A highly work safe discussion of NieR: Automata

[nomdeplume]

Sorry to say I'm not interested in the culture. Quite the opposite. Please show the utmost restraint.

That said, I'm curious if the actual gameplay stands up outside of sensational or provocative elements. What little I've watched has interesting glitched and fast paced visuals flying around the screen. Mowing through mechanical enemies looks fun enough. Not sure if there is variety and depth to the combat that I liked in Metal Gear Solid Revengeance. Or if it even matters when so many great arcade games proved how fun spamming a few buttons can be while thrashing a control stick.

 

[Dr. Dro]

It's one of my favorite games of all time. 2B, 9S and A2 have different combat styles. It's different from MGRR in that regard.

Take your time and complete all optional missions.

 

[nomdeplume]

It's one of my favorite games of all time. 2B, 9S and A2 have different combat styles. It's different from MGRR in that regard.

Take your time and complete all optional missions.

So worth picking up and not expecting to refund. My feeling is you'd drift away from something that was just a shell with nothing of worth inside.

 

[Dr. Dro]

So worth picking up and not expecting to refund. My feeling is you'd drift away from something that was just a shell with nothing of worth inside.

Quite contrary... That game is QUITE a ride. It's a masterpiece. 11 out of 10. Make sure to pick up NieR Replicant 1.22 on Steam as well

 

[TSiAhmat]

Make sure to pick up NieR Replicant 1.22 on Steam as well

That one is still in my backlog... (I own to many games ;_; )

Nier: Automata was really good

 

[Assimilator]

Isn't it hella depressing though?

 

[nomdeplume]

Isn't it hella depressing though?

The only unavoidable spoiler was how many times over it wants to inflict the conclusions it draws.

 

[TechBuyingHavoc]

The only unavoidable spoiler was how many times over it wants to inflict the conclusions it draws.

I only played Nier Automata once and the single playthrough was plenty compelling. You don't have to play the game multiple times, you will still enjoy it. Or at least I did.

The gameplay is butter-smooth and the worldbuilding is better than most games. There are "cheat" modules in the game that make it a lot easier if the difficulty is too high so accessibility is high even for players who normally don't play these types of games.

I think it is a great game just on those strengths, ignoring what anyone feels about the plot, positive or negative.

 

[Onasi]

Isn't it hella depressing though?

It’s a Yoko Taro game. The question is rhetorical. That being said, it’s actually probably the LEAST depressing one out of the whole DrakeNier series. Drakengard 3 is still probably the champion in the “what the fuck did I just witness” department.

Automata is a good game. A great one, even, though I will say that the combat can be “solved” essentially by stacking certain buffs and that bypasses all the usual Platinum depth. Not necessary, though.

 

[TechBuyingHavoc]

It’s a Yoko Taro game. The question is rhetorical. That being said, it’s actually probably the LEAST depressing one out of the whole DrakeNier series. Drakengard 3 is still probably the champion in the “what the fuck did I just witness” department.

Automata is a good game. A great one, even, though I will say that the combat can be “solved” essentially by stacking certain buffs and that bypasses all the usual Platinum depth. Not necessary, though.

What about the first Drakengard? That was perhaps even more WTF, especially one of the alternative endings.

 

[Onasi]

What about the first Drakengard? That was perhaps even more WTF, especially one of the alternative endings.

Eh, D3 edges it out for me. Helps that I like the story better. And, well, the game too. Performance issues aside, at least Drake 3 is a relatively competent game. Drakengard 1 is absolute dogshit to actually play. It has its status due to the story, yeah, but as a game… yeah, no. That’s part of the reason I rate Automata highly - it’s the first Taro game that’s actually a good GAME on top of a cool story. Everything previously ranged from mediocre (D3, OG Nier) to horrendous dogshit (D1).
That being said, the ending I presume you’re talking about was more of a “okay then” for me as something outta left field completely. Yeah, it was made to work retroactively, but… eh.

 

[nomdeplume]

Ended up purchasing this and being very happy right away. Maybe the low bar for selling games that are praised beyond feasibility helped. Within the first few minutes all the forced perspectives shifts were indicative of everything I'd hoped for. Finally a top down platformer caught me out during repeated waves of enemies. All of it felt like starting in an easier spot meant to keep tension up halfway through the difficulty level of specific genre you were having thrown at you that moment!

What really sold me on asking for outside opinions here was randomly clicking timestamp in a 4K playthrough video made within the last year. Where it started had this weird filter that suddenly went to monotone in almost 4bit without losing fluidity of combat you were expected to maintain. Then right back to 4K textures normally present. Was sick I ruined this surprise while realizing I would've passed the game over without further thought if not for coming across it.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Ended up purchasing this and being very happy right away. Maybe the low bar for selling games that are praised beyond feasibility helped. Within the first few minutes all the forced perspectives shifts were indicative of everything I'd hoped for. Finally a top down platformer caught me out during repeated waves of enemies. All of it felt like starting in an easier spot meant to keep tension up halfway through the difficulty level of specific genre you were having thrown at you that moment!

What really sold me on asking for outside opinions here was randomly clicking timestamp in a 4K playthrough video made within the last year. Where it started had this weird filter that suddenly went to monotone in almost 4bit without losing fluidity of combat you were expected to maintain. Then right back to 4K textures normally present. Was sick I ruined this surprise while realizing I would've passed the game over without further thought if not for coming across it.

Automata is worthy of all praise it gets and then some. The soundtrack is flawless, gameplay is great, and the story is just an emotional rollercoaster. It's on my all time hall of fame and it will never leave it.

 

[Onasi]

Yeah, Automata is a very rare case where the overall hype and the game itself are mostly in line. In fact, I struggle to remember anything post that game that would be comparable. Original Hades, maybe? BG3, kindaaaaaa? Not really, that Larian usual of “great first act, undercooked everything else” is still there. Hard to say. Most of the time, the games being praised as “the best thing ever” are anything but.

I think my biggest burn in recent memory was FF 14. I heard so much about how the game was absolutely great, more of an old school JRPG than an MMO. Well, I was gifted the full game at the time (it was Endwalker launch). What I got was the most mediocre MMO WoW clone imaginable with storytelling that had no idea what it wanted to be and a story that was obviously re-written and retconned between each fucking expansion. Holy shit was FF 14 dogshit. I remember people trying to convince me that it was the best story-based MMO - not even close, no, that would be The Old Republic. The Agent storyline slaps everything that FF 14 has and does so effortlessly. But enough of me bitching about FF 14 and its undeserved success.

 

[kurosagi01]

Some people blow the ending stuff out of proportion, as people have said there are only 5 "true" endings. While the rest are just parody endings.
To get the 1st 2 endings just require you playing the game all the way through and then to get ending 3 and 4 you can do it by using chapter select and then you can get ending 5 after unlock 3&4.
If you have experience with platinum games or if you like high paced action combat like bayonetta, devil may cry and modern ninja gaiden.
Then Nier automata will be right up your ally, the story itself is great but a bit slow to get into but it is worth it.