Should I buy NieR Automata?

[jademunky]

I'm looking at the game and it is tempting me. I love stories with big plot twists and multiple layers of narrative that demand multiple viewings, love action RPGs and have a love-hate relationship with Japanese devs in general (more love than hate).

I actually own the first NieR game on my dusty old X-box and have very mixed feelings about it, like it was made by someone with something really meaningful to say but maybe not the talent and experience to pull it off. In the end I gave up roughly 5 hours in so maybe not a fair shake.

So back to Automata, it is a very expensive game and while it is on sale currently, it still sits at a somewhat pricey 40 Canadian dollaridoos.

Will I get my money's worth? I have already had one critical story-thing spoiled by a certain asshole (not anyone here, someone in real life).

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Nier Automata is absolutely worth playing. It was by far the most thematically interesting and imaginative game of last year.

It has some problems, but it's such a unique game that those problems are completely overshadowed by just how interesting it is. Trying not to spoil anything, yes you should play it.

You should also play Nier 1. If you only gave it 5 hours you really didn't get to "the good part" (which I usually treat as a cop-out answer, but one that's definitely true in this case).

 

[stroopwafel]

I love stories with big plot twists and multiple layers of narrative that demand multiple viewings

Well, that is basically Nier Automata in a nutshell. I can appreciate the vision behind the game, even if I personally didn't really enjoy it. The combat, the exploration; all the stuff you spend the majority of the time doing wasn't that great in my opinion. The graphics in particular also look very drab and like they were upscaled from a PS2. However, the way it introduces various gameplay elements like shmups even if it feels completely unrelated is brilliant as is the story and thematic elements that gets deconstructed through the medium itself(somewhat similar to MGS2).

It's a unique game so yeah definitely worth trying to see if you like it.

 

[Worgen]

Just buy it, its fucken good.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Given your taste in games, it seems like you'll get more out of it then I did. I can't comment though on your experience with the first Nier because I didn't play that.

I played through Automata once, and even then wasn't sure I wanted to go through it all again to see the rest of what the story had to tell. I even made a thread about it:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.1027583-Convince-me-to-replay-Nier-Automata

However, I did get around to playing the other 2 playthroughs, and by the time you get to the 3rd one, it isn't even a 'playthrough' anymore, but an actual continuation of the story. So it's like, you only replay the first half of the game.

It is interesting as other people said, and was a bit of a flip-flop of what I expected from Platinum. Normally I play them for the gameplay, and the story takes second seat. But here it was the opposite. Strange, because I was expecting the combat to be a lot more fun and engaging than it was, but the enemy types were boring and repetitive. They are pretty cute though, and fun to doodle in classes/meetings.

Anyway it was the story that kept me roped in till the end, because I was truly curious by halfway through the second playthrough, that it was already getting tempting to skip sidequests. They are worth checking out though.

TL;DR I'd say get it. It is an expensive game, but if it's on sale it's worth its salt. But it does take commitment, to see the best of what it has to offer, and there are flaws which you can see me critic in the thread mentioned. Much of that depends on how you take to the combat, personally I felt it held nothing compared to Platinums other releases.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I played the 1st Nier and it wasn't worth playing IMO. The gameplay was as average as you can get and the overall story was slightly better than your average anime. The best part of the game was Kaine and Weiss. And that leads into one of the major reasons why I haven't played Automata because there's no characters as entertaining as Kaine or Weiss in Automata. I did play the demo of the game and Platinum did make the combat a lot smoother and more stylish but they didn't put any depth into the combat system, it's a basic but smooth playing hack and slash. Games should only give me the good stuff so why make me trudge through average gameplay to get to a possibly good/great storyline? What's the point of "playing" it when you can get all the good stuff from a Youtube playthrough? Or possibly someone made a Automata movie so you don't even have to watch the gameplay. I recall watching a Mass Effect 1 movie (as that was a PC/Xbox exclusive) before playing the 2nd game where someone cut together all the dialogue and even edited the gameplay from battles to make a movie. Anyway, it seems a few people have said in the thread (who played it) that gameplay-wise, it's not really worth playing and that was my impressions from the demo along with my previous Nier experience. The story may be something great (everyone's mileage varies greatly in that regard) but after playing the 1st Nier, I'm not convinced that Taro Yoko is anymore talented a writer than a slightly above average anime writer. There's several holes in the Nier story if you actually think about it for a little bit, Super Bunnyhop did a great video on the 1st Nier.

