I don’t need to tell you this game is a masterpiece, everyone else already has.
But now that I’ve completed it for the second time with this being done on PC, I have a few brief comments I would like to share in my experience with playing this game. Most notably, I can’t think of another game I’ve played that utilizes its format as a storytelling medium the same way this game does it. So instead of just going about how each factor I usually think of in a game and how well it does it, I’d like to provide some thoughts I had as I finished every route.
The A route is honestly amazing as is, even if it barely actually uncovers what this game is about, it’s an incredibly great hook for a masterfully solid action game with some cool mysteries that leaves you yearning for more as it does a great job in setting the foundation of the Android v Machine war. Honestly, they could literally just sell this game with route A alone and I would argue it's already worth purchasing at full price with how expansive the world and beautiful the game is and the depth gameplay it has with its combat and customization even if it's just a 13 hour story. Luckily, we are even more spoiled for content.
To be quite honest, I have some mixed feelings with how the B route is. I do like that there is a separate campaign as the lovable shota character’s perspective, but at the same time I really feel like they could have easily integrated both perspectives into one campaign. 9S’s moveset is definitely different enough from 2B with how fun the hacking is being a Shmup and kind of making combat easier, but retreading the same plot points is kind of tiring even if it does bring new story elements in. It's a blessing that they made this route much shorter than route A, but essentially doing large parts of the same campaign is quite tedious.
What truly puts this game above and beyond as an experience onto its own is definitely Route C/D. Like the second half of a battle shounen where characters no longer reside in the status quo, Nier:Automata finally reveals itself to be Yoko Taro’s magnum opus in presenting this wild ride that's captured the hearts of many players and tugged them through a whole range of contrasting emotions. Just this duality of actions between the 2 playable characters in parallel really made it difficult to put the controller down as this emotional rollercoaster makes one beg for something conclusive to everything happening. This game will make you keep thinking way after the credits roll, but even when the credits roll Nier:Automata is still its own kind of game.
Route E is simply genius. A culmination of the game’s narrative into the ultimate finale where it's beyond character and game, as this feels like a dialogue between player and creator. If the shmup sections felt like a weird juxtaposition to the action heavy combat gameplay before, it all clicks at the very moment you finally beat this game as it becomes evident how meticulous every design aspect this game made to get you to reach this point. I can’t imagine anyone not getting goosebumps every time they died drying to complete this route. The final choice you are given honestly brings me a tear to my eye, knowing this is a game for the GAMERS everywhere. This is the only game I can think of where going online really does mean something as a community as someone who doesn’t care much for online multiplayer games.
Of course, I still have some gripes nonetheless despite how mindblowing this game is. As iterated in my thoughts with route B, the game really does feel repetitive with how you’re redoing certain tasks again and again. Travelling also becomes a pain after a while since although there is a fast travel mechanic, some locations you’ll backtrack to are still pretty far from any point you can travel to. What makes this extra annoying is that this game has some annoying invisible walls with some setpieces looking like you can pass through them only to be halted, while in other scenarios you assume you’re gated off a path only for it to actually be jumpable. Also an issue I have with a lot of PlatinumGames I’ve encountered with MGR and Transformers which is present here as well is that the lighting and camera can really suck sometimes when you’re in the heat of a battle. Nothing that actually ruins the experience, but has those few problems that can irk me at times.
Overall, Nier:Automata is just a unique experience. Maybe there’s others like it, especially in Yoko Taro’s portfolio that I haven’t experienced yet, but for now it's definitely a game that is all to its own in my eyes. One thing I should also say is that for something so special, it also happens to be very accessible which I appreciate as the message and story of the game is worth getting as many people to witness this shining gem of a game. Anyways, 9/10 because my favorite character is 9S.
But now that I’ve completed it for the second time with this being done on PC, I have a few brief comments I would like to share in my experience with playing this game. Most notably, I can’t think of another game I’ve played that utilizes its format as a storytelling medium the same way this game does it. So instead of just going about how each factor I usually think of in a game and how well it does it, I’d like to provide some thoughts I had as I finished every route.
The A route is honestly amazing as is, even if it barely actually uncovers what this game is about, it’s an incredibly great hook for a masterfully solid action game with some cool mysteries that leaves you yearning for more as it does a great job in setting the foundation of the Android v Machine war. Honestly, they could literally just sell this game with route A alone and I would argue it's already worth purchasing at full price with how expansive the world and beautiful the game is and the depth gameplay it has with its combat and customization even if it's just a 13 hour story. Luckily, we are even more spoiled for content.
To be quite honest, I have some mixed feelings with how the B route is. I do like that there is a separate campaign as the lovable shota character’s perspective, but at the same time I really feel like they could have easily integrated both perspectives into one campaign. 9S’s moveset is definitely different enough from 2B with how fun the hacking is being a Shmup and kind of making combat easier, but retreading the same plot points is kind of tiring even if it does bring new story elements in. It's a blessing that they made this route much shorter than route A, but essentially doing large parts of the same campaign is quite tedious.
What truly puts this game above and beyond as an experience onto its own is definitely Route C/D. Like the second half of a battle shounen where characters no longer reside in the status quo, Nier:Automata finally reveals itself to be Yoko Taro’s magnum opus in presenting this wild ride that's captured the hearts of many players and tugged them through a whole range of contrasting emotions. Just this duality of actions between the 2 playable characters in parallel really made it difficult to put the controller down as this emotional rollercoaster makes one beg for something conclusive to everything happening. This game will make you keep thinking way after the credits roll, but even when the credits roll Nier:Automata is still its own kind of game.
Route E is simply genius. A culmination of the game’s narrative into the ultimate finale where it's beyond character and game, as this feels like a dialogue between player and creator. If the shmup sections felt like a weird juxtaposition to the action heavy combat gameplay before, it all clicks at the very moment you finally beat this game as it becomes evident how meticulous every design aspect this game made to get you to reach this point. I can’t imagine anyone not getting goosebumps every time they died drying to complete this route. The final choice you are given honestly brings me a tear to my eye, knowing this is a game for the GAMERS everywhere. This is the only game I can think of where going online really does mean something as a community as someone who doesn’t care much for online multiplayer games.
Of course, I still have some gripes nonetheless despite how mindblowing this game is. As iterated in my thoughts with route B, the game really does feel repetitive with how you’re redoing certain tasks again and again. Travelling also becomes a pain after a while since although there is a fast travel mechanic, some locations you’ll backtrack to are still pretty far from any point you can travel to. What makes this extra annoying is that this game has some annoying invisible walls with some setpieces looking like you can pass through them only to be halted, while in other scenarios you assume you’re gated off a path only for it to actually be jumpable. Also an issue I have with a lot of PlatinumGames I’ve encountered with MGR and Transformers which is present here as well is that the lighting and camera can really suck sometimes when you’re in the heat of a battle. Nothing that actually ruins the experience, but has those few problems that can irk me at times.
Overall, Nier:Automata is just a unique experience. Maybe there’s others like it, especially in Yoko Taro’s portfolio that I haven’t experienced yet, but for now it's definitely a game that is all to its own in my eyes. One thing I should also say is that for something so special, it also happens to be very accessible which I appreciate as the message and story of the game is worth getting as many people to witness this shining gem of a game. Anyways, 9/10 because my favorite character is 9S.