I know. Nier: Automata came out in 2017. It is not a new game. It's not even old enough to be a retro review. It's just a relatively recent game that has slipped by the wayside.

If you can believe it, I was planning on going my entire life without having played this game. I'm not a big fan of games like Nier: Automata in general, just because they seem to not respect the player's time enough.

So what changed my mind? Several years of SGDQ/AGDQ. Seeing gamers like halfcoordinated play this game made me think "maybe, just maybe, this game will be accessible enough to be worth playing".

And in a sense, I was right. Nier: Automata stands on its own as an interesting game, with relatively innovative structure that holds up a dynamic story telling experience, fraught with twists and turns. Better yet, it only cost me 10 dollars because I'm a cheapskate.

So what makes Nier good? 2B's butt Primarily it's the fact it's an action RPG that doesn't go into the extremes of grinding. And where it does, they make it easy to skip past it with smart chip using.

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Graphics - 5

The graphics for me are where I have to most penalize Nier. A game should not look like this in 2017. With the game having been in development for almost three full years, they had time to touch up things graphically, and make the game attractive.

Let's run down a list of problems, graphically. The ruins are uninteresting, and complete copy paste jobs of the other ruins in the game, right down to the cracks in the walls in most places. None of the buildings have any individual character (which may be the point, but we also do see an amusement park, which would seem to indicate that the humans of this "earth" had some sense of personality), and there's jagged edges everywhere, which are immersion breaking.

The textures do not look good in most places, and it doesn't really feel like I'm in a unique world. It feels like I'm just playing a video game, and with how games have stepped it up this console generation, I can't help but feel that this is a solid fail on the part of Nier: Automata.

The parts of the game that are modeled were are all of the Adam/Eve scenes (such as the Copied City) and the unique character models (the copy paste ones aren't so good). Unfortunately, it's clear where all the budget for the graphics department went, and it was into making a butt look prominent in the player's face.

The animations can be solid in some instances, but hack and slash games rarely lend themselves to unique animations. The modeling and animations in cut-scenes are relatively impressive, however, and that helps salvage a few points.

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Sound - 8

The sound design in the game is great, for the most part. Ambience should be just that, ambient. Nier: Automata understands that the player is in the moment, and doesn't want to be roused from a relaxing experience for some random dramatic music.

The pacing of the sound design is excellent, as during extreme moments, the music will start to pick up, and once the danger fades, it slowly fades out. It's an underrated part of sound design, that so few games seem to hit, since modern sound design for games of this genre are always "go go go" at 100%.

The voice acting in this game is probably the highlight of the sound design. I say this because of spoiler reasons I can't go too deeply into. Just know that when you beat the game for the first time, the game is not done. The game itself even tells you this. The deconstruction of 2B as a character in the first act makes her character development in the third all the more impressive. If you look into the full lore, you get an even better slice of the picture. The actress (Kira Buckland) did a great job of capturing her character.

The biggest knock against the game's sound design is the sound of metal on metal fighting. It gets repetitive and obnoxious. Can't be helped.

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Addictiveness - 7

I wanted to give it a higher score, because after all, it won "Game of the YorHa" whatever that is supposed to mean.

Unfortunately, as an RPG fanatic, I am very discerning over what gets a "10" as far as an RPG goes. It needs to be a game I want to play a second, third, or fourth time. And in the case of Nier: Automata, it needs to make me want to play all three "parts" once. Most games make one story and rely on the player to get enjoyment out of that.

Nier: Automata lets you beat the game, then replay it twice (from different perspectives) to get the full experience. This is a gigantic risk, because it relies on having enough of the player's interest in wanting to see the full picture to be willing to spend more time rehashing the same scene they watched 20-30 hours ago. For most adults, who work 40 hour weeks, this is a huge disrespect of the gamer's time.

So while the plot-telling is convincing, and the gameplay is adequate for a hack and slash, it doesn't exceed expectations in the genre to where I feel it is an elite game.

