Yoko Taro's NieR: Automata is a game that I've been aware of ever since it came out due to me watching Dunkey's video on it once or twice, but I didn't get the urge to actually go out of my way to play it until years later. Since I've mostly been focusing my attention on games from the 7th console generation and everything that came out before it, I put my search for a copy of NieR: Automata on hold for the time being, but when a friend of mine lent me her copy of the game back in December (shoutout to Catherine, by the way), I knew that it was the first thing I wanted to do when I got back to York in January. After spending a week beating the game's three main paths across a total of just under 23 hours, I can safely say that NieR: Automata blew me away on every level, and even with all of the praise that has been built up for it over the years, I really didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

Since God Hand is currently my fifth favorite game of all time, I was really interested to see what a studio originally comprised of people who worked on that game would be able to come up with on their own, and while I didn't actually realize that NieR: Automata was made by PlatinumGames until I actually booted it up for the first time, I don't think I could've asked for a better introduction to their body of work. In terms of its core gameplay, NieR: Automata works wonders as a hack-&-slash character action game that's equal parts hectic and buttery-smooth, as the amount of mechanics to manage and aggressive machines to keep track of made each enemy encounter feel just as exciting and tense as the last, and I found myself constantly countering moves and unleashing combos that were incredibly satisfying to pull off successfully. The game's implementation of RPG elements worked really well alongside this, with the unique plug-in chip upgrades feeling varied in their uses while also making my own approach to combat feel personalized. NieR: Automata was also very admirable in how willing it was to branch out and go beyond its respective genre, as its massive sense of scale was achieved brilliantly through its implementation of shoot 'em up and even text adventure sections throughout its more conventional character action missions. On top of just feeling great on their own, the slick, responsive controls made me appreciate the game's gorgeous artstyle and world design, and travelling around the game's open world made me feel just as excited to see all of the new, dilapidated vistas as it made me anticipate whatever new loot or sidequests came my way. Keiichi Okabe's phenomenal score is very easily one of the very best video game scores I've heard in a long time, as his music perfectly captures the melancholic, yet grandiose and profoundly emotional tone of the game itself.

NieR: Automata was one of those games where every element on display was terrific in its execution, but one element that especially impressed me would be its writing. Across its multiple pathways and shifts in perspective, NieR: Automata explores densely philosophical themes such as what it means to be human, the motivations that fuel violence and war, and the value of our own individual lives, and its navigation of these topics through the increasingly fractured psychology of its main cast was riveting. The story itself was already compelling in its twists, turns, and overwhelming sense of loss and tragedy, but the layers of existentialism that grew more prevalent as the game went on made for some outright heartbreaking moments, and it all made the game's stakes feel heavy and palpable. The game's structure involving multiple playthroughs worked really well for me, with the slight shifts and additions in gameplay being welcome changes that were a perfect fit for the recontextualization of certain events, motivations, and reveals. There's no doubt in my mind that NieR: Automata was one of the very best games I have ever played, and not only do I want to play what directly preceded it, NieR, but I also want to eventually play the game that NieR was a spinoff of, Drakengard.

This game is deeply flawed and makes a surprising amount of mistakes that I had assumed this genre was past at this point. Impeccable art direction and fun level design do their best to carry this shambling monstrosity to the finish line but by god they just can't manage it.

+ Awesome art direction. The world, the armor, the enemies, everything looks fantastic
+ Decent boss design
+ Good Level Design
+ The kick is incredible
+ Great photo mode
+ Cool world/lore
+ Good VA

- Mediocre performance
- Extremely high enemy density
- Pathetic enemy variety
- Umbral world mechanic is a chore and forced extremely frequently
- Sound design is mixed (haha get it?)
- Animations are janky
- Movement is slippery
- No unique weapon movesets, always based on the weapon type
- Platforming... why?

"God, I love the military industrial complex."
- Albert Einstein after 6 straight hours of Armored Core

Armored Core is awesome because kiddie wink fuckwit Dark Souls fans and people who have sandblasted their taste away can publicly expose themselves for not understanding a single thing about AC. AC is not about epic Mech battles or lore or any bullshit. It's about you spending hours in the garage making the worst looking abomination of a unit ever so that you can throw it at a mission and see if you're stupid idea works and if it does you have the additional challenge of seeing if you can dunk on your friends with it in multiplayer.

All hail fromsoftware bringers of Kino

I genuinely really enjoyed the story mode. The only thing that is a bit bothering is the way the whole thing is packaged. I mean, would it be so hard for them to just release the story mode as its own game? Is it that fucking hard blizzard? Wouldn't that generate hype and a lot more money with a 60$/€ pricetag? That's what the people want, not this seasonal, 15$/€, 1,5h campaign bullshit. Get it together Blizzard, fuck. I see that a lot of work has been put into the story and I see the potential it could have had if it was its own thing. A fully dedicated story release will probably only see the light of day once the whole story has been squeezed out on the various seasons going forward, which is probably some years in the future. Aware

Also, good job blizzard on the Steam release, the reception and the reviews are pretty hilarious. "Overwhelmingly Negative (57,197)" as of (2023-08-12)

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