NieR:Automata (VGR)

Overview

NieR:Automata, directed by Yoko Taro and developed by Platinum Games has become a game critically acclaimed for its epic storytelling and battle mechanics has achieved success worldwide as one of the best games of 2017. I’m here to see just how well NieR:Automata holds up against my own scale. I will try my hardest to avoid spoilers and things that may ruin the experience for new players, which, believe you me, is so difficult because there’s so much to talk about in this game.

Story

The story driven world of NieR:Automata definitely holds up to its predecessor NieR, by creating a world that is not only creative, but inspiring. The dystopian world of NieR: Automata will leave your eyes open wide and your mouth hanging open. The flashy battle mechanics add another layer of depth to the story by bringing the player straight into the action and the heat of battle along with the main character. The game fluid controls of the game bring to life this masterpiece one frame at a time. Even though this game is not a direct continuation of NieR, the music and artwork in the game tie the two together, but I’ll talk a bit more on that later. Just know, that the story of NieR:Automata is definitely one worth not missing. Did I mention that this game has over 20 different endings worth exploring? Yeah, it has more than 20 different endings worth exploring. Multiple playthroughs of this game are a must for maximum enjoyment.

Gameplay

The gameplay of NieR:Automata gives you so much control over your character and the environment that you could easily mistake moving around in the game for walking. The fluid battle mechanics of the game make combat easy and fun. It’s no wonder that the battle mechanics of the game are the talk of the town. I, honestly, need to give an A+ to Platinum Games, who totally took the combat of NieR:Automata to a whole other level. The mechanics of the game allow you to make your life a cakewalk or a living hell. Choose your skills wisely and level up accordingly for the best experience possible.

Immersion

It’s nearly impossible not to be immersed in this game as every piece of information your brain gathers from the game brings you into the action and the adventure. Experiencing this game for the first time is like taking a trip into a black and white wonderland of complete controlled chaos. You can totally feel the pain and pleasure of the main character as the world changes and warps around you. If you are looking for dystopian Sci-Fi experience, look no farther than Nier:Automata.

Music

The vibrant music of the game brings the entire story to life. There are tracks from this game that I still listen to, even now, 8 months after I bought the game. You can feel the emotion of the characters and the flow of the story emphasized through the music of NieR:Automata. The chaos language of the music brings the story and characters full circle and is the life blood of the story. You may not know what the words of the songs mean, but you can feel the emotion and the impact of these words with each breath. Expressing these feelings and emotions in a modern language could not capture the feeling behind the music of NieR:Automata. If you’re an aspiring musician, I would recommend looking at the music of this game as it has a way of speaking to you that could bring a tear to your eye and light a fire within your soul.

Art

The art-style of NieR:Automata is so modern and unique. Each step that your character takes throughout the world is breath-taking. The art of this game brings you into a world all its own. The art of this game would be impossible to replicate for most modern Triple A developers as every piece of the world feels connected and moves on its own. I have absolutely no idea how the game developers made black, white, and gray feel so vibrant, massive, and explosive, but, they did it. Do not let the lack of color on this game’s cover fool you, this world is full of color and life; and death, lots and lots of death.

Plot

Okay, here’s where it becomes difficult to avoid spoilers so read this section at your own risk. From the get go, you are dropped right into a war with the machines, and yes, I know what you’re thinking, if the main characters of the game are supposed to be androids aren’t they technically machines too? Well, just trust me on this, there is a difference between machines and androids, but I’m not going to go into detail about that here. Anyways, as I was saying, the world of NieR:Automata drops you right into a war between the androids and the machines and to say the least, things go real sour, real quick as you realize that you aren’t just on a mission to fight a war against the machines, you are on a suicide mission to fight the machines for the sake of protecting humanity from the alien threat posed by the machines. And there you have it, the first 10 minutes of NieR:Automata.

Replay Value

The Replay Value of this game is definitely something to be considered. This game has several side quests and story lines outside of the main story. You don’t have to playthrough all of the side quests of the game, but I would definitely recommend it. Most of the side quests of this game are worthwhile, but some are a bit tedious to do as they require story knowledge that you may or may not possess in order to really move forward, and no I’m not talking about riddles. It’s hard to understand what I mean without really playing the game yourself here. Just know that you may want to pay extra attention to the story if you plan on taking on some of the side quests. It will enhance your experience a lot. I would, however, recommend doing as many side quests as you can before progressing too far into the main story as you can easily miss some side quests during the game. Meaning, that you’ll have to go back and do them again later. Did I mention that this game has more than 20 separate endings? This game has over 20 separate endings. You literally should not go through this game without replaying it. Enough said.

Overall

NieR:Automata is truly a masterpiece. There are of course parts of NieR:Automata that may be confusing to people completely new to the NieR series, but this is completely natural considering NieR: Replicant/Gestalt is the predecessor of NieR:Automata. Since the two games are clearly related, clearly, it’s obvious that there are some things that new players might miss or not understand on their first playthrough, but these things can easily be looked up online or in the games glossary for your gaming convenience. Overall, NieR:Automata is a truly awe-inspiring game worthy of being called one of the best games of 2017. If you don’t own this game and you have a PS4 or gaming laptop, drop what you’re doing and go look into this game.

An expected value of 100%

An average value of 98%

And

an overall value of 99%