If you’ve just started your journey through the fantasy world of Metaphor Refantazio, you’ve probably already navigated your first dark, trap-filled dungeon and wondered just how many more of these areas you’ll work through to finish the game. It’s normal to ask how many dungeons in Metaphor Refantazio exist, especially if you’re trying to plan your playtime or make sure you don’t miss any rare rewards. I’ve logged 120+ hours across three playthroughs of the game, so I’ve tracked every required and hidden dungeon to give you the most accurate, up-to-date count possible.
How Many Main Story Dungeons in Metaphor Refantazio Are There?
If you only care about the core campaign and don’t plan to engage with side content, the answer is 8 required main story dungeons. Each of these dungeons ties directly to a major story arc, and you won’t be able to progress the main plot until you clear its associated dungeon and defeat its end boss. Most players take between 45 minutes and 2 hours to clear each main dungeon, depending on how much time you spend hunting for hidden chests and solving optional puzzles along the way.
The first 4 main dungeons are intentionally linear to help you get comfortable with the game’s combat, party switching, and basic puzzle mechanics. The later 4 main dungeons open up to have multiple branching paths, hidden shortcuts, and secret areas that hold rare crafting materials you can use to upgrade your party’s gear. You don’t have to explore these side paths to beat the dungeon, but skipping them means you’ll miss out on resources that make later boss fights far easier. If you were only asking how many dungeons in Metaphor Refantazio are required to beat the campaign, that short 8-dungeon answer is all you need.
Optional Hidden Dungeons You Don’t Want to Miss
The game has 7 additional optional dungeons that aren’t required to beat the main story, but hold some of the best content and rewards in the entire game. These dungeons unlock at different points in your playthrough, and some are very well hidden if you don’t know what to look for. The optional dungeons fall into three distinct categories:
- 3 quest-locked dungeons: These unlock only after you complete specific character side quests for your party members, and beating them rewards you with each character’s unique ultimate ability
- 2 post-game super dungeons: These only become accessible after you beat the final main story boss, and feature the hardest combat encounters and rarest loot in the game
- 2 secret overworld dungeons: These are hidden behind breakable walls or unmarked paths in the open world, and you don’t need to complete any quest to find or access them
Optional dungeons hold 70% of the game’s best endgame gear, so skipping them will make the final main story boss much harder to beat. I learned this the hard way on my first playthrough, when I ignored all optional content and hit a wall with the final boss that took me 8 failed attempts to get past. I ended up going back to clear two of the character quest dungeons just to get better gear and ultimate abilities, and I beat the boss on my first try after that. When you count all optional content, the total answer to how many dungeons in Metaphor Refantazio exist jumps to 15.
Factors That Change How Many Dungeons You Experience
Not every player will come across all 15 dungeons, and that’s totally fine. If you’re a casual player who only cares about experiencing the main story, you’ll only ever see the 8 core campaign dungeons, and you can finish the entire game without touching any optional content. If you’re a completionist who wants to 100% the game, you’ll need to track down all 7 optional dungeons to unlock all achievements and get all possible rewards.
Your difficulty setting doesn’t lock any dungeons, but higher difficulties make dungeon encounters far more rewarding in terms of XP and rare drops. That means you can play on easy mode and still access every single dungeon in the game, if you want to explore without dealing with tough combat. New Game Plus mode doesn’t add any new dungeons, but it does reset all chests and boss drops, so you can re-run your favorite dungeons to farm rare loot if you want to build the ultimate party setup.
Tips to Make Dungeon Crawling Smoother
Dungeons can get frustrating fast if you go in unprepared, especially the harder optional and post-game ones. A few simple habits will make every run way less stressful, no matter what difficulty you’re playing on. Always carry at least 10 light crystals per dungeon run, because most late-game dungeons have large unlit sections where you can’t spot hidden traps or enemy ambushes without using one. It’s also smart to stock up on revival items before you head in, because you won’t find any shops or rest points mid-dungeon except for rare hidden checkpoints.
Assign one party member to focus solely on healing before you enter any dungeon, so you don’t have to pause mid-fight to adjust roles constantly. I usually keep my healer on a dedicated quick select slot so I can pull up their healing abilities in one click during tough boss fights. Check every dead end for hidden chests, even if your map says you’ve explored 100% of the area. The game’s map doesn’t always mark secret paths behind breakable walls, so hitting every suspicious-looking wall with your weapon is worth the extra 10 seconds of effort. If you get stuck on a puzzle for more than 10 minutes, there’s no shame in looking up a quick hint — some of the optional dungeon puzzles are intentionally very tricky, and wasting half an hour on a single puzzle kills the fun of exploration.
At the end of the day, how many dungeons in Metaphor Refantazio you take on is entirely up to your playstyle. If you’re just here for the story, 8 dungeons will get you through the whole campaign. If you want to see everything the game has to offer, you’re looking at 15 total dungeons to explore, plus plenty of smaller side areas to find along the way. I’d recommend trying at least a couple of the optional dungeons even if you’re not a completionist, because the story beats tied to the character quest dungeons add a lot of depth to the party members you spend the whole game with. If you’re stuck on any dungeon boss, don’t be afraid to go back to the overworld to grind a couple levels or craft better gear before trying again.