Nier: Automata
THOUGHTS
Nier: Automata is a beautiful mess.
I mean beautiful genuinely too. There are some deeply moving, touching, lingering, mood altering sequences in this game and they're its greatest successes. It's just a shame that the delivery and pacing are skewed in a way that makes an unnecessary slog of the experience.
Yoko Taro is somewhat infamous in gaming circles for his unique (some may say actively hostile towards players) ideas and implementation of them in his games. It's hard not to respect what Taro wants to do though, really. He's spoken about wanting to utilise the medium to a greater extent and to challenge players on deeper levels. These both make a lot of sense and the lack of these aspects has been becried, especially in recent times.
And he's succeeded here. In what is possibly Nier: Automata's greatest achievement he's created a story that could only really work as a videogame, using some clever and cheeky fourth wall breaking to help it along the way.
To properly colour my feelings on Nier I do need to touch on the gameplay briefly. I played Drakengard a bit back in the day and while loving the music and atmosphere couldn't stand the repetitive, clunky combat. Getting Platinum involved to develop the combat and traversal seems like a stroke of genius - a perfect storm of circumstances that allowed developers who are both fans and expert craftsmen to get on board this crazy robot train. It's a hell of a lot of fun. They've sacrificed some of the shinier environmental and background effects to let the game run at a consistent 60 frames per second and it's a wise move. The combat is so fluid and there's weight behind your strikes. Even if there's not a heap of depth to it (although the chip system, your 'loadout' that you equip, certainly adds some customistation and personality) I found it a joy to play.
The rest of Nier I'm so torn on that it's difficult to articulate. I love the weird perspective shifting as you enter new areas. I hate that you have to enter them so many times. I love the bullet hell elements being incorporated into the combat. I hate that the game uses them so predictably. I love the raw emotion and philosophical questions the game invokes. I hated how Route B was organised to make me get there. You get the idea.
Minor spoilers ahead, if they can even be called that at this stage.
The game requires you to play it more than once to get all the endings. That's practically advertised on the box by now. My biggest problems with the game came from the aforementioned Route B, with a multitude of issues colouring the rest of the game. On the one hand, I think I see what Taro was going for and I don't mind the idea. I'd say 95% of the game is the same as the first playthrough, but with a different perspective and a few extra scenes. You play as 9S rather than 2B and it's fun for a little while, until you realise that being able to hack machines isn't really an enjoyable alternative to 2B's raw combat prowess.
My thinking is that Taro wanted you to spend more time with these characters to increase the impact of the final Routes. And hey, it works! It's just a shame that it felt like such a slog to immediately repeat the game I'd just played. It's a testament to how strong the majority of Route C is that you can forgive having to replay 15-20 hours of a game to get there. As I reflect back my thoughts go along the lines of "I get why this was done, but surely it could have been done a hell of a lot better". Your mileage may vary, but it's difficult to imagine glowing praise coming for Route B and having a third of your game being a frustrating experience isn't clever design, regardless of the end result.
But you should get to the end result. The game working relies on it. This brings up another issue - having all these endings is fun (and I did chuckle at a few of the smaller ones, with there being 5 main endings and 21 others) but it feels more like Taro sticking to his past formula rather than doing what is best for the game. These are just chapters with different names and doing anything but playing through to the end of Route E is not finishing the game and actively does it a disservice.
So Nier is a series of ups and downs, climaxing with a gigantic up after a sometimes spotty, sometimes insanely impressive and overwhelming final dungeon. You have a story that has a heap of raw impact without necessarily holding together as well as it might seem on the outside (plot holes being another Taro trademark didn't really excuse them for me). You have one of the most incredible sequences of the year as the game ends, using the medium to its fullest extent to bring forth a torrent of emotion. It's undeniable. It's just that many may have denied it before reaching that point.
Before I wrap up, it has to be mentioned that this is the best game soundtrack of 2017. It's warm and unsettling in equal measures, eerie, moody, weird, epic, varied and overall brilliant. One of my favourite moments was a quieter portion near the end of Route C where the music incorporated some elements from a song from the original Nier. I just sat and listened and soaked in the mood. It invoked a deep sense of longing that fit the mood of the sequence so well that I was honestly stunned. It's incredible work and the game owes a lot to the soundtrack throughout.
Yoko Taro is somewhat infamous in gaming circles for his unique (some may say actively hostile towards players) ideas and implementation of them in his games. It's hard not to respect what Taro wants to do though, really. He's spoken about wanting to utilise the medium to a greater extent and to challenge players on deeper levels. These both make a lot of sense and the lack of these aspects has been becried, especially in recent times.