 

[09philj]

Yes. It's excellent. It does have some problems with open world busywork and you don't get fast travel quickly enough for my liking, but it's definitely worth playing. Also, it should be noted that the PC version will require the Fixing Automata Resolution mod in order to run in 1080p, and it does suffer from the occasional second of slowdown.

 

[jademunky]

You should also play Nier 1. If you only gave it 5 hours you really didn't get to "the good part" (which I usually treat as a cop-out answer, but one that's definitely true in this case).

Yeah, I also generally treat it as a cop-out when people say: "oh no, keep playing, you'll see, no I can't tell you why, *wink wink*" Yet here I am about to dive into something that is 99% that.

 

[jademunky]

I love stories with big plot twists and multiple layers of narrative that demand multiple viewings

Well, that is basically Nier Automata in a nutshell. I can appreciate the vision behind the game, even if I personally didn't really enjoy it. The combat, the exploration; all the stuff you spend the majority of the time doing wasn't that great in my opinion. The graphics in particular also look very drab and like they were upscaled from a PS2. However, the way it introduces various gameplay elements like shmups even if it feels completely unrelated is brilliant as is the story and thematic elements that gets deconstructed through the medium itself(somewhat similar to MGS2).

It's a unique game so yeah definitely worth trying to see if you like it.

Good to know. Alright downloading it and it should be installed by the time I get home from work tonight!

I am actually one of the few who actively enjoyed Kojima's naval-gazing wankery in MGS2 so this sounds like a riot.

 

[jademunky]

Yes. It's excellent. It does have some problems with open world busywork and you don't get fast travel quickly enough for my liking, but it's definitely worth playing. Also, it should be noted that the PC version will require the Fixing Automata Resolution mod in order to run in 1080p, and it does suffer from the occasional second of slowdown.

Gah, it's Dark Souls all over again with the patching and the modding and the bad ports.

 

[jademunky]

Just buy it, its fucken good.

Yes sir.

But whyyyyyyy do they all have to look like fetish dolls?!?

Wait, I know. Because Japan.

 

[Dalisclock]

Just buy it, its fucken good.

Yes sir.

But whyyyyyyy do they all have to look like fetish dolls?!?

Wait, I know. Because Japan.

I'm sure there's some perfectly justified story reason for it. I mean, they might breathe through their skin.

 

[kasperbbs]

Buy it, but not the PC version. I don't know if they fixed it or not, but around the release time it was probably the worst gaming experience i ever had.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Just buy it, its fucken good.

Yes sir.

But whyyyyyyy do they all have to look like fetish dolls?!?

Wait, I know. Because Japan.

Well in-story all the androids dress like butlers and maids to symbolize their subservience to humanity.

But we all know that's bull shit and Yoko Taro just likes up-skirts. Pro-tip, climb the radio tower for primo viewing angles.

Also in regards to the technical issues mentioned above- it's very hit or miss. My game ran at 1440p no problem but I suffered weird slowdowns during cutscenes and cutscenes only. YMMV

 

[Kotaro]

I rather liked the original Nier despite the mediocre gameplay, but I loved Automata. Similar approach to storytelling, but the gameplay is so much better. It's basically Devil May Cry or Bayonetta in open world-style areas.
And the PC port worked fine for me after installing a mod that fixed the resolution issue and a few performance bugs.

 

[TheFinish]

Do not buy it if you have an Nvidia 780 gpu. It straight up does not work with them, hasn't since launch, and they haven't fixed it yet.

Otherwise go for it, I heard it's a good game.

If only I could play it...

 

[jademunky]

Just buy it, its fucken good.

Yes sir.

But whyyyyyyy do they all have to look like fetish dolls?!?

Wait, I know. Because Japan.

I'm sure there's some perfectly justified story reason for it. I mean, they might breathe through their skin.

Funny you mention. The store page has DLC that charges 20 bucks just for skimpier outfits. The commenters are enraged, not by the cash grab, but by the fact that you still have to play to unlock them.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Just buy it, its fucken good.

Yes sir.

But whyyyyyyy do they all have to look like fetish dolls?!?

Wait, I know. Because Japan.

I'm sure there's some perfectly justified story reason for it. I mean, they might breathe through their skin.

Suddenly, the fact that you can see 2B's butt under her skirt makes so much more sense. She OBVIOUSLY needs such a large surface area to intake as much O2 as possible!