NieR: Automata

« In the end, NieR Automata’s story is profound, at times heartbreaking, and in other instances you’ll spot tiny glimmers of hope. It’s an expertly crafted story that’s uniquely presented to toy with the way you perceive characters and the world surrounding them. It’s a crazy ride from beginning to end and one that completely blew me away, in spite of my own absurdly high expectations. »

« NieR Automata is the ultimate JRPG, mixing this genre perfectly with the Hack n’ Slash style. It succeeds in every respect: A complex and deep story, beautiful design and a unique style. This game is a true masterpiece. »

« NieR: Automata is the rare gaming experience in which narrative, aesthetics, and gameplay all complement each other to form a perfect storm of master class game design. A truly exemplary example of what video games are capable of as an art form, and a new personal favorite. »

« Put simply, NieR: Automata is the greatest game ever made. It’s not just that it is the deepest and most narratively potent game ever developed - and it is a truly deep narrative experience - but more than that, Yoko Taro has finally found perhaps the developer on the planet capable of doing his visionary work justice. This game is a true, genuine work of art, and anyone who wants to prove that gaming does possess an equivalent to the greatest novels, operas, theatre plays, or paintings, now has that very game to point to. Yoko Taro is gaming’s Shakespeare, Da Vinci, and Welles, all rolled into one. »

« The combat and the RPG systems are fun and interesting, but what will likely stick with you from Automata is its thematic strength. You might be pulling off bad-ass combos in slick, speedy combat, but the game can also give you pause to muse about the existential philosophies it posits and questions - that's a special thing indeed. Backed by an excellent battle system thanks to Platinum, Automata is Yoko Taro’s magnum opus - and it's one of the best games I’ve ever played. »

« We don't get games like Nier: Automata too often. And by that I mean games that simultaneously weave a deeply harrowing existentialist narrative, in addition to playing with our expectations on how we play games. There's nothing else around like Nier: Automata (except for maybe its predecessor). And in an industry that sometimes leans too heavily on sameness, it's wholly refreshing. »

« There’s nothing like it. As was the case with its predecessor, NieR: Automata is a game that will be talked about for years to come. Hopefully in less hushed tones this time around. »

« Nier Automata takes the franchise from good to excellent. The gameplay is heavenly, the soundtrack is amazing and ts philosophical and fascinating subjects will leave you seized with emotion. »

« Made it through Route C, Yoko, buddy, guy, pal, please send me my money back in the mail for this huge goose chase waste of time recycled nonsense that has me replaying the same game five times just to see "dur wheal nding." Give me a break. There are people comparing this amalgamation of philosophy 101 to Shakespeare. How emphatically humorous! Has nobody heard that brevity is the soul of wit? The best part of this game is watching a bunch of robots re-enact scenes from "Romeo & Juliet" by spouting a couple famous lines before blowing themselves up. That about sums up the collective intelligence behind the person who creates these games. If Yoko could've tried not to waste my time and snuck in a way to change the story to something more interesting than petty existential ethical quandaries that go nowhere (maybe half-way through the first route instead of the last 2 minutes of the second route), rather than having them in every other pointless side-quest or placing all the answers nearly 15-20 hours into the story later. They take so much time actually telling you something you probably predicted coming hours ago that somehow when (or if) it comes, it's supposed to be like, "whoa that's so crazy and makes the big think!" It's treated like you're supposed to react to this masterstroke of storytelling as if it was a totally logical revelation even when it's told in the least clear or concise way. Hey Ma, did you hear? We got the next Kubrick right here! That's right, and he lives in Japan, and.. Kurosawa? No, no, not Kojima! He made those Drakengard games that contain nothing but subversive storytelling tropes. What? Never heard of him you say? Not a good way to tell a story? I mean, if I'm really supposed to play all the Drakengard games, and Nier circa 2010 just to get the full "story" then I think there's already a problem with your ability to tell a story. Stories and narratives work best in a self-contained fashion. You don't tell your story by saying, "I left a lot stuff out on purpose, but you can read about it if you buy the accompanying book for 19.99 USD." That's not typically a great way to explore themes, or subject matter, or chiefly to tell a good story. I really just didn't get what the deal was with Nier Automata. I don't outright think it's a bad game, it has some intriguing ideas, but not well executed ones. I almost wonder if people sort of spent too much time reading into things rather than taking them at face value or how they were presented to the player. The pacing is glacial, the "open world" is recycled, the characters are very shallow and mostly uninteresting even after you learn more about them. The problem is that it suffers from not having a good narrative hook. There is nothing to be invested in when it comes to the plot or the characters in the plot. In most cases, you are just playing to get the part where more of the story is finally (graciously) given to you, so you can get some context for what is going on. Sure, there are some great set-pieces, and I thought the first opening is fantastic, much better than any of the other openings. The weird blending of SCHMUP and 3rd person action mechanics is interesting, but very flawed, I also didn't enjoy the camera being extremely bothersome for most of my play through or the jarring 2.5D transitions that don't need to exist at all. It seems to do these things just to be more unique, or to change up the game play, but the problem is that the game play actually gets quite old after about 20 hours of doing the same thing no matter what it is. I think Yoko Taro needs a good EDITOR. Someone who could help focus his ideas down so they would be maybe less.. schizophrenic? I just didn't really understand or like my time being wasted with a bunch of nothing-burger explanations, predictable science-fiction plot twists, and what could be an interesting story given to you in breadcrumb form as opposed to one whole slice of bread at a time. Speaking of bread, how about 2B's buns? I'm not super upset, it's a great butt, but she's wearing heels and there are no strong male characters in this game, which is extremely annoying for me. I would've like to have seen a good male protagonist next time Yoko Taro makes a convoluted story about cyber waifu's in space fighting robots. I really don't need 30+ hours to get the gist of your story. If you're just going to fake out the audience every time they start becoming interested, then maybe you'd do better with short stories or some other medium, because this is dog water content that some high school student could've written back in 2002 and I wouldn't have known the difference. Special mention to "Adam & Eve," who were so forgettable and lame as antagonists that even the game memory-holed them later on in Route C. What a total waste of voice acting. Maybe less K-pop boy band, and more "villains with some actual motivations or reasons to be villains." »

