At the time of writing, 9,097 people are playing the demo on Steam, with a 24-hour peak of 10,881 players and an all-time peak of 12,828 players.

Clearly, there’s a lot of anticipation for a game that our writer Ken, in a recent Gamescom preview covering just an hour of play, said had managed to “already [win] my heart with [a] pinpoint sense of style, excellent voice acting, and a slick combat system.”

Metaphor: ReFantazio’s demo is available now on its Steam page, with the full game’s launch coming on October 11, 2024. Wishlist it or grab the demo right here.

Otherwise, you can pass the time before Metaphor comes out with picks from our favorite RPG games and fantasy games already out on PC.

You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains