Why you should buy Nier Automata: the 24 hour review

[Fox12]

The game play: Nier features a streamlined version of the fast action game play that Platinum games is known for. It's a fast paced, vibrant version of the original Nier that makes use of multiple game play styles. It's a bullet hell game. It's an action RPG. It's a top down shooter. It's a side scrolling action game. And I've only completed the first few areas. Nier Automata feels like a love letter to video games while maintaining its own identity, and it's honestly one of the smoothest games I've ever played. On top of that, it takes heavy inspiration from dark souls. Dead bodies, summons, and messages all make an appearance.

Narrative: right off the bat, Nier is different. I can't promise the world, since I've only just started, but there's a constant feeling that something is off. The games also weirdly meta, though whether this pays off has yet to be seen. You don't necesarily have to do what your told, and you can break the rules a little. Whether this has consequences remains to be seen. But the writing is top notch, and the characters are interesting.

Game design: again, it feels like a weird sci-fi souls game. Areas have shortcuts that work in on themselves. You repeat and explore certain areas. It all feels very deliberate and natural, and the world feels alive as a result.

I'm having a blast with this title. If there's a criticism, it's that platinum fans may find it less deep then bayonetta in terms of combat. Personally I think it's simple but rewarding, and extremely smooth. This is the best game I've played in a long, long time, and I think it's worth looking into.

 

[meiam]

From what I read the combat barely change over the hours, some small feature are added in new game plus but it doesn't really change anything.

 

[Zhukov]

Meh.

Played the demo. Couldn't even be bothered finishing it.

Visuals look like crap in basically every way with a dull colour palette, empty environments and boring enemy designs. Voice acting was amateurish. Controls were floaty. Combat was simple and boring. (I thought Platinum were supposed to be famous for hack-and-slash gameplay?)

I kinda liked the design of the protagonist. That's about the only nice thing I can think to say about it.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

The main disappointment I had about the demo was the characters. I understand 2B and 9S are androids but they were boring. Kaine and Grimoire Weiss pretty much carried the 1st Nier IMO. I'm also one that didn't find the story to be nearly that special. Yeah, it had more going for it than most game stories but that's not a high standard either. I remember seeing a Gamefaqs thread on the Nier forum saying Naughty Dog ripped off Nier's story for The Last of Us, I don't smoke whatever the Nier fans smoke I guess. In the ACG review, he said that important story elements are told in sidequests and you can miss important bits, which is disappointing considering how bad the sidequests were in the 1st game. The combat system in the demo wasn't good or complex enough to play just for the combat either assuming the story and characters don't grab me. Combat was definitely fun but I think too simple to really have anything to master. With all that said, I think I will play Automata at some point because it will most definitely provide a different and unique experience and that's something most games just don't provide.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

(I thought Platinum were supposed to be famous for hack-and-slash gameplay?)

Automata isn't really a Platinum game as they didn't direct the game. They were working with Nier's director to make the combat fit the game along with being smoother and better than the 1st game's awfully simplistic combat. It's sorta what I expected out of that kinda partnership, the combat is smoother and more fun, but thinking it was going to be on the level of Bayonetta would only lead to disappointment. Just maybe if Kamiya was working with the Nier team as like a co-director, you might've got a much deeper combat system on the level of some of Platinum's best games.

 

[Fox12]

I like the art direction (the environments and enemy designs), the music, the look of 2B and the combat. I'm looking forward to playing a game again that doesn't go for the typical cinematic presentation with forced walking, excessive dialogue and disruptive cutscenes. I'm tired of western AAA developers and their shallow gameplay. And I say that as someone who typically avoids Japanese RPGs and new anime. But, I dislike Metal Gear Rising and found the Bayonetta demo lame. So I'm hoping that this game finally wins me over to Platinum Games. I'm not sure if I'll buy this in March, but I'll get it eventually.

I wasn't a fan of either bayonetta or Metal Gear Rising either. This game just felt... right somehow. The sheer breadth of weapons and game play options also prevented the game from ever feeling dull, so I never saw that as an issue.

Meh.

Played the demo. Couldn't even be bothered finishing it.

Visuals look like crap in basically every way with a dull colour palette, empty environments and boring enemy designs. Voice acting was amateurish. Controls were floaty. Combat was simple and boring. (I thought Platinum were supposed to be famous for hack-and-slash gameplay?)

I kinda liked the design of the protagonist. That's about the only nice thing I can think to say about it.

Zhukov, is there anything you do like? I feel like I could copy paste every comment you make, and they'd be more or less interchangeable.

 

[Zhukov]

Zhukov, is there anything you do like? I feel like I could copy paste every comment you make, and they'd be more or less interchangeable.

You don't know me!

Seriously though, you've clearly never seen me getting all gushy over The Last of Us. Or Journey. Or Mirror's Edge. Or Mass Effect. Or the new Hitman. Or Amnesia. And so on and so forth.

I'd link threads but this forum's search function is borked.

Also, I've been mainlining Horizon Zero Dawn for almost a week straight now. So I guess that can get added to the Official List of Things Zhukov Does Indeed Like.

 

[Fox12]

Zhukov, is there anything you do like? I feel like I could copy paste every comment you make, and they'd be more or less interchangeable.

