This game is excellent and you should all be playing it. I was honestly not expecting a game this satisfying and meaty based on what I’ve seen with just the demo. But about 13 hours in with progressively weirder things happening, I’m absolutely in love with it. I haven’t even touched Breath of the Wild since it came out. I really hope the game does well because I’ve seen virtually no advertisement or even copies of the game on shelves in retail shops round here.
I played the demo last year on PS4. Nier: Automata seems like the kind of game that I would enjoy playing more of. The limited colour palette and post-apocalyptic setting appeal to my aesthetic preferences.
There’s a PC version coming out soon, but the system requirements are quite steep, so I probably won’t get it for my current laptop.
Just finished the game with ending A. I’ll try to keep this spoiler free. There was a little disclaimer at the end saying you need to play through again to get the full experience. I think a first playthrough always gets you an ending A.
I’m definitely ready to jump back in, because there’s still so many questions I have. The identity of some characters briefly shown(that are presented as being a pretty big deal), the presence of others only being hinted at, and large parts of the world and story that were only lightly touched on (like mysterious boxes that say you can’t access them yet). I think you also play as another character and get a different perspective at some point.
I still don’t feel like I’m anywhere near finished. It took me around 16-17 hours to get through the game once, so it wasn’t as big a timesink as I was expecting it to be.
By the way, OST of the year so far. It’s so damn good.
(Says spoilers but it only seemed like second playthrough gameplay to me)
I finished my first play-through just now. The game hasn’t made a big impression on me so far, although it’s said that the third play-through is what really made an impression on those who played the game. But in the first play-through, the antagonists barely get any character development, and one (clearly major) character only briefly make an appearance. But given how lyrical people were about the story (some reviewers statit as one of the best games ever made), it’s clear I need to see the true ending before drawing conclusions.
Also, that video is probably from the third play-through, I feel like it’s a pretty significant spoiler already so I’d advise again watching it.
I’m holding off on playing the game until I can find more time to do so. However as a big fan of the original game, especially the soundtrack, I have gone ahead and listened to Nier: Automata soundtrack and I am very glad at how great it is. One thing I really like about the soundtrack is that for a lot of the songs they made multiple versions of them, ranging from a calm, medium, and dynamic version of the same song. However, to me the difference between some medium and dynamic songs just isn’t that big and I feel like the dynamic version just doesn’t have that much of a greater kick to it, compared to the medium version of the same song. Another unique things they did is sort of make 3 versions of the soundtrack. The first being instrumentat, the second with vocals, and the last one a 8-Bit Version. I’m personally not a big fan of 8-Bit music, however the vocal version is spectacular and is on par with the original soundtrack in so many ways.
Compared to the original Nier soundtrack I feel this one has a more techno feel to it and a slightly darker tone in music. Also the Nire: Automata soundtrack has less variety of songs compared to the original since a lot of of the are simply a more intense version of each other.
It seems problematic if the game requires multiple playthroughs to get the full experience. That’s one thing that I liked about Panzer Dragoon Orta - there was no bonus ending for completing the game on Hard mode. Those who played through the game once on the difficulty of their choice got the same experience (in terms of in-game events).
One can argue that the game is designed that way, but I can safely say that the first ending (A) that I’ve seen now just doesn’t deliver on its own.
The game does remind me of Panzer Dragoon Saga, in the sense that it offers a bleak world where people struggle to survive, and you have several side quests that don’t end well, much like in Panzer Dragoon Saga. You don’t get the sense that the protagonists are on a glorious quest to save the world. Instead they’re stuck in a seemingly endless war, and staying alive is an achievement in itself.
However, Panzer Dragoon Saga was consistent in its tone. NieR is different because there’s a lot of metagaming going on, and as such I feel it doesn’t manage to have the same immersion PD Saga had. The game does uses that to its advantage as well, making the story unpredictable. Several events really made me question just what was going on.
