Glory to mankind - NieR Automata turns two years old today

Incredible game. I need to go finish it cos I bought it and then a bunch of other games came out and I got distracted. Definitely plan on finishing and seeing all th endings. The writing in this is very cool and very classic sci fi

Game is pretty rad. Useless to "explain" why a game is good to someone who refuses to play it.
 
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Idk, people literally talk about this like it's the GOAT, and I still have no idea why aside from the music, samey looking platinum action, and what sounds like a ridiculous 3 playthrough slog to see a "real" ending. Each time I look it up I just hear vague stuff on top of bland visuals, I don't know what it is about it that got so many people to even buy it, wasn't the first game a flop? The story sounds like ridiculous anime garbage in the YT reviews I've seen. Maybe I sound a little harsh, lol, I just don't get it. I like the main character design and her ass, and Platinum is usually a solid dev, so I wanted to like this, but I just don't seem to get it.
 
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Nymphae said:
Idk, people literally talk about this like it's the GOAT, and I still have no idea why aside from the music, samey looking platinum action, and what sounds like a ridiculous 3 playthrough slog to see a "real" ending. Each time I look it up I just hear vague stuff on top of bland visuals, I don't know what it is about it that got so many people to even buy it, wasn't the first game a flop? The story sounds like ridiculous anime garbage in the YT reviews I've seen. Maybe I sound a little harsh, lol, I just don't get it. I like the main character design and her ass, and Platinum is usually a solid dev, so I wanted to like this, but I just don't seem to get it.
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Dude, like I said, good graphics doesn't make a good game, and Nier Automata is one such example.

Also, obviously calling the story ridiculous anime garbage would be kind of a massive understatement as you would need to understand the plot and characters in order to fully appreciate it.

Regarding the endings themselves, the game lets you do it the way you want, and while it is true the actual ending can take some time to get, you can just get one of the other endings. Because if eventually you do end up playing this game with no other intent than trying to get the actual ending as a priority, this would, believe me, not make the experience worthy at all.

Look, just forget YouTube reviews for a second and give this game a chance, trust me. You can't have an actual opinion of the game without playing it. Say whatever you want, but if all the other people here says it's fantastic, it obviously must be for a good reason.

And that reason, you will just have to find it yourself.
 
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Raph64 said:
Look, just forget YouTube reviews for a second and give this game a chance, trust me. You can't have an actual opinion of the game without playing it. Say whatever you want, but if all the other people here says it's fantastic, it obviously must be for a good reason.
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I'm sure it is, I'm just frustrated because what makes it so incredible is not obvious at all to me, as all of the parts seem fairly lackluster at first glance. If it's the story that is so amazing, I'd like to see maybe a video on YT or some write up that relates that to me so I can get interested, because as I said, the basic plot summaries I have heard do not sound like anything special. It just isn't good enough for me when someone says "look I can't articulate it, but spend dozens of hours to understand what I mean."
 
Nymphae said:
I'm sure it is, I'm just frustrated because what makes it so incredible is not obvious at all to me, as all of the parts seem fairly lackluster at first glance. If it's the story that is so amazing, I'd like to see maybe a video on YT or some write up that relates that to me so I can get interested, because as I said, the basic plot summaries I have heard do not sound like anything special. It just isn't good enough for me when someone says "look I can't articulate it, but spend dozens of hours to understand what I mean."
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Dude, life isn't just YouTube you know.

Wouldn't you rather, for once pretty please, trust us than the guys from YouTube ?

This will be the last time I'm saying this, rather than judging a game from the surface, get the game and try to go deeper than that :messenger_winking:
 
Raph64 said:
Dude, life isn't just YouTube you know.

Wouldn't you rather, for once pretty please, trust us than the guys from YouTube ?

This will be the last time I'm saying this, rather than judging a game from the surface, get the game and try to go deeper than that :messenger_winking:
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What do you have against YT? I'm only able to ascertain whether or not a game is for me if I play through the whole fucking thing? I'm hardly judging the game on it's surface by looking at each aspect of it and guaging whether or not it interests me. I'm literally asking for people to go beyond the surface and explain what makes it so great. I keep hearing "just trust me", and that's not good enough. My loss I guess. It shouldn't be that hard to explain what makes a potential GOAT great.

I've watched and read several reviews, and what I'm saying is I don't feel that people are not doing a good enough job explaining the opinion that this is one of the greatest games of all time. Maybe it is, but nothing about it to me indicates that it is, and I'm not investing the time in this to find out how I'm wrong.
 
