Reinbach
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Patreon Pin Up 1/6/25: Hulkenberg
🕑 Added 2025-01-06 23:10:30 +0000 UTCFirst 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.
Comments
TheFirstSword
I started it in 2017 on my PS4 and unfortunately ran into a wall at the end. I keep telling myself I'll get to golden now that I have it on PC.
Reinbach
Thank you!
Reinbach
XD
CooperJordan
I didn't have enough time to get doggo good boy maxed out but he was the only one and that's just cause I was stubborn and wanted to try the extra hard dragon quests too
Reinbach
I had to look that up! XD
Reinbach
Oh yeah I liked her too! The bond companions were all pretty solid as well. I think it helped that there weren't so many of them. This is the first one of these were I was able to max out every relationship on the first playthrough.
Reinbach
Thanks! And yeah much as I hate to say it I think toning down the thirsty/horni vibes from Persona served his writing well in Metaphor.
Reinbach
Thank you!
Reinbach
Maybe so, yeah. That felt more like a game mechanic first and a plot element second. XD
Reinbach
I love that she's a glutton. That was a fun quirk. XD
Reinbach
Noted! :)
Reinbach
Hey thanks! I guess it's a coincidence on the color palette, as I yoinked the background colors from a location in the game and just warmed it up to match the lantern. :)
Reinbach
Persona 5 took me a year to beat! XD
Reinbach
Thanks! I agree you can't go wrong with hot elves. XD
eF..cz
Gothic. All three of them. There is also a party with no weak links except for yourself maybe. :P
DK
I love this I’m still treading through the first dungeon myself so I’ve only seen her uphold this righteous attitude so this shy docile look is a great contrast awesome piece Rein
Karmagik
I have no idea what this is, but the pic is lovely! Big pointy eared elf ladies showing their boobs is always a win in my book!
TheFirstSword
I've done my usual routine by buying the game while I still have a pretty heavy backlog to go through. I'll probably get to it right after I finally finish Persona 5.
ScuzzBucket
huh- the sand-colored palette here (from the light) actually reminds me a lot of your old work, as I recall a lot of Caucasian skin-tones somewhat looked like this in your pinups! I think because you often used that single point of lighting, maybe? A neat throwback! Nice figure and hair, and I like how the eyes are SO bright blue, and the only real hint of that color on her person- it makes them really stand out. Zooming in there's some really nice tones in there, plus the great white highlights in the middle.
Lord of Nightmares
Moar!
crowspeak
Missed an opportunity to include a big ol dish of sand worm larvae that she can chow down on
Deano
I thought Louis was a scene chewing villain for sure, but I felt like the contest for the throne as a narrative device was super underutilized since you basically knew it was just gonna be you and him fighting since the very first cutscene. I never believed for a second that any of the other candidates were going to matter at all or even get close to winning.
Licorice Lain
premium pinup
Vent
I still haven't played Metaphor because I'm still working through Xenoblade. But the cast seems amazing. And the designs for the cast are as sharp as ever, turns out leaving contemporary Tokyo helped the team out plenty. I had my doubts because goddamn is Hashino hopeless at writing women, but it looks like he managed to do right by the female cast this time. Also: Sweet tits you gave Hulkenberg 😋
CooperJordan
Love the game beat it myself a few weeks back, honestly one of the best casts in an Atlus game. Huk isn't my favorite that's definitely Bridgetta
TheHelixFossil
Thought it was gonna be Nico when I saw the notification