You don't know me!

Seriously though, you've clearly never seen me getting all gushy over The Last of Us. Or Journey. Or Mirror's Edge. Or Mass Effect. Or the new Hitman. Or Amnesia. And so on and so forth.

I'd link threads but this forum's search function is borked.

Also, I've been mainlining Horizon Zero Dawn for almost a week straight now. So I guess that can get added to the Official List of Things Zhukov Does Indeed Like.

Lol, fair enough.

Horizon Zero Dawn looked impressive. It was honestly between that and Nier. I don't regret my decision, but Horizon seems excellent from what I've seen.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I started playing last night but only got a couple of hours in. So far I have one complaint, the difficulty levels in this game are kind of fucked.

I played the demo on normal and thought it was way too easy, so when I started the full game I immediately set the difficulty to hard.

Holy fuck is there a HUGE rift between normal and hard. I took 1 hit on hard from a basic enemy and lost 80% of my health. Combine that with lack of an auto-save feature, and only being able to save at designated points (and not allowed to save within dungeons it seems like) meant that I had to replay the opening a few times. The opening that is really slow, and can't be skipped because it's tutorial gameplay.

Yeah, that kind of soured me on the game.

So I bumped the difficulty back down to normal, but now it's way too easy. A single hit only does like 10% of my health and I can basically just waltz through anything in my path just like I did in the demo. Why isn't there a middle point between these extremes?

 

[CritialGaming]

I feel like someone has used my theme......

 

[Karthesios]

Well, if I can pull myself from Breath of the Wild to play it (I picked it up yesterday), I'll sit down and play it. I want to but Zelda's got 100% of my attention right now.

 

[stroopwafel]

I think the game is terrific, literally couldn't put it down. I absolutely love the story and how it is interwoven with this off-the-wall humour. There is this distinct Japanese quirk to this game which just makes it utterly compelling. This game is also very unique in that it drops every convention and you never know what to expect. Like you go from vertical shmup to horizontal shmup then turn into a mech like a helicopter shmup then have Platinum action gameplay then side-scrolling action on a rollercoaster then gameplay that looks like someone revived Smash TV and hacking minigames that resembly Asteroids on the Atari 7800 with 8-bit audio effects. Then there is the way the gameplay interacts with the story; it all just works incredibly well. The developers really play with the medium in very unconventional ways while still maintaining this solid, action game foundation. It's awesome.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I thought Platinum were supposed to be famous for hack-and-slash gameplay?

That is their famous hack 'n slash gameplay. You know, the super weightless, flashy, unimpactful combat against cardboard cut-out enemies, and giant bosses that are so stupidly huge and easily dispatched that their size and defeat loses all meaning.

 

[CritialGaming]

I thought Platinum were supposed to be famous for hack-and-slash gameplay?

That is their famous hack 'n slash gameplay. You know, the super weightless, flashy, unimpactful combat against cardboard cut-out enemies, and giant bosses that are so stupidly huge and easily dispatched that their size and defeat loses all meaning.

But with Boobies! They've got it all figured out, people love the hack 'n slashes with boobies.

 

[RaikuFA]

I like the art direction (the environments and enemy designs), the music, the look of 2B and the combat. I'm looking forward to playing a game again that doesn't go for the typical cinematic presentation with forced walking, excessive dialogue and disruptive cutscenes. I'm tired of western AAA developers and their shallow gameplay. And I say that as someone who typically avoids Japanese RPGs and new anime. But, I dislike Metal Gear Rising and found the Bayonetta demo lame. So I'm hoping that this game finally wins me over to Platinum Games. I'm not sure if I'll buy this in March, but I'll get it eventually.

I wasn't a fan of either bayonetta or Metal Gear Rising either. This game just felt... right somehow. The sheer breadth of weapons and game play options also prevented the game from ever feeling dull, so I never saw that as an issue.

Meh.

Played the demo. Couldn't even be bothered finishing it.

Visuals look like crap in basically every way with a dull colour palette, empty environments and boring enemy designs. Voice acting was amateurish. Controls were floaty. Combat was simple and boring. (I thought Platinum were supposed to be famous for hack-and-slash gameplay?)

I kinda liked the design of the protagonist. That's about the only nice thing I can think to say about it.

Zhukov, is there anything you do like? I feel like I could copy paste every comment you make, and they'd be more or less interchangeable.

I was about to say. We get it, you don't like anything. Get over it.

 

[Sonmi]

Is the music anything like it was in Nier? Because honestly, the marvelous soundtrack is the only reason I managed to endure 4 playthroughs to complete the first one.

In any case, Yoko Taro is freaking insane, I'm glad one of his games managed to have commercial success, I suppose I'll buy it for PC.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I like the hell out of this game. It's got a good number of flaws, though. But many of my favorite games do as well. The one definite flaw I'd point out that I dislike personally is that there just isn't much depth to the combat, but it's still enjoyable and visually appealing. Maybe I just have low standards.

 

[balladbird]

I'm all about getting Nier! I like the setting and character designs, and I'm already a big sucker for japanese games as it is.

That said, Nier had the misfortune of releasing on the same day as Atelier Firis,so it'll have to wait a few weeks before I adopt it.