The Therapist Gamer

It's a strange thing - though Nier: Automata had a moment that I can honestly say helped change my life, I also feel the need to say it's a bit over-rated.  In short, the combat was way below my expectations and the story was often a slog, but it had one of the most brilliant and beautiful endings I've ever seen in any medium.  The game and story have grown on me since I finished it - and I think the story really is profound - but I can't deny how bored I was for much of my playtime.

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You play as 2B, an android sent to Earth to reclaim it from machines.  Thousands of years ago an alien race used machines to take over the Earth and the remnants of humanity have been on the moon ever since, plotting a way to take it back.  Humanity decided to use androids to fight in their behalf - when the androids are defeated they can be rebuilt and send down again, with their consciousness simply uploaded into a new frame.  As 2B, you explore Earth with another android named 9S and try to clear the way for humanity's return.

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Nier: Automata was created by PlatinumGames, known for games such a Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.  Both of those games have excellent, deep action combat so I was disappointed that the combat in Nier: Automata was much less intricate.  I think people could fairly disagree with me, but the combat just didn't have enough variation for an open-world game that approaches 80 hours.  Each set of two weapons has only two combos, and they are things like "2x light attack, 1x heavy attack."  I could defeat almost any enemy, of any level, essentially just by mashing the buttons - there weren't really any combos to learn or inventive ways to use weapons.  The fighting animations look great and smooth, but the actual feel of combat left a lot to be desired.

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Some parts of the game were beautiful and certain camera angles made scenes look majestic, but in general the graphics were disappointing.  It usually looks more like a PS3 game than a PS4 game.  There are loads of places that look easy to reach, but you're hampered by nothing more than the level developer forbidding you from access with invisible walls.  And a lot of the game is just empty.  A huge section of the game is a desert that is pretty much like how a sandy desert would be in real life - that is, it's huge and empty and boring.  I'm not opposed to such an area in a video game and it does evoke a certain mood, but without a real fast travel system I felt like I spent actual hours of my real life just running across that freaking desert over and over.

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The game does effectively and creatively subvert some traditional aspects of gaming.  For example, the upgrade system involves plugging in different enhancement chips into your android, and this includes things such as all of the HUD elements.  So at times you might be deciding between if you want to do 10% extra damage or be able to see your health bar!  The map is purposefully rudimentary so you won't want to spend the whole game staring at the mini-map instead of the game, and a character even talks about this. 

 

The story itself, though complex, is actually pretty good.  I say this with the caveat that you might spend most of the game without really knowing what's going on, but there are moments that grab your attention.  I think that the overall story is much deeper than that found in most video games, but it's perhaps comparable to a good episode of Black Mirror.  I think it asks the player to ponder things such as: What makes us human?  What is the point of existence?  Am I living solely for someone else's purpose?  Am I an automaton?  What is it that I find meaningful?  Few games even come close to broaching such subjects.

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If you read about this game elsewhere you'll undoubtedly learn that the game has many endings, but I think this isn't really as true as people think.  You need to finish the game three times before you get to the final ending, but the game just as easily could have said it was three "acts" but no one would write a press release about it.  There are 26 endings (one for each letter in the alphabet), but most are so inconsequential that it's a bit absurd to say they constitute an ending.  For example, at one point you're supposed to go in one direction, but if you jump down a cliff the credits role and you're told you found a secret ending.  It's a fun gimmick, but honestly I don't think it's much more than that.

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Nier: Automata has some very high "highs" but only middling "lows," so on the whole I think it's a very good game.  However, I think players would do well to temper their expectations with regard to the gameplay.