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Nymphae said:
What do you have against YT? I'm only able to ascertain whether or not a game is for me if I play through the whole fucking thing? I'm hardly judging the game on it's surface by looking at each aspect of it and guaging whether or not it interests me. I'm literally asking for people to go beyond the surface and explain what makes it so great. I keep hearing "just trust me", and that's not good enough. My loss I guess. It shouldn't be that hard to explain what makes a potential GOAT great.

I've watched and read several reviews, and what I'm saying is I don't feel that people are not doing a good enough job explaining the opinion that this is one of the greatest games of all time.
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Maybe it's because they want to keep, for those who haven't played it, the sense of surprise ?

It basically reminds me of Undertale, where you have those who consider it as one of the greatest games of recent time that urge the people to play the game regardless of what is said on the other side and convince potential owners to dive in blind so that one day some random guy just goes on and spill the beans, making the experience worthless.

Mithos said:
I have never really liked games that play like Devil May Cry, Castlevania (3D), Rygar (3D), I've allways called then "combo button mashers".

When I first saw this game, I was interested up until I saw the gameplay, it was fast paced "combo button mashing" (IMO) and lost interest.
However wherever I went (online) I kept hearing/seeing people saying how it was an awesome game, this continued for a long time, until one day an onlinestore had the game on heavy discount, I decided to well I'll try it out.

It was one of the better things I've done. Now truthfully... I'm not very good on these type of games "combo button mashers" so I had to play on the easiest setting on many parts, and normal on the rest to even get by. But by god this game is one of the first games in a very VERY long time where I did NOT skip/fast forward through any story elements or cutscenes. The story being told is really really THAT good, and I didn't want to miss anything said.

Absolutelly one of the best games I've played/owned on PS4.
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You see, this guy went through this, and in the end, he enjoyed the hell out of it.

This could happen with you, too.
 
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I have never really liked games that play like Devil May Cry, Castlevania (3D), Rygar (3D), I've always called them "combo button mashers".

When I first saw this game, I was interested up until I saw the gameplay, it was fast paced "combo button mashing" (IMO) and lost interest.
However wherever I went (online) I kept hearing/seeing people saying how it was an awesome game, this continued for a long time, until one day an online store had the game on heavy discount, I decided to "well I'll try it out".

It was one of the better things I've done. Now truthfully... I'm not very good on these type of games "combo button mashers" so I had to play on the easiest setting on many parts, and normal on the rest to even get by. But by god this game is one of the first games in a very VERY long time where I did NOT skip/fast forward through any story elements or cut-scenes. The story being told is really really THAT good, and I didn't want to miss anything said.

Absolutely one of the best games I've played/owned on PS4.

Edit:
I'm even thinking of buying the game again -> Nier: Automata Game of the Yorha Edition
 
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Nymphae said:
I see this a lot....and honestly that does not make me want to start a game that on the face of it appears bland and boring (I've even watched some reviews on YT and visually it does nothing for me and people avoid mentioning anything juicy that might sell me on the experience - it's just OMG you need to play this), that apparently I need to play through 3 times to see the actual ending. I want someone to tell me exactly what makes it amazing.
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It's hard to explain. I can't really go into what makes the story great without spoiling things. Originally I wasn't too interested in the game for reasons you mentioned. I waited awhile and bought it cheap, then it ended up being my favorite game this gen.
 
Danjin44 said:
Well if you don't care about spoilers then watch this.
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Thanks I will take a look when I get home!

I don't generally care about spoilers. A great story is a great story, and often times being let in on the coolest parts of a story has made me want to check something out that I wouldn't have otherwise. I'd like to see a spoiler discussion, it's a pretty interesting topic I think. My feeling is that you should avoid intentionally giving things away for people as a general rule, but also that they don't matter all that much. Someone spoiled FF7's big death for me when I was playing around the time of release. At the time I was a bit miffed about it, but in retrospect, it simply does not matter. When I got to the scene, it's not like I was pouting and sulking that I already knew the beats - I watched it and it was cool, and on to the next cool thing. The game is still one of my favourites, the story still memorable to me, I still think back fondly about it, without having a chip on my shoulder about "having the experience stolen from me" as Jeff Cannata of the Totally Rad Show once said. We're talking about a few seconds of surprise at plot points here. I'm amazed that our culture has elevated spoilers to the level it has, I mean it's taken to ridiculous lengths these days, people don't want to look at press releases for things so they can "go in completely blind", and it's on you to safeguard that experience for them until release/whenever they have time to view the material lol.

Side note about spoilers - and this is coming from a guy who doesn't care about them, it drives me nuts to hear people say "spoilers for like a 25 year old movie LOL". Uh, yeah, you realize people are born every day right? That ancient movie you are spoiling is actually new to many people.
 
