This review contains spoilers
/!\ /!\ /!\ HEAVY SPOILERS /!\ /!\ /!\
NieR Automata's main strengths are its story, atmosphere & music.
I enjoyed the combat aswell. They did a great job with the character fighting animations, and it made the combat really thrilling. You can start doing sick combos if you use all your arsenal, especially with Pod Programs like [Wire] and [Slow]. Doing all that isn't necessary by any mean, but it feels very rewarding. It felt like I was playing Devil May Cry sometimes 😁
I want to discard the game's flaws before moving on to the good stuff:
- The prologue has an issue. It's way too long with countless fights and 2 Bosses you need to defeat. There isn't any checkpoint, so dying at any point during this 40 minutes prologue immediatly sends you back to the very beginning. Clearly not the best way to start your adventure. I'm pretty sure it filtered a lot of players right at the start of the game, which is quite unfortunate.
- The difficulty levels weren't handled really well in my opinion. Playing on [Normal] made the combat effortless, and playing on [Hard] made it very easy to die in a single hit. There is too much of a gap in enemy's damage between the two.
- The loading screens felt a bit too long at times. I actually counted how long exactly, and it was about ~20 seconds for me.
My PC isn't even bad.
- I'm nitpicking here, but the 3D map isn't really ergonomic. Sometimes when you're looking at a marker for a quest, you don't understand where the marker is exactly, and you have to rotate the map in all directions to have a better idea of where it is.
That's pretty much the only negatives I can think of!
NieR Automata is full of unforgettable moments:
- Following the epic battle between 2B, 9S and the Goliath in the middle of City ruins, the area is completely ravaged by the Goliath's self-destruction, and you have to explore the caves under the city. Those tunnels were really creeping me out 😅
I remember being blown away when Adam told them the truth about the aliens, and their extermination by the machines.
I certainly didn't expect this kind of twist, but I was happy to be taken aback by the story
- The section in Copied City was so intense, with the fight against Adam. 2B successfully manages to kill him and rescue 9S at the same time. And It was really interesting to experience this event again during route B, but from 9S' perspective.
- Finding out about the machine cult was fascinating. The way they eventually all throw themselves into the lava was quite disturbing. Oh and by the way... "𝘽𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝘼𝙎 𝙂𝙊𝘿𝙎 ! ♪ 𝘽𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝘼𝙎 𝙂𝙊𝘿𝙎 ! ♪" was stuck in my head for a long time 😄
- 2B's death at the very beginning of route C completely devastated me emotionally... I was so mad with the game when it happened😅 Honestly, I was salty that they killed 2B, because I got so attached to her.
It took me quite some time to appreciate A2, but I eventually got used to her. Plus she has a cool fighting style, and she looks amazing with long brown hair & destroyer outfit 🤍
- When you revisit the abandoned factory during route C, the area is completely pitch-black, and you have to make your way through it using your flashlight. Exploring the factory in those conditions was really haunting & memorable.
- The relation between Pascal and the kids from the machine's village was so heartwarming. Witnessing their demise in route C was gut-wrenching...
- And of course there's route E where I think many players cried. It's just... I don't even know what to say.
Despite the overall seriousness of the story, there are lots of moments to lighten up the mood.
It was so funny to see 9S being enthusiastic over the tiniest things, especially during the first part of the game, and being completely shut down by 2B everytime. "Feelings are prohibited 😠"
There are several other moments that made me smile: Emil goofing around City Ruins on his motorcycle; the little sister machine asking 2B & 9S how to make babies; the Romeo and Juliet play in the Amusement Park; Jean-Paul's side quests; and many more encounters with silly machines throughout the game...
And can we talk about the fact there is a hidden boss fight against the CEOs of PlatinumGames & Square Enix? (Yes this is a real thing, I'm not joking). They really didn't take themselves seriously, breaking the 4th wall like that. It was surprising and quite fun!
The game also has callbacks to NieR Replicant, but I only became aware of it after I played that game a few months later. Whether it's the masked machines in the Trial of Sand being a reference to Façade; the presence of Devola & Popola in the Resistance Camp; the Library from Replicant's inside the Tower; Emil and his search for Lunar Tears; Kainé's shack near 2B's grave; all the documents related to Project Gestalt; etc...
It was very cool to realize all those connections between the two games when I played Replicant for the first time!
I have to reiterate, but the atmosphere in NieR Automata is unmatched.
After the battle in the Pacific and the mission to rescue 9S, you can eventually come back to the Flooded City. And I don't know if it's the music, the lighting, or the fact that you can see the giant machine you just fought standing in the middle of the ocean, but holy shit, chilling here is mesmerizing.
The same thing happened when I discovered the Bunker, Resistance Camp, Desert Zone, Amusement Park or Machine Village for the 1st time. This game's atmosphere & music are just out of this world. Contender for my #1 favorite OST ever.
I was so obsessed with this game that I immediatly did a 2nd playthrough right after I deleted my save file at the end of route E, but aiming for 100% completion this time around.
After doing all of that, I was still avid for this universe and its characters, so I started looking for all the content available outside of the game. I read all the short stories, and I watched the concert & the stage play.
I felt so empty when I finally exhausted every side material related to NieR Automata, these memories will stay with me for a long time!
