Nier: Automata Review- The internet's posterchild
Word to the wise
This post will be a bit more spoiler-ridden than most others on this site, so if you truly want to see if this game is actually for you, skip the text, and read the "Conclusion" chapter. That section will be kept satisfyingly vague for your enjoyment :D
The justification
Wander around the web for long enough, and you'll surely come across some article, video or tweet citing Nier: Automata as one of the most impressive games ever made. Be it in verbal or written form, I have seen people praise this game without fail, and rather relentlessly.
Such universal praise is seldom encountered in the world of internet video game discourse, so naturally, I was dying to try it out.
The story of my experience is one of two parts, as I originally played this game in 2020 achieving ending A, and quickly dropped it once the game asked me to do it all over again for ending B. I was rather satisfied with the way things ended and did not feel like I had missed too much.
Then, in 2024, and after seeing a tweet from one Gene Park praising it as one of the best stories in video games, I delved into the comments section of that tweet to see what people thought of this grandiose statement. One particular reply caught my eye, saying something along the lines of "it's a pity most people play ending A and stop there". Seeing this, and feeling caught in the act by this, I reinstalled the game and started again from scratch.
A fresh perspective
2020 was a long time ago in stress years, so I hardly remembered much when I picked the game back up. The setting, landscapes and gameplay felt familiar though, so I had no problem settling back into the groove of its controls, now unbothered by any confusion of first-time experiences.
I apparently remembered a lot more than I gave myself credit for, so getting ending A was more a challenge of pushing through those first 13h. It was decently fun, but I knew what I was going into.
Ending B tested my patience a bit, but it redeemed itself in the second half of the story when I got to see more diverging pieces of the plot, either through cutscenes or by playing as 9S instead of 2B. It felt like a repetition of the previous ending, but I managed to wrap it up anyway.
Up next was entirely new content. Ending C and D share the same paths up until the last battle, where the player is given a choice with whom to side. Therefore, I'll bulk them together in this section.
The story continues where it left off from Ending A, launching an entirely new narrative that fit the ending quite well. The true circumstances of the Yorha mission on earth are revealed and it is a rather clever twist. The key takeaway here is largely linked to the need for one to have a purpose in life, a mission: wild animals are tasked with survival, humans are tasked with climbing social ladders and furthering the competence of humanity. Thus, the androids of Yorha need a purpose too! And what better purpose is there than fighting for a righteous cause. (or so they thought).
As I see it, this is mainly the point of the game: finding purpose and community. This idea is further flushed out by witnessing ending C and D, which have vastly different outcomes, but both end rather tragically.
The almost-sour taste left by those two endings is intended. The goal is for the player to want more than this sad and unsatisfying ending and to literally fight for a better future, one that might contain a little bit of hope. And fight you will: the credits turn into the hardest combat challenge in the game and you are tasked with swiftly dispatching each of the game's developers in order to change their mind.
The seems insurmountable and upon each failure you are asked weather this struggle is worth it and if you want to give up. Persist for long enough though, and you will be given a helping hand by other players who have previously triumphed. Together, you are un unstoppable force.
That's largely the premise of ending E: a hopeful encouragement that the future is up to each of us to shape... together.
How do you like them apples?
I understand why the story resonates so deeply with some players; it's about unity (the non-trademarked variety), hope and purpose. I respect what it goes for and how it achieves it, but I do not see it as flawless or the best gaming's ever been. I have played a good number of games that I felt had a more interesting point to prove (games like Disco Elysium, Hellblade and a few others) or games that resonated with me a bit more. I don't feel like the overall point is that much of a revelation (for me, at least). It's very similar to my feelings about the story of Last of Us: Part 2- cool that it was said, but I already knew all of these things.
I feel the potential of players quitting after ending A is not quite fully redeemed by ending E, the trudge through doing the entire thing again with 9S seems not worth it, and I think the game would have been better off entirely cutting this out.
Weapon of choice: blunt or sharp or maybe both?
I find it hard to pinpoint the main gameplay loop of this game, purely because there's 3 entirely different games that you routinely switch between.
Most of the time, you engage in a 3rd person hack and slash game where your movements feel satisfying and powerful, perhaps with a bit of an overpowered dodge mechanic. Enemies are varied both in size, power and in means of movement. There is little to complain about on the combat side, with the only sticking point being the number of encounters. By hour 20, you'd have fought through endless hoards of enemies and are now just blazing past skippable fights.
What truly saves the gameplay is variety: the developers expertly weaved the 3rd person combat, with isometric hacking minigames, fighter-jet combat and large scale boss encounters. The diversity of combat and encounters on display is not indicative of the relatively modest production budget, but is nonetheless one of the most impressive games I've ever played in this regard.
Otherwise, the gameplay is solid, the world is varied and you cannot save whenever you want to (my old nemesis is back). I truly have a deep hate for games that do not let you exit-save at least, as it ties me to the game when I have something urgent to do, or purely when I want to log off. I see no gameplay reason for this, and I truly hope this goes away forever.
Conclusion (Grade A-)
Nier: Automata is a remarkable game mostly due to the evident passion that went into every aspect of its design. Unfortunately, purely from a taste perspective, it did not really jive with me. Looking back, I have no powerful long-lasting feelings. It's just sort of... done.
The story is certainly using unique mechanics to get its point across, and while the conclusion is not quite chart-topping, it's certainly nothing to sneeze about. Many people deeply enjoy the plot... so, for that reason alone, if the gameplay seems suitable to you, I'd advise in favor of trying this game out just to form your own thoughts about a potential hidden gem.
The combat is easy to grasp and satisfying to master, and the world is certainly pretty enough even for modern standards. Boss fights do a lot of heavy lifting in raising the quality bar to generally unrealistic standards for most other video games, giving the likes of God of War 3 a podium contender.
You should be able to finish the game in around 21-25h.