I was one of those kids growing up whose parents wouldnt let them play any game where you killed a human. I sold Nier Automata to them under the premise that it was just killing robots and by that point they had also kind of stopped caring so I picked up the first game on Xbox too. I remember it was kind of mindblowing at the time just how flashy it was. Changing perspectives was and still is a very cool trick in this kind of game.
So I have nostalgia here, and the plot of this game, despite being a lot more "mass appeal" than Drakengard, was engaging and fun. It definitely has more of a "the gang goes off to do one off adventures while the overarching plot looms" vibe which I think works in its benefit. This, or more specifically the remake because it addresses my main issue with Nier I'm told, is what I'd recommend someone looking to get into Yoko Taro games to check out.
Unfortunately the big issue that emerges in every Yoko Taro game pre Automata is that the combat is supremely ass. It's not anywhere near on the same level as Drakengard, and I daresay it approaches being fun sometimes, but it's stiff and gluey and janky.
It's a game that I see a lot of potential in, and so did Platinum Games and that's why Nier is much more of a household name now. I haven't played the remake and I'm sure plenty of reviews here are .5 stars complaining that they changed the ambient occlusion in the fifth room of the desert dungeon and it ruins the entire experience, but I'd recommend playing that instead of the original. Dad nier is still better though.