A lot of people love this game, and I don't want to rain on their parade. Maybe it is a good game, mechanically speaking? But when people talk about Nier: Automata, and why they loved it, they don't usually focus on the mechanics. They talk about themes and emotions—narrative stuff. And on a narrative level, this game, sadly, just did not work for me at all.

I might have set my expectations too high. I was expecting a little depth, complexity, or subtlety from the story, and hoped the game might treat its existential themes with some nuance. But the whole thing just...feels...so...adolescent?? Like 67% goofy anime melodrama ("EVERYTHING MUST DIE!!!"), 23% "I just skimmed five Wikipedia entries, took a rip off this bong, and am now prepared to embark upon my grand philosophical treatise," and 10% hehe robot gurl thicccq.

I don't want to berate anyone for finding meaning in the game or being moved by it, but I can't help but feel like video games, as a narrative form, can and should aim a little higher than this "Philosophy 101 with waifus" stuff.

At least the soundtrack still slaps. There is that.

(If you want a much more thorough critique that doesn't oversimplify everything as I've done here, I recommend the Youtube video by Pixel a Day, which addresses the plot structure, combat system, and many other things as well, and is really worth your time.)