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So I started C route today....

This games goes from 8/10 (A) -> 7/10 (B) and now (so far) it's 9/10. One of the best games this gen for sure.
 
Bought this last year due to NeoGAF's outpouring of love for it.

Brilliant game. If anyone is still on the fence, here's yet another vote for go and buy it!

Well worth the time to get the platinum trophy, too.

Also. Hmm, A2 or 2B. Leaning towards A2 :)
 
i thought it was just okay

like, i'm glad a game like this could be successful. both thematically and gameplay wise it does a whole lot right but relative to the hype the whole thing is just kinda meh
 
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Im 15 hours into nier 1, after loving automata last year. Really enjoying the links im seeing so far, although im still very early in, as im farming and fishing a lot. No spoilers mind please.
 
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Already got platinum in original. It didn't hook me at first for some reason and I thought 9S section was kinda a chore but after that I fell in love with it. Such a great game with themes I really enjoy. If I would buy YoRha edition is there a separate trophy list for it or no?

A2 > 2B :>
 
Repetitive game with a mess of a story. You play most of the game with a terrible character as well. Great music though. Literally everything that I wanted changed was going to be the GBF game but then that went to shit sadly.
Nymphae said:
Spoil the shit out of it for me, I don't care, but please tell me, what is it that makes people say this is like best game of the gen?
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"Machines have emotions! Oh shit everything is fucked."
 
Yoko Taro continues to be an international treasure. Long may he reign.

Nymphae said:
Spoil the shit out of it for me, I don't care, but please tell me, what is it that makes people say this is like best game of the gen?
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It has you play the main campaign through to credits, then replay that from a different character's perspective as "new game plus" with a whole new set of mechanics, then springs a whole new third playthrough (and character) on you that escalates the story and ultimately leads to the finale. It's structurally interesting and pleasantly surprising each time you realise there's more to it.

It's packed with subversive "this is a videogame" fourth-wall tickling that works well with the game's themes of machines and androids without straying into Gex territory.

It isn't scared to experiment with its core mechanics and do weird stuff like having side-scrolling or top-down sections.

The narrative and character design is well-considered and has a lot of interesting philosophical themes about it. Pretty much every sidequest explores different facets of said themes.

The true ending (D route) is basically the lovechild of Undertale's Pacifist finale and Dark Souls. The game throws a stupidly hard challenge at you, and then gives you the option to accept help from other players over the network, and ultimately asks you to sacrifice your save file (and ability to do post-game stuff) to reciprocate that and help other players. It's framed as saving the main characters that you've become attached to, and is weird and really impactful.

The combat's pretty good.

2B's booty is pretty good.

Best boy Emil is pretty good.
 
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Armorian said:
So I started C route today....

This games goes from 8/10 (A) -> 7/10 (B) and now (so far) it's 9/10. One of the best games this gen for sure.
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Very similar rating to me except you're much more forgiving of route b I'd personally give it a 5-6 but the game totally redeems itself after that
 
I really liked the first route. Then the second was a pain in the ass, and everything after felt like the game was really overstaying its welcome, someone told me that I should keep going because the ending was worth it, I just got to the ending now:

Choose 9S, choose to go with the aliens

And I don't get it, I mean sure the game had really good moments, I won't deny that, but I was told the ending was fantastic, maybe I did a bad decision? Because nothing happened and the final hours of the game were a huge pain in the ass.
 
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LordClansman said:
I really liked the first route. Then the second was a pain in the ass, and everything after felt like the game was really overstaying its welcome, someone told me that I should keep going because the ending was worth it, I just got to the ending now:

Choose 9S, choose to go with the aliens

And I don't get it, I mean sure the game had really good moments, I won't deny that, but I was told the ending was fantastic, maybe I did a bad decision? Because nothing happened and the final hours of the game were a huge pain in the ass.
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I don't really remember much but if the game didn't ask to delete your save pretty sure you didn't see the true ending.
 
Nymphae said:
I'm sure it is, I'm just frustrated because what makes it so incredible is not obvious at all to me, as all of the parts seem fairly lackluster at first glance. If it's the story that is so amazing, I'd like to see maybe a video on YT or some write up that relates that to me so I can get interested, because as I said, the basic plot summaries I have heard do not sound like anything special. It just isn't good enough for me when someone says "look I can't articulate it, but spend dozens of hours to understand what I mean."
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The music, combat, and exploration are top notch. The storyline has a lot of depth - it questions the meaning of life, morality etc. It asks what it is that makes us 'human'. Is it the presence of a soul or personality? a living body? Can a machine express emotions or have feelings? It's not just anime shit, it's actually a very thought-provoking journey.
 
