Patreon Pin Up 1/6/25: Hulkenberg

First pin up of 2025! This time it's the lady knight, Hulkenberg, from Metaphor: Refantazio. I finished it recently and while I won't be spoiling anything, I will be talking a little bit about the characters here so beware if you have plans to play it and want to go in completely blind.

The biggest thing that I'll remember about Metaphor is how solid the main cast was. Hulkenberg here is my favorite but just barely.  To me there really was no weak link in this party, which is just bananas. In my experience nearly every RPG has at least one Cait Sith who can stay the fuck off of my away team. But Metaphor's cast is tight as a drum. I think it's the trope subversion that tips them into the net for me. Like how the token adorable varmint character is also a brooding old timer with a tragic past. Or how the token male sidekick this time is also a foot taller and a hundred times cooler than the player avatar. I love those kind of curve balls and there are plenty to go around in this crew.

The main villain, man, they really knocked it out of the park with this guy. I'm so tired of sympathetic villains in my media. (And while I'm at it, twist villains could afford to take a day off too.) I think scenery-chewing, unabashedly evil bastards prone to grand monologues need to make a comeback. You really, really want to punch this guy in the face for the entire game, and that means he did his job exceptionally.

If you want a review of the gameplay I'd say: "You know Persona? It's like Persona." And then I'd turn the lights off and wait for you to leave. That might be a touch reductionist to be fair. Many of Persona's rough edges have been smoothed over (no more wasted visits with companions who aren't ready to bond!) But it's all still pretty familiar territory on that front. 

Well if you made it this far, thanks for reading! Have you played the game? What did you think? What should I play next to fill the Metaphor shaped hole in my life now that I finished it? Would love to hear from you in the comments.