Metaphor has ending branches and a New Game+ for chasing full completion — and a smart split across two runs makes maxing everything far less stressful than forcing it in one.
Endgame
- Three story choices decide the ending; bonds do not — see How endings work below.
- New Game+ carries progress forward for a stronger, faster second run.
- Use NG+ to master remaining Archetypes; Follower bonds start over, so they must be raised again.
- The true ending has no bond or stat requirement: avoid the three bad-ending answers and defeat the final boss.
How endings work
Three story choices, not NG+ and not bond completion, decide which of four endings you get.
👑 True ending
Defeat Louis and destroy the Royal Sceptre. Hythlodaeus crowns Will king before departing for good; a year after the coronation, Will and the party set out to fix what is left of the kingdom.
💀 Bad ending — give up at the elda sanctum
At the elda sanctum, refuse to admit you are the prince: Louis takes the throne unopposed and erases Euchronia from history.
💀 Bad ending — join Louis
In the final confrontation, agree to join Louis' cause: the two of you rule the newly formed human nation together, and it quickly collapses into chaos.
💀 Bad ending — accept More's utopia
Accept More's claim that Euchronia was only a fantasy: you leave it to its fate and stay in More's "utopia" instead.
Before the last conversations
Each bad ending comes from one of those three choices and gives no trophy or reward. Save before late story conversations; turning down each of the three leads to the true ending.
Planning your runs
- Run one: enjoy the story and max the bonds you can; note what you missed.
- NG+ carries Archetype ranks, money, MAG and Royal Virtues, but character level and Follower ranks reset — ideal for mastering Archetypes and the superbosses.
- Check what does and doesn't transfer before starting NG+ so you plan correctly.
- Leave the hardest optional bosses for the stronger NG+ party.
What carries over
- NG+ keeps most items, money, MAG, Royal Virtues, scanned enemies, the Memorandum and Archetype ranks; your character level does not carry.
- Sources differ on the Archetypes themselves: Screen Rant says they must be unlocked again, and a carried rank only applies once the Archetype is back; Game8 says you can switch to any Archetype you unlocked in the previous run.
- Enemies scale up, so your carried-over build handles the tougher optional bosses.
- Confirm exactly what transfers before you start so you can plan the second run.
What carries over, and what does not
Worth reading before the ending rather than after, because it changes what is worth
chasing in the first run.
| Carries over | Starts again |
|---|---|
| Archetype progress — Screen Rant says the Archetypes are locked until you unlock them again; Game8 says you can switch to any you had unlocked | Your level. You start at 1 |
| Royal Virtues | Bond ranks |
| Most equipment and items, plus Max Bond key items | Stats gained from incense and activities |
| All currency — Reeves and MAG | Essential story items, unless they came from a bond reward |
| The Memorandum, plus new entries from the ending | |
| Enemy Knowledge |
Royal Virtues carrying over is the big one. They gate bonds and dialogue, and in
a second run you already have them — so the days you would have spent raising
virtues go straight into
bonds instead. That, and not the equipment, is what makes a second run
faster.
Cross-checked
Cross-checked on 5 September 2026 against Game8's and Screen Rant's New Game Plus guides — both confirm Royal Virtues and Archetype progress carry over; Game8 confirms Enemy Knowledge and the Memorandum. Re-checked on 3 October 2026 against PlayStationTrophies and GameFAQs (incense stat gains reset; the incense items carry over). Updated on 23 September 2026 from Wikipedia and Game8's endings guide: added the 'How endings work' section above — the true ending and the three bad endings (giving up at the elda sanctum, joining Louis, accepting More's utopia) — which this page did not cover before despite promising 'how endings work'. Not from a playthrough: nobody here has played it, and what the sources do not describe is not on this page.