Metaphor: ReFantazio and Persona director Katsura Hashino keeps his distance from user feedback to spare his mental health 

Katsura Hashino, the prolific developer behind the Persona series’ modern titles and the brand-new Metaphor: ReFantazio, recently participated in a dialogue with Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama. Over the course of the discussion (published by Famitsu), the two creators touch upon the topic of user feedback. 

Although the internet and social media make it easier than ever before for game creators to find out what players think, Katsura says that he “tries not to be that conscious of” user feedback. This doesn’t mean that the Persona creator shuts out everything fans are saying, but rather that he tries to maintain his distance and treat it like part of his work. “Of course, I do check things out at certain times, such as right after launch. But it’s not like I can adjust [the game] based on what I see. When I need to look something up, I do it quickly in one go, because constantly looking at reactions isn’t good for your mental health.” 

When asked by a surprised Toyama whether he does things like looking up his own name online, Katsura goes on to explain, “I don’t, and I don’t use social media either.” The creator admits to even being uncomfortable about appearing in-person at promotional events. 

On the other hand, Toyama, who is currently developing Slitterhead with Bokeh Game Studio, comments that his attitude towards user feedback may be changing with the times, as he recalls being more dismissive in the past. Even though Slitterhead is not a live-service game that needs to be finely tuned in response to player demands, Toyama says that he is keen on actively listening to what people have to say and adopting opinions that he finds useful. 

Metaphor: ReFantazio is available for the PC (Steam/Microsoft Store), PS4/PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Slitterhead is scheduled to be released on November 8 for the PC (Steam/Epic Games Store), PS5/PS4 and Xbox Series X|S.