NieR: Automata BECOME AS GODS Edition

Nier: Automata is very much a Square Enix games and one of the first things that stands out is how it looks like a Final Fantasy One, it just oozes that Japanese AAA look and feel to it. A collaboration with action masters Platinum Games, the effort managed to create a huge following for the Nier/Drakengard franchise which before this entry was very much of a niche thing only. With both critical and popular support, Nier: Automata instantly became one of the bigger games of 2017 and to a degree of the entire decade. So just how good is Nier Automata? Well it's pretty damn good.

I'm not expert with Platinum Games and only played Bayonetta and Vanguard prior to this (both that I've enjoyed), but this is by far my favorite title from them. I like that their high intense action battles are combined with RPG elements, it makes quite the interesting result. As the game starts you are thrown in this shoot em up with your ship, sort of a modern take on classic 80s arcade games. After a short while the game turns into this 3D action RPG where your character has a sword and a pod that shoots bullets, which is what most of the game revolves around. The battles are a lot of fun and the game always manage to keep things varied with various different battle styles alternating from flight and ground battles. Add this with RPG elements and your customizable plug-in chips for various boosts, it's a whole lot of fun for the most part.

The narrative is the strongest part of the game however with this big universe where androids, machines, aliens and humans collide. It's also presented in a unique fashion where you must complete different playthroughs with both 2B and 9S characters in order to get to the 3rd part of the game which brings the rest of the story. But even while replaying the 2nd time around, the story unveils new elements and shines a little bit more light on what is actually going on, but it's really in the 3rd part that things are more explained but will probably leave you wandering about certain elements.

The game is not without its flaws, the opening battle is over 30 minutes with no save points and there is a good chance that you will die, so starting that one over and over is a little pain in the ass. Also the game feels a little bit redundant in 9S's playthrough as you are fighting most of the same bosses (levels are scaled but still), and even in the 3rd part things get a little long with more of the same when it comes to battles. But I think that 90% of RPGs usually have this problem in the 2nd half of their games, how to keep things interesting for the end game which is not the easiest task. I think the game could have used a little bit more RPG systems too, it's not before long that you run out of new upgrades or plug-in chips to discover. Still even with these into account these are pretty minor flaws and overall it's just a pretty great experience.

I've played this on the Xbox Series X on my 4K TV, and even if it's not optimized for that system, I felt that the graphics and the world were pretty stunning. The graphics are really beautiful with a lot of detail done in the artwork, it really makes you feel like you are part of this dystopian world. The game also strikes a great balance between action battles, story development, open world exploration and the RPG portions. The game has a very good flow to it and keeps things interesting, perhaps a little bumpy ride once you finish with Ending A but it's not long after that you are back into the action of things. Overall Nier Automata is an excellent game and I don't mind it's status of "must-play game of the 2010s", it's a pretty unique experience while drawing from a lot of past elements too. I do wonder what they will bring next to the franchise, but this universe has a lot of potential for more great games.