What is the meaning of existence? Everyone's asked themselves that question at least once. If you've found yourself asking it multiple times, NieR: Automata is the game for you. If you haven't, it may make you question it.

Real authorship in video game development is hard to come by. More often than not, the creative minds behind the AAA publishing cycle are locked behind barriers of creativity impairment, where original ideas are diluted by industry standards until they are eventually all but lost. However, every once in a while, when stars align and you have a liberating studio like Platinum Games joining forces with a mastermind like Yoko Taro, games like NieR: Automata can see the light of day.

In increasingly bleak times, where the true purpose of one's life is put to the test at every turn; where the values of family, labor and religion are ever more often being questioned, authentic works like this game are bound to be more abundant. If we, one at a time, debunk society's reasons to be alive, what is left at the end of it all? That is the question NieR: Automata tries to answer, adding 9000 years to our own plight. Does it answer it? Not really, because there isn't a definitive solution. Does it add to that questioning, while instigating players to themselves reflect on such a relevant philosophical inquiry? Absolutely. Through the struggle of the main android cast, light is shed upon our main existential struggle, culminating in an humanist tale that couldn't have been told in any medium other than a video game.

The game's soundtrack is all but perfect. At any point of the game, it's dynamic, poignant and relevant to what is being seen in the screen. Few games put their music at their forefront like NieR: Automata does, with its lyrical and orchestral tunes overpowering both visuals and gameplay alike. It is never distracting, but always present.

Gameplay-wise, it's up to the standards that Platinum have set along the years. Although, unlike Vanquish or Bayonetta, the mechanics, by themselves, will probably never take the spotlight like the rest of the game's elements do. You'll never be bored playing it, but if you mute it and skip the cutscenes, what's left might not be enough to hold your attention for 30 or more hours. The game may not run as smoothly as an aficionado would like, but it's never distracting.

NieR: Automata could be an once-in-a-generation game. It does everything well, while being an outstanding achievement in soundtrack and addressing its very relevant themes in a profoundly touching way. I would recommend it to anyone who's looking both for videogames that transcend this absurdly competitive medium without selling out, while also offering a satisfying, emotional and thought-provoking story.

Great game. But the inevitable Definitive GOTY Edition™ will be much better.

Creatively bankrupt, unnecessary entry in a franchise that leads it to eventually reboot: a classic tale.

First game that had me thinking, "Oh god, I hope the next level is made entirely of quick-time events"

I calculate a 99% probability that this game could've been 69% better if it had 100% less Fi.

Also, kudos to Nintendo for unsolving controls 5 years after every other game had figured them out.

On paper it's an upgrade from the previous game, improving the melee combat, puzzles, animations and character development. But the most impressive thing about Uncharted 3 is how it already left me tired of a short franchise of short games with its reused story beats, repetitive shooting galleries and heavily scripted sequences.

An excellent puzzle game that, like pretty much every "mature" game out there, fails to handle its adult themes.

Glad I didn't grow up with this franchise, teenage me might've taken it seriously.

Millions of dollars and the full power of the PS3 are used to prove that yes, a videogame about a homicidal maniac who thinks he's an action hero can be as good as a B movie.

As a kid, I got upset that I could only play Prototype and not this on PC. Turns out Prototype was (slightly) better after all. Huh.

Kojima uses nanomachines to fill every gap, retread every plot beat and close every thread in the franchise. It... works?

It's stylish and smart enough to almost make you forget that the core game underneath is just not that good.

"Naughty Dog should go back to making Crash or Jax and stay away from games for grown-ups" - me, if I'd played this back in 2007

Exploration, mystery and backtracking are set aside in favor of a more streamlined, focused and tightly paced experience that left me wanting for a sequel.

An absurdly slow start, wolf sections and padding turned Twilight Princess into my least favorite 3D Zelda so far, but it's still a solid, OoT-like game with the best dungeons and bosses in the series.