----------Playtime & Completion----------
[Played between late January & early February 2022]
Playtime: 70 hours
100% Completion
NieR Automata's main strengths are its story, atmosphere & music.
I enjoyed the combat aswell. They did a great job with the character fighting animations, and it made the combat really thrilling. You can start doing sick combos if you use all your arsenal, especially with Pod Programs like [Wire] and [Slow]. Doing all that isn't necessary by any mean, but it feels very rewarding. It felt like I was playing Devil May Cry sometimes 😁
I want to discard the game's flaws before moving on to the good stuff:
- The prologue has an issue. It's way too long with countless fights and 2 Bosses you need to defeat. There isn't any checkpoint, so dying at any point during this 40 minutes prologue immediatly sends you back to the very beginning. Clearly not the best way to start your adventure. I'm pretty sure it filtered a lot of players right at the start of the game, which is quite unfortunate.
- The difficulty levels weren't handled really well in my opinion. Playing on [Normal] made the combat effortless, and playing on [Hard] made it very easy to die in a single hit. There is too much of a gap in enemy's damage between the two.
- The loading screens felt a bit too long at times. I actually counted how long exactly, and it was about ~20 seconds for me.
My PC isn't even bad.
- I'm nitpicking here, but the 3D map isn't really ergonomic. Sometimes when you're looking at a marker for a quest, you don't understand where the marker is exactly, and you have to rotate the map in all directions to have a better idea of where it is.
That's pretty much the only negatives I can think of!
NieR Automata is full of unforgettable moments:
- Following the epic battle between 2B, 9S and the Goliath in the middle of City ruins, the area is completely ravaged by the Goliath's self-destruction, and you have to explore the caves under the city. Those tunnels were really creeping me out 😅
I remember being blown away when Adam told them the truth about the aliens, and their extermination by the machines.
I certainly didn't expect this kind of twist, but I was happy to be taken aback by the story
- The section in Copied City was so intense, with the fight against Adam. 2B successfully manages to kill him and rescue 9S at the same time. And It was really interesting to experience this event again during route B, but from 9S' perspective.
- Finding out about the machine cult was fascinating. The way they eventually all throw themselves into the lava was quite disturbing. Oh and by the way... "𝘽𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝘼𝙎 𝙂𝙊𝘿𝙎 ! ♪ 𝘽𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝘼𝙎 𝙂𝙊𝘿𝙎 ! ♪" was stuck in my head for a long time 😄
- 2B's death at the very beginning of route C completely devastated me emotionally... I was so mad with the game when it happened😅 Honestly, I was salty that they killed 2B, because I got so attached to her.
It took me quite some time to appreciate A2, but I eventually got used to her. Plus she has a cool fighting style, and she looks amazing with long brown hair & destroyer outfit 🤍
- When you revisit the abandoned factory during route C, the area is completely pitch-black, and you have to make your way through it using your flashlight. Exploring the factory in those conditions was really haunting & memorable.
- The relation between Pascal and the kids from the machine's village was so heartwarming. Witnessing their demise in route C was gut-wrenching...
- And of course there's route E where I think many players cried. It's just... I don't even know what to say.
Despite the overall seriousness of the story, there are lots of moments to lighten up the mood.
It was so funny to see 9S being enthusiastic over the tiniest things, especially during the first part of the game, and being completely shut down by 2B everytime. "Feelings are prohibited 😠"
There are several other moments that made me smile: Emil goofing around City Ruins on his motorcycle; the little sister machine asking 2B & 9S how to make babies; the Romeo and Juliet play in the Amusement Park; Jean-Paul's side quests; and many more encounters with silly machines throughout the game...
And can we talk about the fact there is a hidden boss fight against the CEOs of PlatinumGames & Square Enix? (Yes this is a real thing, I'm not joking). They really didn't take themselves seriously, breaking the 4th wall like that. It was surprising and quite fun!
The game also has callbacks to NieR Replicant, but I only became aware of it after I played that game a few months later. Whether it's the masked machines in the Trial of Sand being a reference to Façade; the presence of Devola & Popola in the Resistance Camp; the Library from Replicant's inside the Tower; Emil and his search for Lunar Tears; Kainé's shack near 2B's grave; all the documents related to Project Gestalt; etc...
It was very cool to realize all those connections between the two games when I played Replicant for the first time!
I have to reiterate, but the atmosphere in NieR Automata is unmatched.
After the battle in the Pacific and the mission to rescue 9S, you can eventually come back to the Flooded City. And I don't know if it's the music, the lighting, or the fact that you can see the giant machine you just fought standing in the middle of the ocean, but holy shit, chilling here is mesmerizing.
The same thing happened when I discovered the Bunker, Resistance Camp, Desert Zone, Amusement Park or Machine Village for the 1st time. This game's atmosphere & music are just out of this world. Contender for my #1 favorite OST ever.
I was so obsessed with this game that I immediatly did a 2nd playthrough right after I deleted my save file at the end of route E, but aiming for 100% completion this time around.
After doing all of that, I was still avid for this universe and its characters, so I started looking for all the content available outside of the game. I read all the short stories, and I watched the concert & the stage play.
I felt so empty when I finally exhausted every side material related to NieR Automata, these memories will stay with me for a long time!
----------Playtime & Completion----------
[Played between late January & early February 2022]
Playtime: 70 hours
100% Completion
NOWITSREYNTIME17
5 months ago