NieR: Automata - Review @ RPGFan

[HiddenX]

RPGFan has reviewed the action RPG NieR: Automata:

NieR: Automata

In a year full of high-profile sequels and shiny new releases, NieR: Automata is a surprise. Sure, it's a sequel to a Square Enix published game, but the original NieR faired poorly in both sales and reception. We loved it here at RPGFan, and even awarded it an Editor's Choice. In fairness, NieR is a difficult game to get into — it plays awkwardly, looks stagnant, and won't suit everyone's tastes, but thematically, conceptually, and musically it's fantastic. It was entirely different to anything else on the market and is looked back on fondly by fans. NieR: Automata is the sequel we didn't expect we'd ever get. With Cavia, the developer behind the original game, now defunct, PlatinumGames has been handed the reigns with Yoko Taro still very much in charge of things. And boy, does it live up to the fans' high expectations.
[...]
NieR: Automata is a surreal and special game. It's a game that needs to be played more than once to really understand and appreciate everything it's offering. There's so much I can't tell you without ruining major parts of the plot, but as things begin to unfold, and as you reach your third and fourth playthrough, you'll start to understand what makes Automata such a wonderful experience. Its oddball tone won't always be for everyone, but if you're looking for a stellar action RPG with a provocative and thoughtful storyline, NieR: Automata should be the first and only game on your list.

Score: 92%

More information.

 

[joxer]

NieR: Automata is a surreal and special game. It's a game that needs to be played more than once to really understand and appreciate everything it's offering.

After this bullshit sentence I see 92%?
The score for TW3 should have been 200% then.

I bet this person watched Transformers movie "more than once to really understand and appreciate everything it's offering". Titanic too.

 

[Sprout]

After this bullshit sentence I see 92%?
The score for TW3 should have been 200% then.

I bet this person watched Transformers movie "more than once to really understand and appreciate everything it's offering". Titanic too.

A joke?
Just in case; the endings in automata resemble narrative breaks more than actual endings. There are five primary endings (which might as well be called chapters) before you're done. Would you be able to appreciate a book if you only read one of the five chapters, or witcher if you completed only about 20% of it? Sure, why not. But why don't you just play the whole game while you're at it?

 

[joxer]

What are you talking about? What why? What book chapters man? It's one chapter, retold over and over with a different outcome and it's not even a new thing.

Lemme try to be as precise as I can. I hate Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. I couldn't stand it back then, wouldn't bother to go for it again and certainly wouldn't suggest it to anyone. What am I talking about?
This overrated pos:
https://myanimelist.net/anime/934/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni

Now, tell me, am I right when I say the base idea in Nier Automata and in this anime is rince-repeat the whole bloody only one short chapter a bit differently each time so the outcome changes. 1+1=2, but no, let's try again from the begining so 1+1=3. The game is one chapter. It's not a book with 257658446785842654 chapters.
Not my pair of shoes.

 

[Zloth]

92% - but they are reviewing the PS4 version. No mention of porting issues in the article.

I think there's some mods done already to help address some porting issues but I'm going to wait and see if the company itself gets it figured out.

 

[duerer]

92% - but they are reviewing the PS4 version. No mention of porting issues in the article.

I think there's some mods done already to help address some porting issues but I'm going to wait and see if the company itself gets it figured out.

Unfortunately this is somewhat a permanent issue with Japanese games.
You see, PC gaming is pretty much non-existent in Japan (the market is mostly dominated by adult porn games).
Thus, a PC port is nearly always an afterthought, by the request of the publisher - a desperate attempt to please the Western audience.
Therefore, the quality of a PC port often reflects its C-grade development priority.

 

[joxer]

I think I've posted already, the port underperforms on normal gaming PC - there is a mod that makes the game running almost 60 FPS (unmodified game plays average 30 FPS and not because of locked frames but because of being not optimized).
Also, 1080p is upscaled from 720p. The same mod that sorts the performance, also sets the game into actual 1080p.

 

[duerer]

Now, tell me, am I right when I say the base idea in Nier Automata and in this anime is rince-repeat the whole bloody only one short chapter a bit differently each time so the outcome changes.

Not quite. The game is designed in such a way, that the "ending", although seems complete, but forecasts something else in a surprise twist.

Let's not forget that this approach to storytelling is very Asian: the journey is the reward, not the destination.

I think a very loose approximation would be a mindf*ck TV series, such as Lost.


Also, fortunately, subsequent replays in Nier do change the game, so it is not rinse-repeat:
- a replay is shorter, because it skips certain events,
- a replay may introduce a new controllable character, and the story is shown from another perspective,
- a replay may introduce a new, previously unseen gameplay mechanic,
- a replay may explain hard-to-understand things that are actually tied to the previous game (Nier 1), or even the very first game (Drakengard), so a very loose series continuity could be experienced.

 

[BoboTheMighty]

This game is worth a 9 just for 2B's marvelous buttocks. I'd post a picture but I'd only end up banned.

 

[joxer]

Ban for what? Wrap it with spoiler tags and warn it's not for kids.