I barely got through the second story, and almost didn't even start the third story. The reason I decided to finish them wasn't because I felt like I wanted to play the game, but because I wanted to have an educated view to finish this review while being fair to the entirety of the game. That's never a good sign.

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Depth - 5

This is going to anger some people, I'm sure. A five? In an RPG? With 26 endings? And a huge openish world? And tons of side-quests?

Well here's the thing, Jim, it doesn't matter how much you cram into the game if it just isn't worth doing. Most of the side quests are entirely mundane and offer no satisfaction upon their completion. You will gain a handful of credits (which you could have earned in other ways), get a brief blurb about how that person is thankful, and then move on to the next quest, which has you going to the other side of the map, picking something up or killing something, and then returning, only to repeat the process forever.

Howlongtobeat.com has the game set at 62 hours for the average completionist. While this in itself is inoffensive, it's the sheer mundane nature of 20-30 hours of gameplay to get that extra percent to finish at 100% that makes the game so banal.

Many of the 26 endings are nothing to speak of, as 20 or so are just "joke" endings that give a brief blurb about how you ruined everything or something.

In one ending, I ate a sardine. Androids can't eat sardines. So 2B died. The game ended, but at least it tasted good. While the flavor of this isn't lost on me (it was the funniest moment in the game), it didn't really feel in place in a game that is as serious as Nier: Automata presents itself to be.

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Story - 9

The crowning achievement of this game is the story it tells, and out of respect for the developers, who should really make as much money off of this game as they can, I really don't want to spoil any of it.

The game tells the story of three androids, 2B, 9S, and A2. These androids have their own personalities and goals, and attempt to make sense of a post-apocalyptic world where humans live on the moon instead of on Earth, and fight a seemingly never ending battle against hostile robots, which are totally different from androids.

In each chapter, you play as one of these three, and see the events of the story from their perspective. Once you see all the game has to offer, you begin to understand why the game was made at all, and if for no other reason, this is why I recommend trying this game out, even if it is not your cup of tea.

The characters are fantastic, for androids, and their characters shine through excellently. Adam and Eve are kind of crap bag "villains", but are compelling enough to sell their pseudo-psychology in an entertaining manner.

Like I said, I do not want to spoil anything about this game's story. Experience it for yourself. You can only do that once (although it's really three times).

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Difficulty - 4.

The game itself isn't terribly hard, especially once you learn that the secret to success is dodging everything.

The biggest problem I had with the game was the lack of explanations (quality ones anyway) regarding what chips do, and just how big of an effect they have on the game.

For example, I got some life-steal chip in that was elite in nature, and basically healed my health faster than I could take damage. It didn't even matter anymore that I was being hit, and tanking so much damage, because I healed it all instantly anyway.

The controls can be a little tricky if you haven't played the game before, and given how it throws you into the deep end right away, it can make the game fairly intimidating for new players (I recommend playing on easy for Playthrough A, and normal for all others. The game is still easy enough on A at Normal difficulty, but this method may retain more players for the first segment of the game).

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GRADING FOR NIER: AUTOMATA
Graphics - 10% (10% of 5 is .5)
Sound - 10% (10% of 8 is .8)
Addictiveness - 35% (35% of 7 is 2.45)
Depth - 20% (20% of 5 is 1)
Story - 25% (25% of 9 is 2.25)
Difficulty - 0% (0% of 4 is 0)
Total - 7

Overall - 7/10

I think the game is solid, but underwhelming, and doesn't really deliver the GotY experience it tries to promise, although I've been told on many occasions that I just didn't give the game enough of a chance.

Technically, it may have been a marvel for its time, largely as a result of its story. But it remains a relic of the past, much like the ruins it presents in its own game. Not terrible, just not excellent. It gets a passing grade, but only barely.

I do recommend this game, however, as I think it is a unique experience, and should be experienced, especially by anyone who fancies themselves a fan of writing.

I have to admit that I really loved nier but I got the dlc and then never got around to finishing unfortunately enough. XD