Words cannot explain how fun exploration is in this Game. Every part of the world has something to do and see and being able to climb every cliff is the best thing an open world game has ever done.

The story is lacking and so is the enemy and weapon variety. The lack of traditional dungeons is also upsetting.

Despite it's flaws it's an incredible experience that I will never forget.

Mutazione is a game about family. Perhaps not by blood, but with love, any community can be a family and any family can feel like home. The inhabitants of the town have gone through a lot, are still going through a lot, and so are you. But as an outsider, you have to really break down these walls.
Mutazione is described as a soap opera and I can see why, but to me its almost as much that as a meditative experience? Apart from the literal imagery in the game, coming into somewhere new as an outsider, with no judgement unto you, and being able to just help, unbiasedly help all inhabitants deeply and spiritually is lovely. Planting plants and singing to them helps beautify the area and gives you materials to help more. Just helping an entire town, alongside your playable character grow and change and move on from pain and seeing the physical space grow with you is awesome.
The soundtrack is absolutely paramount in this experience and coupled with the art creates the most calming, surreal experience. I love this game.

This came out during the time I was mourning my dad's death and battling a particularly terrible depressive episode. I'd never played a warriors game. I doubt I ever will again. The gameplay is incredibly repetitive and it is a pain in the ass to collect all the items needed for full map completion. The camera glitches constantly, the frame-rate sucks ass, and a lot of the challenges aren't particularly interesting.

Yet the masses will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

Nothing on god's green earth has ever made me feel the emotions this goofy fanfiction-esque plot did. I may never feel that emotion again. I screamed when the plot twist happened. I almost threw my switch across the room. Twice. I have a mortifying 100+ hours clocked and regret not a single one. Is my opinion entirely predicated on the fact that my life was in shambles when I picked this up? Perhaps. Most games don't let you play as King Rhoam though, so who cares.

[en] what can we say about this one that everyone already have said? it's just the best thing that ever existed to me, i mean, i really love ALL the bugs that show here in this game, specially the beetles, so it was a very big thing for me to see them and "recognize" the species. it's the best metroidvania i ever played, by far. i replayed it like, idk five times maybe and mastered it in two of them. i have a really huge affection for this game, i don't even know what to say. it's a 1000/10 easy.

[pt-br] o que podemos dizer sobre esse jogo que todo mundo não já disse? é a melhor coisa que já existiu para mim, tipo, eu realmente amo todos os insetos (menos aqueles mosquitos) que aparecem aqui , especialmente os besouros, então foi uma coisa muito doida para mim vê-los e reconhecer a espécie de cada. é o melhor metroidvania que já joguei, de longe. eu joguei ele eu não sei pelo menos umas cinco vezes talvez e dei 112% em duas delas. eu tenho um carinho muito grande por esse jogo, nem sei o que dizer. é um 1000/10 fácil. só joguem.

I imagine Replicant to be a hard sell for most, but for those who find the combat loop engaging enough, you'll find a uniquely captivating narrative that makes you think outside the game. NameBrand

With recommending this game the biggest thing I think needs to be said is that, while it is a Yoko Taro game, and a prequel game to Automata, I still think Replicant will be a hard sell to many people who may have experienced Automata and enjoyed it. I think for most, Replicant will be a hard sell in general. But that doesn't mean there's a bad game here! You just need to go in with proper expectation, or be a certain type of gamer.

What I mean by that is I think the most glaring issue this game struggles with is the fact that it is a remaster of a game from a different era of game design. While absolutely stunning looking as ever, you can still see and feel this dated design in almost every nook and cranny. Fetch quests that run you from one corner of the world to the next, then back to where you were, then to another area, then back to the starting point. Some of these quests don't include the games best face forward, which is the combat. So you really will run from place to place to place if you're side questing. Even if you're fine with that all that, you might be sad to find out that side quest completion just gives you money. No experience points! Sometimes they'll give you a cool weapon though or some other new game mechanic but they're far and few between.