What I also found odd is that the game establishes very early on that emotions are forbidden for androids, much like it was for drones in Panzer Dragoon. But the rule is forgotten as soon as it’s introduced, as all the androids show emotions and act very much like humans do… If anything it’s only 2B who seems to try to adhere to the rule, if only to shield herself from getting hurt.
Oh my god! I’m 9 hours in and that music! The music is awesome; especially when you enter the menu like in the Machine Village when it turns low-key and sort of like an echo! Really creates cool atmosphere for the action, world, and overall adventure! I also really like the vocals. Reminds me of Eri Itoh, who did the vocals for PDS and Orta! Is it her? Sure sounds like her…
To my knowledge, the vocals in the soundtrack were done by Emi Evans, Nami Nakagawa and J’Nique Nicole.
I finished the game some time ago (all 5 main endings). While I just wasn’t as invested in the story and the characters as I thought I’d be, the desolate world in the game does remind me of the Panzer Dragoon world. Especially with the music, it can be weirdly relaxing just to walk around. Like I mentioned previously, you get the sense of being lost in this world that is beyond saving. Ultimately, I found this to be the most interesting part of the game.
Ending E is the most optimistic ending, but overall the game’s story was pretty depressing. I do really like the music as well though. And the shoot-em-up sections were a nice change of pace!
Ending E is weird.
While I generally prefer a happy ending, it feels tacked on, as if the game was finished and then this ending was added. Some have noted that this may be intentional, and the final gameplay sequence was intended to show you fighting the game itself to oppose the bad ending. If I understand correctly, the help you get from other players to finish that sequence comes from those who sacrificed their save games (although there’s a workaround by saving to the cloud before doing so, making it possible to circumvent the deletion).
It’s odd, but I cared more about the fate of two side characters (Popola and Devola) than the main cast. While A2 was the more interesting out of the 3 main characters, 9S was just insufferable throughout much of the end-game. The game’s story is depressing, but it all felt too weird for me to really get invested in the story.
Ok guys, I just started this yesterday.
I had to get all collectibles for Horizon before to start it.
For now, I’d say I’m not really enjoying the game to its fullest. In fact, maybe the hype around it mislead me to believe this was an open world game.
I have 3 frustrations at the moment:
- invisible walls
- the battle system: beat them all style
- I died a few times without being able to save. Then I started again & went quite far and… again died so lost all progress again. Quite frustrating right now…
Hope I can get passed all this because I have heard so many good things about the game…
So I played the game a while back and I believe that your experience is a bit off.
Yes invisible walls are a problem in some places and the combat system is a bit repetitive with only so buttons to smash over and over again, but I find it varied enough to last the entire game. However, the entire game is open world except for the opening mission. Additionally, the only way for you to save ANY of your progress is to go to a save point (somewhat like Darksouls).
Alright, cannot wait to get to the open world part then… I guess I was bad enough to take that long for the opening sequences… mini bosses had me quite a few times.
I died last on that long bridge with two mini bosses if that makes sense…
Yes! Those 2 giant saws and the giant robot after them are part of the opening mission. After you beat them you will be back at your home base for a short while, receive your next mission, and then return to Earth which is the open world.
From what you said, about how you keep on dying, and how you can’t make it past the bosses, it sounds to me that you are playing on Hard difficulty. I too started out with that but got extremely frustrated at constantly loosing so I switched over to Normal difficulty. Hard difficulty is very punishing, also dodging is your best friend in this game.
ah ah ah no my friend, I remember having selected ‘normal’… 
Shame… but I dont play beat them all very often. I guess once I will be more familiar with positioning & dodging against bosses I should be fine LOL
I think I am getting better now… got to the forest & I am starting to like the game more.
The fighting system variations are nice, from android to flying mode… what I didn’t like at first was the feeling the city was empty and not too realistic, felt a bit old gen for me but that is getting better as you progress in the story…
Finished the game last week with Ends ABCDE.
