NieR: Automata Review

2B or not 2B:

“Nier: Automata” is a game I never thought would happen. Despite my own love for the original Nier, the game was a hard sell, and despite its incredible, genre-busting ideas and some of the best characters in a video game it was unfortuneatly bogged down with a handful of clunky mechanics.

So when Square Enix debuted Automata to the E3 crowds a couple of years back, with the fantastic Platinum Games signed on as developers, I absolutely lost it. This is, on paper, a dream game for me, so I went in with ludicrously high expectations – a dangerous way to approach anything, really.

Thankfully, I’m thrilled to say those expectations weren’t only met, but exceeded.

Story:

Automata is a strange one. Nothing in the package is instantly recognizable to fans of the original, or even Drakenguard – a series which shares its universe with Nier’s – but a lot of things will feel very familiar. It’s an almost creepy feeling to anyone who has dived deep into this world before, this underlying familiarity that ties everything together with nods and winks rather than giant neon billboards pointing to shared elements. It’s a grower, in that regard, and as a fan I dig it, but it also means anyone who hasn’t played the original – a daunting prospect as the game has aged quickly – can jump right in and enjoy Automata without a primer.

Humanity lost control of Earth to robotic aliens a while ago, and they’d really like it back. Enter the androids, AI cobbled together by desperate humans sent back to Earth to try and reclaim it. You take control of 2B, a badass butt-kicking battle droid, and her robot buddies in a quest to do just that. To say much more would be a disservice to Automata’s fantastic twists and turns, gear shifts and narrative gut punches, but suffice it to say that this isn’t an experience you’ll be used to.

There are multiple endings you’ll have to hunt down for true closure, and the path you’ll take to get there will… surprise you. Whilst you’ll have to stick with the game through its numerous playthroughs to get to the best of it, it was never something I resented doing, and I can’t imagine anyone else would either.

Gameplay:

It’s in Automata’s gameplay that the Nier series has seen the biggest leap in quality, and it was a much needed one. Whilst its predeccesor was cumbersome and time consuming, Automata is slick and wickedly fun.

In combat, every element of your toolset works in tandem, and whilst this might seem like an obvious choice you’ll be surprised at how versatile this makes your bot. Dashing around, blasting enemies from afar whilst you simultaneously wreck shop up close with Bayonetta-styled melee combat is an unadulterated blast, and forms a system so fluid that I’m surprised my brain can keep up. Often I find a mess of my fingers clutching the gamepad in contorted fashion, attempting to literally do everything at once – lock on, melee, gun support, dash, dodge and parry – in furious battles. Sometimes there are bullet-hell waves of projectiles swarming at you for you to contemplate as you fight, sometimes these battles take place against giant mechs, or in giant mechs, or on top of giant mechs. Hell, at one point very early in the game, you attach a mechanical arm ten times the size of 2B to her and go to town on skyscraper robots.

It’s here where Platinum Games’ storied history with character action games shines, and there really seems to be no end to their imagination when it comes to Automata’s sense of style and scale. But despite this grand, blockbuster action that had me wrapping my brain around the seemingly limitless combat opportunities, Automata also gives plenty of downtime between fights, and it’s lovingly crafted stuff. The townships and locales are beautifully constructed places of rest, and even walking around the semi-open world offers you plenty to absorb instead of annihalate. It’s also a world of little secrets. There’s plenty to explore and climb, but also neat mechanics to stumble upon, like riding the wildlife after feeding them, or reviving your corpse as a temporary ally.

Nier Automata, most importantly, isn’t a game that adheres to the restrictions of its genre. Much like the original, Automata loves to mess with the gaming conventions we expect. It allows you to tinker with it – to play with its systems – quite literally. You can sell off pieces of your HUD, for instance, as they’re just chipsets, after all.