And he's succeeded here. In what is possibly Nier: Automata's greatest achievement he's created a story that could only really work as a videogame, using some clever and cheeky fourth wall breaking to help it along the way.
To properly colour my feelings on Nier I do need to touch on the gameplay briefly. I played Drakengard a bit back in the day and while loving the music and atmosphere couldn't stand the repetitive, clunky combat. Getting Platinum involved to develop the combat and traversal seems like a stroke of genius - a perfect storm of circumstances that allowed developers who are both fans and expert craftsmen to get on board this crazy robot train. It's a hell of a lot of fun. They've sacrificed some of the shinier environmental and background effects to let the game run at a consistent 60 frames per second and it's a wise move. The combat is so fluid and there's weight behind your strikes. Even if there's not a heap of depth to it (although the chip system, your 'loadout' that you equip, certainly adds some customistation and personality) I found it a joy to play.
The rest of Nier I'm so torn on that it's difficult to articulate. I love the weird perspective shifting as you enter new areas. I hate that you have to enter them so many times. I love the bullet hell elements being incorporated into the combat. I hate that the game uses them so predictably. I love the raw emotion and philosophical questions the game invokes. I hated how Route B was organised to make me get there. You get the idea.
Minor spoilers ahead, if they can even be called that at this stage.
The game requires you to play it more than once to get all the endings. That's practically advertised on the box by now. My biggest problems with the game came from the aforementioned Route B, with a multitude of issues colouring the rest of the game. On the one hand, I think I see what Taro was going for and I don't mind the idea. I'd say 95% of the game is the same as the first playthrough, but with a different perspective and a few extra scenes. You play as 9S rather than 2B and it's fun for a little while, until you realise that being able to hack machines isn't really an enjoyable alternative to 2B's raw combat prowess.
My thinking is that Taro wanted you to spend more time with these characters to increase the impact of the final Routes. And hey, it works! It's just a shame that it felt like such a slog to immediately repeat the game I'd just played. It's a testament to how strong the majority of Route C is that you can forgive having to replay 15-20 hours of a game to get there. As I reflect back my thoughts go along the lines of "I get why this was done, but surely it could have been done a hell of a lot better". Your mileage may vary, but it's difficult to imagine glowing praise coming for Route B and having a third of your game being a frustrating experience isn't clever design, regardless of the end result.
But you should get to the end result. The game working relies on it. This brings up another issue - having all these endings is fun (and I did chuckle at a few of the smaller ones, with there being 5 main endings and 21 others) but it feels more like Taro sticking to his past formula rather than doing what is best for the game. These are just chapters with different names and doing anything but playing through to the end of Route E is not finishing the game and actively does it a disservice.
So Nier is a series of ups and downs, climaxing with a gigantic up after a sometimes spotty, sometimes insanely impressive and overwhelming final dungeon. You have a story that has a heap of raw impact without necessarily holding together as well as it might seem on the outside (plot holes being another Taro trademark didn't really excuse them for me). You have one of the most incredible sequences of the year as the game ends, using the medium to its fullest extent to bring forth a torrent of emotion. It's undeniable. It's just that many may have denied it before reaching that point.
Before I wrap up, it has to be mentioned that this is the best game soundtrack of 2017. It's warm and unsettling in equal measures, eerie, moody, weird, epic, varied and overall brilliant. One of my favourite moments was a quieter portion near the end of Route C where the music incorporated some elements from a song from the original Nier. I just sat and listened and soaked in the mood. It invoked a deep sense of longing that fit the mood of the sequence so well that I was honestly stunned. It's incredible work and the game owes a lot to the soundtrack throughout.
Plus/Minus
+ Best soundtrack of the year
+ Fluid, fun combat system
+ Memorable characters (shoutouts to Pascal)
+ A stunning finale
+ Some excellent writing
+ Good worldbuilding
- Route B is a slog
- Story can be a bit of a mess
- Hacking is awkwardly implemented
- Questionable pacing
Overall
I might not sound that high on Nier throughout this review and look, that's probably a fair assumption. That my feelings (and indeed, this review) are messy is an accurate representation of the game. There's a temptation to bring out a cliche such as "I liked it without loving it" but I did love it at times. I also strongly disliked it and was actively bored by it at times. What I can say, unequivocally, is that I am completely on board for Yoko Taro's next project, no matter what it may be. He (and Platinum, and composer Keiichi Okabe) present such a strong, unique voice that I can't wait to hear more from despite my issues with Nier: Automata. I'm truly glad to have experienced it. I just wish I enjoyed it more.
7.5/10
Technical Stuff: Played on a PS4. Copy purchased by myself. Approximately 45 hours spent. One full playthrough, all endings attained.
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