Metaphor: ReFantazio Does Indeed Support Cross-Save Between PS4 to PS5 Despite SEGA Saying Otherwise
For those who own Metaphor: ReFantazio on the PS5 but decided to play the PS4 due to its much smoother performance, there is some good news if you eventually plan on playing on the PS5 should it ever get improved. Saves are transferrable, despite SEGA saying there’s no support.
Metaphor: ReFantazio PS4 and PS5 Does Have Cross-Save Support
When SEGA and ATLUS dropped the Metaphor: ReFantazio demo last month, they also released a short FAQ (frequently asked questions) detailing what players can transfer from the demo into the final game. At the same time, they confirmed that only the Xbox and Windows PC versions of the game would support cross-save, leaving out support for the PS4 and PS5 versions.
“You can carry over your demo save data to your main game. Once you launch the main game, you will be asked if you want to carry over the save file. The game supports cross-save between Xbox and Microsoft Store on PC. Unfortunately, there is no cross-save compatibility between PS4 and PS5. In addition, it is not possible to continue the Demo PS4 save on Main game PS5; vice versa.”
The last sentence at the end confirms that it wasn’t strictly speaking about the demo but the game itself. Despite this coming directly from the publisher, it turns out it’s not true.
On both PS4 and PS5 (and we assume other shared family platforms), once saving becomes available, you’ll gain access to a single save slot called “Network Data.” Saving in this slot will upload your game save to the cloud and become accessible on either platform, meaning you can transfer your PS4 game save over to the PS5 and vice-versa. I know because I tested it myself, moving my Metaphor: ReFantazio save from the PS4 version to the PS5 and then moving it from the PS5 back to the PS4 using the Network Data save slot.
The only thing is that, unfortunately, any achievements earned on one platform won’t automatically be unlocked on the other platform. You have to re-earn trophies. You also can only do one save at a time, meaning if you want to transfer all your save slots, you have to upload, download, then save in a different slot on one platform, then go back on the other platform and upload the next save, and then download again and save in another slot.
One question some may be wondering: why would you play the PS4 version over the PS5 version? Well, as seen on some past cross-gen titles (such as Elden Ring), the PS4 version of a game can perform better than the PS5 version, though at the cost of worse visuals. The PS5 version of Metaphor does indeed suffer from performance issues, as noted by Digital Foundry in their breakdown with the game seeing dips as low as 40 fps. I noticed this myself and played through the PS4 version (via backward compatibility on the PS5), and honestly, I can’t say I saw any noticeable dips. It felt like a closer 60 fps experience than the PS5 version did, so for those looking for a stable performance, that option is there.
At least until ATLUS and SEGA improve on it. When they do, you’ll be able to transfer your save via the method above.
Of course, there are those who haven’t upgraded to a PS5 and may be doing so when the PS5 Pro drops. If they own the game and are playing it already on the PS4, they can use the Network Data save slot and continue their journey on the PS5 when they get one.
It’s a bizarre thing for SEGA and ATLUS, not to mention Network Data in their FAQ as a means to transfer a save between platforms, though I do suppose it’s not quite as convenient as the native support we’ve seen in other games.
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