Overall, it was an interesting experience, with the best parts of the game being when you swap between different gameplays (the REAL final rush being a good example of that). Those sequences give it a feeling of epic battles.
The music is also very good indeed and keep resonating in your head even after you stopped the game.
Now, regarding the story & world, it is indeed depressing, maybe a bit too much for me.
The world itself was missing a bit of soul. Apart from Pascal & Emil, few NPCs really stand out.
And for me, this world is clearly lacking consistency, there are many contradictions.
Plus if you want to investigate the story a bit to find out a bit more about Emil (I never played previous games in the series but Youtube has some interesting video about it), you realize there is “magic” in this universe of Nier, which is totally out of place for me. I mean you start Nier in a world about androids, robots, technology & science. And all game long its never question of magic and suddenly there is magic mentioned ?
Feels odd for me.
Also, I always wondered why he decided to make androids bleed, doesnt make any sense appart from making the show.
So overall I am happy with having played the game, now I might not count this as the masterpiece in my collection that some will.
I’ve been catching up on 2017’s PS4 releases, amongst them NieR: Automata. I’ve completed endings A, B, C, D, and E, as well as some of the other minor endings. Apparently there’s 26 endings in total, but it seems as though A-E are the main endings required to understand the story.
It’s certainly an odd game. But an enjoyable one, for the most part. There is a fair bit repetition in the game, and at first this made me critical of it. I’m not a fan of artificially extending the main quest with repetition; that’s what side quests are for. But after completing the main endings, I’ve become a bit more forgiving of the game’s repetitive elements, as it’s thematically and narratively in tune with what NieR: Automata represents. It’s a game that you have to stick with through multiple playthroughs before you can understand many of it’s the design choices, both visually and mechanically. Still, buyer beware: you’ll be playing this game for around 40 hours and it doesn’t always feel fresh.
However, repetition aside, it’s a very smooth flowing action game. What I particularly like about NieR: Automata is the seemless shifting between gameplay modes. For the most part, it’s a third person hack and slash (with the ability to shoot also), but some sections are a bullet hell shooter, and 2D hack and slash platformer, and a hacking mini game that plays similar to Geometry Wars. What’s great about all these modes is how seemless the transition between them is–similar buttons are used for evading/shooting, and you’re faced with the same orb machine attacks in all modes–so much so that it really feels like one and the same experience, rather than the secondary modes being tacked on in the name of variety. Other games could definitely learn from how NieR: Automata implements this.
As others have noted, the world and especially the music are top quality. I often found myself just wandering around the desolate world listening to the immersive soundtrack; even encountering small squadrons of machines, the soundtrack doesn’t change, making these encounters feel calm, almost relaxing, part of a continual flow. As @Draikin mentioned earlier, the tone of the game is inconsistent and a bit too wacky at times, which can break the immersion. It’s a bit like some of the later Star Wars films (after Empire) in that regard. The characters are a bit all over the place in their motivations, and in some cases feel one dimensional (villains with maniacal laughter, etc). And it’s definitely a dark and depressing story, for better or worse. Still, I found the story to be thought provoking (a story that isn’t spoon fed, the exploration of existentialist themes, etc) and engaging enough to keep me playing through all of the primary endings.
It’s been reported that this game sold better than expected, so it’s likely we’ll be seeing further games in the series. This is a good thing, because NieR: Automata certainly brought something that is missing from a lot of modern games back to the table: imagination. I haven’t played any of the previous Drakengard or NieR games, but based on what I’ve read and watched online it seems that these aren’t directly related to the story and setting of NieR: Automata, and weren’t highly regarded when it came to their gameplay. I’ll probably give these and miss (perhaps settling for a Let’s Play), but feel free to try to convince me otherwise if you enjoyed those older games. It can be hard to go back to games with older mechanics when we’ve been spoiled by smooth flowing action games like Automata.