« I’m sorry, but I don't see the hype, this game hasn't aged well at all, the replayability is okay, I guessss(?), but the map is ****. It’s not the masterpiece otakus make it out to be—the philosophy bits are just pure fluff with no depth, It’s basically bait for evangelion fans who think nihilism equals deep, but the delivery is just mid and oversimplified. 9s gameplay is literal torture, and a2 is a nothing burger of a character, It tries to be a hack and slash and an rpg at the same time but fails at both. »

« I started this game with high expectations and played it until I earned every trophy. While it is enjoyable enough, it has many flaws and falls short of being a masterpiece. The trophy for "peeking under the skirt ten times" reflects a lack of ethics from the director rather than a sense of humor. While the Chapter Select feature is convenient, it breaks immersion. Incorporating the staff credits directly into the gameplay felt unpleasant. Furthermore, featuring executives from the publishing and development companies within the game is clearly not for the benefit of the players. Combat, which relies on the Pod constantly firing bullets, feels like a way to visually disguise a lack of mechanical depth. The enemy designs are repetitive and monotonous; this is not the kind of game that should be asking players to complete a bestiary. I also found the UI inconvenient—the chip equipment screen, in particular, was so frustrating it made me hesitate to swap them out at all. The story might appeal to those who enjoy content aimed at children, but for those who prefer high-quality sci-fi films or novels, it feels juvenile and lacks depth. If you have played the previous title, the "tragic truth" of the story isn't surprising; it just leaves you exasperated that they’re using the same tropes again. While the protagonists have unique designs, their personalities lack charm, and I found the NPCs equally unappealing. The map is small, giving the impression that a supposedly "grand" story is actually just taking place within a tiny neighborhood. This work feels like it took the worst influences from Evangelion and brought them into gaming. I hope no other games are influenced by this title in the future. »

« It isn’t what you think it is. Combat is good och music is brilliant! One of the game I will remember a long time! »

« Great gameplay, music and environment. A unique experience. Daydreaming as a cyber-samurai »

« Obra de arte, sin duda el videojuego mas completo q he jugado, + de 100 horas de gameplay me tienen anonadado. »

« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »

« The brilliance lies in how the narrative is inseparable from gameplay itself: mechanics change, genres shift, and even the save system becomes a storytelling device. Keiichi Okabe is one of the goats with that OST Also, 2B (mikasa) is everyone’s favorite waifu »