I only ever finished the A route. Never felt like it needed any other ending. The game is ok. I enjoyed the first game a whole lot more.
 
blackjon24 said:
Very similar rating to me except you're much more forgiving of route b I'd personally give it a 5-6 but the game totally redeems itself after that
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They should make route B optional or just fill the gaps of A story.

mcz117chief said:
I only ever finished the A route. Never felt like it needed any other ending. The game is ok. I enjoyed the first game a whole lot more.
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Route A alone (NOT counting route B) is like half of the game.
 
The big question is what has he be been up to for the last 2 years? Surely he must have a new project underway by now, and in addition I'm still somewhat surprised that SE hasn't cashed in on the franchise more than they have.
 
ArchaeEnkidu said:
You literally didn't reach the ending then. You have not beaten the game.
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Exactly... Some people really don't realize what they miss if they only do route A.

Honestly I think route B was kind of a mistake, it's too similar to route A and I can understand that some people might think it's just basically the same thing with another character, because it's what it looks like at first, but damn, missing Route C is like missing half of the story.

Route C is extremely important, it's like a sequel to what route A was, and this is not exagerating, even the game itself teases route C at the end of route B like if it was a new game, it's a whole new thing, super important, and missing route C is missing half of the game and actually missing the most important parts of the story.
Plus A2 is the best character, Berserk mode is amazing.

And missing Ending D/E, damn, I can't imagine that.

Stopping NieR Automata after ending A is really like stopping a game half through the main story.
 
I went into Nier: Automata skeptical and came out realizing I had just played a masterpiece.

This game isn't without its flaws though — newcomers need to realize they'll need to play through the game THREE, yes THREE times in order to see a satisfactory conclusion to the story. Two of those playthroughs will be very similar.

But to me, it was worth it, and this is probably one of the best games of the generation (no, seriously).
 
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Nymphae said:
I see this a lot....and honestly that does not make me want to start a game that on the face of it appears bland and boring (I've even watched some reviews on YT and visually it does nothing for me and people avoid mentioning anything juicy that might sell me on the experience - it's just OMG you need to play this), that apparently I need to play through 3 times to see the actual ending. I want someone to tell me exactly what makes it amazing.
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The gameplay is some of the best you'll find in an RPG (think Platinum pedigree action combat tied to RPG stats with some solid shooter gameplay mixed in). It doesn't get boring, even near the end.

The story is fairly layered and is revealed slowly, but the payoff is definitely worth it. The characters are also quite good and distinct for a JRPG, and I probably became more attached to the two main characters than I have with any other RPG.

And the music is amazing.

Regarding multiple playthroughs, it's actually a very clever and effective narrative device (although at first glance it seems unnecessary and abrasive). While on the surface it seems inconvenient to play through a game multiple times, there's something special about it here because it allows you to see events through a different characters eyes (going back to what I said earlier about the character development).

To reveal anymore would probably spoil stuff, but yeah, there's some real magic here that you don't find in video games very often.
 
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I've never played a Platinum game but fully intend to play this sometime soon. Just making my way through Sekiro and Spider-Man at the moment and then this is next on the list!
 
NutJobJim said:
I've never played a Platinum game but fully intend to play this sometime soon. Just making my way through Sekiro and Spider-Man at the moment and then this is next on the list!
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Just bear in mind that this is far from typical for Platinum, particularly route B which leans away from their traditional melee-focus.

I think this is the reason why some players have issues with the section because the core gameplay really scratches a different sort of itch. Yes, you can still play it like you do the other routes, but that really isn't the intended method, especially as the hacking system hides the best Easter egg in the game*.


*SPOILER:
The "final hack" at the end of route C is really something special.
 
mcz117chief said:
Ending A felt like a good enough of an ending. I don't want to play it anymore.
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It's not the ending, it's just half of the story - I think it wasn't great idea to cut story like that, there should be just AC story (without "cut") and B as optional scenario after beating the game. I suspect many people just stopped playing after they were thrown to menu after scenario A, this could be confusing.

A2 in 21:9 glory (Steam SS quality is shit):

3hiE9I0.jpg
 
mcz117chief said:
Ending A felt like a good enough of an ending. I don't want to play it anymore.

The story is pretty bad, it never hooked me at all. I only played it just to get it off my backlog mostly.
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The story doesn't really pick up until half way through route b. Then it never stops.

If you don't like it you don't like it. Personally I thought it easily had the best story of this generation.
 
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