Alright, this one's good.
Went into this game after feeling extremely disappointed with Nier Replicant 1.22, and still trying to find what exactly made this series special. Certainly, this game is much more solid and succeeds in delivering the director's vision to the player much more effectively than Replicant. The combat is much improved, and feels way more responsive and dynamic. The storytelling is much more engaging and cohesive (impressive, as this story isn't what I would call character-driven like Replicant's). The approach to add multiple playthroughs and endings is much better executed, and this is coming from someone who generally has a hard time replaying games; you only truly "replay" part of the game once, and each ending and playthrough has you switching between different characters and lets you explore different arcs and perspectives for each of them. The world is, to use an overused descriptor, truly "hauntingly beautiful" and accompanied with another amazing score, makes you think about what events transpired in the thousands and thousands of years since the humans left earth. There's a lot to say about the themes and philosophies this game tackles, which definitely adds to the experience, even if they are things you realize after the fact; the video essayists on YouTube who are smarter than me do a much better job at explaining though.
My only regret with this game is rushing towards the finish line to see the endings, and while they were worth it, I think this is a game that you can just take in and appreciate the world, characters, music, story, and atmosphere that were created for this experience. Thanks Yoko Taro.
Went into this game after feeling extremely disappointed with Nier Replicant 1.22, and still trying to find what exactly made this series special. Certainly, this game is much more solid and succeeds in delivering the director's vision to the player much more effectively than Replicant. The combat is much improved, and feels way more responsive and dynamic. The storytelling is much more engaging and cohesive (impressive, as this story isn't what I would call character-driven like Replicant's). The approach to add multiple playthroughs and endings is much better executed, and this is coming from someone who generally has a hard time replaying games; you only truly "replay" part of the game once, and each ending and playthrough has you switching between different characters and lets you explore different arcs and perspectives for each of them. The world is, to use an overused descriptor, truly "hauntingly beautiful" and accompanied with another amazing score, makes you think about what events transpired in the thousands and thousands of years since the humans left earth. There's a lot to say about the themes and philosophies this game tackles, which definitely adds to the experience, even if they are things you realize after the fact; the video essayists on YouTube who are smarter than me do a much better job at explaining though.
My only regret with this game is rushing towards the finish line to see the endings, and while they were worth it, I think this is a game that you can just take in and appreciate the world, characters, music, story, and atmosphere that were created for this experience. Thanks Yoko Taro.