There is a secret ending that can be found in the game after beating the S-rank leves in all the three colosseums that were included as DLC (but is included for free in this Switch port, which is based) in the original game. It follows the memories of a machine lifeform named Plato 1728, who considers himself to be a "defect" on all fronts whether it's with physical impairments, not being able to speak, having a low intelligence, what have you. He got mercilessly mocked for it by his "friends" and kept on doing poorly on many a test in the factory. He then found some solace and friendship in some dolls he found, those of which he can relate to on a deeply personal level due to his own issues and self-hatred. Sadly, this factory ended up being a battleground during the war and, after the dolls were destroyed in the midst of the war, ended up going berserk and killing everyone in sight, machine or android. It was like as if his life depended on it, like everything he held dear was lost at the hands of this cruel, never-ending violence. Afterwards, he transplanted his memories to some televisions, pondering over what happened, and what meaning there is for existence.

I feel like this is a perfect encapsulation of what the game is all about for me, especially on a thematic level. It can be incredibly nihilistic at points, and most certainly depressing. The shit that 2B and 9S go through in the game is nothing short of terrifying and goddamn depressing. Even characters like A2, side characters like Anemone and even the fucking bosses like Engels, Beauvoir, and Adam and Eve, all have a lot more going on below the surface with regards to their character that I am just fascinated by. There can literally be an essay made about each character, their struggles and thoughts, their personalities and philosophies, and how they try to connect to what makes humanity.......human. Pascal's village, YoRHa troops, the Resistance, all cling to something that was a core part of humanity and human civilization, attempting to recapture and emulate the past, of humanity itself (both the good and bad), just so they can try to find meaning in their own lives, no matter how insignificant or, well, staged it ends up being. The existentialism is so apparent, so baked into this game, and masterfully even executed through the fucking gameplay and UI that it just makes me awestruck that this game even exists.

I can't say it's entirely perfect. The tedium of trying to complete this game (I never done this with a JRPG before) can be a bit taxing, and the network could have been incorporated just a little bit more, pending on if you able to consistently be on it on this port. Switch and online don't seem to mix very well lmao. (This is, of course, disregarding what is one of the greatest final endings in any game EVER). There's also the performance of the Switch port not being the greatest consistently speaking, specifically having slowdown moments happening every-so-often particularly around the waterfall in the mall and the audio not always working in the hacking minigame.

However, practically everything else about the game, from the combat, to the environments, to most of the sidequests, to even the goddamn humor that can be found, is just.......so beautifully done. I don't know how people don't consider video games to be an artform when games like this exist as a perfect example of a bridging between the story and the gameplay to execute this existential sci-fi nightmare of a video game. This is not even TOUCHING on the soundtrack, which is holy fucking CHRIST-tier levels of greatness. Its unique blend of choir with orchestral backing, the melancholic ballads, its quirky, otherworldly nature is unlike anything I've ever heard in an OST, and I can't gush enough about it. I can't gush enough about this game, really! Suffice it to say, I am very much looking forward to playing Nier Replicant eventually, most likely the remake, but I'm also very curious on the OG that is available on the Microsoft store lmao.

On that note, there are definitely nods to that game that I didn't fully get at first, like characters' names popping up, notable events that occur in the game, etc. etc., which is why a friend of mine recommending me to play that first makes way more sense in retrospect. I can't say you can't start with Automata, though, since that is what I did and, well............you already know what happened with that. I also can't go "I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU PLAY THIS" since this is spoiler-marked, and I can't not mention some of the moments that happened in the game itself. But yeah, consider me a NieR fan, now and forever.

Strong 9/10