On December 11, 2023, Atlus's official Twitter account "Atlus_jp" posted a message about the game to address fan expectations stemming from the larger commercial and critical success of Persona 5, revealing that despite the fantasy RPG game being different from how Persona 5 works as a modern RPG, it would be made with the same mindset that resulted in that game. They stated that the game is a "commemorative title that marks the culmination of Atlus' policy of 'originality and empathy' through the fantasy RPG genre, and is not simply a nostalgic return to the roots of the past". The game's director Katsura Hashino previously described Metaphor as being a "third pillar" for Atlus, with the key themes for the game being "Facing your fear", because "If you stand still in fear of uncertainty, you will never be able to move forward".

Unlike the Persona series, which was made by the same team as Metaphor: ReFantazio, the player is not given the ability to romance their party members. According to director Katsura Hashino, this is because the player character Will is more focused on his relationship with the people and trying to become king than starting a romantic relationship like the player characters in Persona games, and that they wanted to maintain a respective sense of realism between Metaphor and Persona's different settings: