It sounds like the upcoming Metaphor: ReFantazio will be quite the departure from recent Atlus efforts like Persona 5 or SMT V: Vengeance, with game director Katsura Hashino suggesting there is a "lot more freedom" in his high fantasy undertaking. While the central story is set in stone, how players decide to spend their limited in-game time means tough decisions will have to be made, meaning they won't see everything the game has to offer in a single playthrough.
Speaking to GameSpot, Hashino describes the situation, likening the experience to going on a holiday: "Imagine if you go on vacation. You go to a city and have ten places listed on your travel log. Some might take two days to enjoy, while others take half a day. Some might require a guide or more preparations, others might be safer. But you can't do it all. In this game, you travel a lot, and when you get to your destinations, you have a choice of multiple dungeons you can do. And all these dungeons have different difficulty levels, so it's up to you how you choose to spend your time. In this way, there's a lot more freedom."