Animations are another thing I feel come from dated game design (and limitations), so while you might be playing on the fastest SSD on the planet, you still have to experience the door opening animation... and the crouch down to gather the item animation... and the running to the next area animation which leads to the loading screen which leads to the arriving animation. Some areas have you pushing boxes which I feel takes longer than it needs to at every occasion. I'm sure lots of time was put into creating these little time wasters that I really don't care about, and I just wish things were overall faster or more instantaneous for quality of life.

The last gripe I have is the portions of the game with walls of text... This game may be an art piece but I feel like those scenes could have had such a stronger impact if I were to play them out. These could exist because of the restraints of the console generation at the time, or because of budget cuts, but I just didn't completely vibe with those (especially the few that repeat if you answer their little quiz questions incorrectly).

Now that my major complaints about the game are out of the way... I can tell you that Nier Replicant really grew on me. I grew to love the whole overarching experience. The narrative, and how it grows and evolves with context as you continue to play the game. The combat with how it's fluid, fast, reactive, and modular enough so that you can build whatever play style you're comfortable with. The characters were likable, and their voice actors did a great job with what they were given. By the time the game is over, I was immensely satisfied with the conclusion, but at the same time, I'm a bit sad to leave the universe behind.

Replicant's story (and unlockable context) are not nearly as shocking or thought provoking as Automata, and I think that might be because they elude to the context as you play, and when it's revealed it doesn't necessarily present any moral dilemma within the cast of characters. But I still enjoyed it, and with the further endings/context, I found myself more and more fascinated as the games events started to weave into things I remembered from Automata. As I learned more about certain plot elements it invited me to think more about its events (and implications) outside of the game, which very few games get me to do these days! I love that it's thought provoking in that way.

Should you play the game, remember that there is an ending E. In fact, there's 5 different endings, that I believe are all worth seeing. Keep playing the game until you get ending E (the canon ending). Even after the game presents you with a "traumatic choice", continue to play the game until you get that ending E. Don't look up any guides. Just trust me, and be amazed by the reveals. For what it's worth, it really is one of the most unique narratives in games, and it can only be told through the medium of a game, and for that I really commend it. Even if you only can stomach ending A, do yourself a favor and look up a YouTube playthrough or breakdown of the rest of Replicant. The first time the credits roll is less than half of the game experience! Keep that in mind!

Now, to experience these alternate endings, you need to know up front that you will be replaying through major sections of the game (but know for the most part your weapons and items carry on with you like a new game plus). You'll play through the narrative one way, and in the next playthrough, you'll be presented with context to events that may change your perspective... If you've played Automata you will be familiar with this! I personally enjoy this method of storytelling, but I know some people might not be jazzed to complete some content they recently played over again to learn more about the world and the story at large.

The combat is quite good! I thought it presented me with enough variety that I was able to choose the play style I found the most fun, and was able to reliably stick with it. Experimenting with word edits and quick switching weapons is really intuitive and mixes up your combat experience to keep things feeling fresh. I played on normal and found that difficulty to be just right. At one point I switched to Hard but that was a mistake, as enemies just become huge damage sponges, which I think doesn't enhance the experience. This because in most combats, they try to overwhelm you with a lot of enemies, so there's a fair amount of combat experiences where the main element is crowd control. But, I had a great time with it.

At first I really didn't like the voice acting or the performances. In particular, Weiss, the player in part 2, and for some reason I always thought Kaine's voice didn't match her character haha. But they grew on me! I thought they all turned out good and lovable in the end, and each was memorable enough for me to enjoy their performances and connect with the characters.

I think that's a pretty good overview of my thoughts and hopefully gives you as a potential buyer enough info to make a well informed purchase decision. I enjoyed the experience, and think it was well worth my money to be able to visit the prelude to Automata. While I think Automata is superior in almost every way (and can be recommended to all players), Replicant really requires you to have a certain determination to be able to complete the game by obtaining ending E. If you don't find something to love and latch on to, it may be a long and arduous experience. You very well could find yourself abandoning part way through before the big E ending payoff. But, for those of you that do find something to love, you'll be playing a real gem that will find a niche place in your heart and in your game collection. It will be an unforgettable experience.

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