Different genres, messages and character arcs. Why compare two great games like this?

My hunch with Automata is that it captivated people so much in part because we crave for those kind of cultural moments around a game - and this particular one recaptured those sensations in many ways - but I think the game in itself isn't worth it tbh.

automata is a game of highs and lows that culminate in a dizzying finale, and certainly the strongest unorthodox narrative beat the game has to offer, but one that still left me feeling profoundly mixed about the experience so im inclined to agree

maybe i don't understand what tricks you are referring to, but i don't really think most people love this game exclusively for the storytelling mechanisms MGS2 pioneered.