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I've managed to restore the text of a (now deleted) previous post about Nier: Automata from the thread about games that surprised us. Here it is:
My experience with the game went like this: female sexy androids were all over the Internet, and everyone mentioned the game; I also knew it won a few awards for the Narrative.
Started going through the intro level. Thought to myself “Ah, I see what you’re doing here”, and expected nothing special. I had little expectations, maybe a lot of fast-paced action.
The starting sequence was pretty hard, it required me to restart the game many times because I died and there was no option to save the progress. Then at the end of the starting sequence, the boss fight scared the hell out of me. It was so intimidating and nothing like I'd seen before.
Then the game opened up and I arrived at something like a hub. I learned I could play at my own pace now and grind as much as I wanted to upgrade my weapons etc. This is where I stopped for ~2 years (I guess, the stress from the starting area was still there). But I always wanted to return to the game.
It finally happened this year. Just felt like trying it. Loaded my save from 2022 and checked things out. I got exposed to the lore of the game, and its setting. It was very unique. In the next mission, I did something, and my companion reacted to it. I started to get into these characters and their personalities, and the dynamics between them. Then I started running into fragments and pieces of information that touched deep, sad, and melancholic topics, and sometimes even funny ones, which deeply resonated with me. I guess, I've been waiting for this kind of experience in a sci-fi game since forever.
The gameplay was very fast and I couldn't stop enjoying it. Further bosses often left a feeling of the jaw being on the floor, but weren't impossible to beat (unlike in Soulslike games).
The narrative of the game though kept going and going, the game kept throwing more stuff at me I didn’t see coming, touching more topics.
Surprise. Another surprise. Another surprise. And mysteries wherever I looked. The game kept giving hints at something sinister and it made my brain work, trying to foresee what will happen, what even actually happened in the game universe, and how this all would end. Again, and again, and again, I expected surprises to be over, but that moment never arrived.
Then the first playthrough ended. "Ending A" as the game calls it. I got an in-game message that the devs strongly recommended to continue playing after that. And from the first seconds of the next playthrough, I immediately got hooked even more, as everything changed. This all is a spoilery stuff that I won't even hint about because everyone has to see it for the first time themselves.
Then the second playthrough ended. "Ending B". It answered a lot of my questions and some things were exactly as I wanted them to happen, I managed to solve a few mysteries. And at the same time, there were surprises.
The third playthrough (that I'm still doing atm) started as if something heavy hit me in the head. An energetic sequence that I didn't know would happen. Imagine the beginning of Mass Effect 2 coupled with what would have happened after Mass Effect 3 if Shepard was alive... Something like this, with stakes similarly high.
And then it happened. Something I declined to believe until the end. This is where my (still in-progress) review of the game went from 7/8 to 9.5/10 at the very least.
Nier: Automata won the best Narrative and Soundtrack at The Game Awards in 2017. It wasn't even nominated for the Game of the Year. I missed this game back then. But now when I'm playing it, I agree with awards for the Narrative and Music, and it's really too bad it wasn't given a GOTY.
I'll share more about the game when I finish it (like, real-real finish it). If you're on the fence about this game and think it's all about fanservice, female androids (btw, you can customize them!), and some quick action, give it a try.
An engaging and thought-provoking story, with complex characters, unique gameplay mechanics, and emotional depth. A true sci-fi game with narrative themes exploring existentialism, humanity, and the nature of consciousness. The game's music, art direction, and world-building are second to none.
I've returned to the game (yay) to complete one side quest. And let me tell you: this side quest was a precise reflection of what the game is. @Cahir once asked me, what else this game can provide beyond fun (and combat-focused) gameplay.
When evaluating Nier: Automata, it's important to consider how the mechanics are intertwined with the narrative. It's impossible to see without playing the game, so only listening to me (or other players who enjoyed the game) wouldn't be enough. That's the key factor that makes it so loved, the "writing" isn't just pure text on the screen, it's the very design of the game itself that shapes the story.
The side quest provides a conclusion to a story about a machine that became the leader of a so-called "village" of peaceful machines. By interacting with the main character through the game, this machine expressed different feelings, such as compassion, kindness, care, and even friendship. In this side quest, you even get to "control" the machine a few times, and (wow) manage a gigantic robot in a fight against another gigantic robot. The quest involved helping out "children" machines (by bringing toys and playing with them) and giving the leader a few books about human philosophy and nature. It has an unusual and unexpected finale, but the finale makes sense from the previous impressions I as the player have already received from interacting with the game's world.
Looking at my Steam profile, it's been 4 months since I had gone through the intense events from Ending B and the beginning of the third playthrough. All these months, these impressions and memories have been with me. With time, I only appreciate them more. And the conclusion to this machine's story has now created another impression that will stay with me for a long time.
The story in the third playthrough might be the best yet. Not only how it's written, but again, how it blends with gameplay sequences.
Here are a few screenshots (you can find previous screenshots here).
My experience with the game went like this: female sexy androids were all over the Internet, and everyone mentioned the game; I also knew it won a few awards for the Narrative.
Started going through the intro level. Thought to myself “Ah, I see what you’re doing here”, and expected nothing special. I had little expectations, maybe a lot of fast-paced action.
The starting sequence was pretty hard, it required me to restart the game many times because I died and there was no option to save the progress. Then at the end of the starting sequence, the boss fight scared the hell out of me. It was so intimidating and nothing like I'd seen before.
Then the game opened up and I arrived at something like a hub. I learned I could play at my own pace now and grind as much as I wanted to upgrade my weapons etc. This is where I stopped for ~2 years (I guess, the stress from the starting area was still there). But I always wanted to return to the game.
It finally happened this year. Just felt like trying it. Loaded my save from 2022 and checked things out. I got exposed to the lore of the game, and its setting. It was very unique. In the next mission, I did something, and my companion reacted to it. I started to get into these characters and their personalities, and the dynamics between them. Then I started running into fragments and pieces of information that touched deep, sad, and melancholic topics, and sometimes even funny ones, which deeply resonated with me. I guess, I've been waiting for this kind of experience in a sci-fi game since forever.
The gameplay was very fast and I couldn't stop enjoying it. Further bosses often left a feeling of the jaw being on the floor, but weren't impossible to beat (unlike in Soulslike games).
The narrative of the game though kept going and going, the game kept throwing more stuff at me I didn’t see coming, touching more topics.
Surprise. Another surprise. Another surprise. And mysteries wherever I looked. The game kept giving hints at something sinister and it made my brain work, trying to foresee what will happen, what even actually happened in the game universe, and how this all would end. Again, and again, and again, I expected surprises to be over, but that moment never arrived.
Then the first playthrough ended. "Ending A" as the game calls it. I got an in-game message that the devs strongly recommended to continue playing after that. And from the first seconds of the next playthrough, I immediately got hooked even more, as everything changed. This all is a spoilery stuff that I won't even hint about because everyone has to see it for the first time themselves.
Then the second playthrough ended. "Ending B". It answered a lot of my questions and some things were exactly as I wanted them to happen, I managed to solve a few mysteries. And at the same time, there were surprises.
The third playthrough (that I'm still doing atm) started as if something heavy hit me in the head. An energetic sequence that I didn't know would happen. Imagine the beginning of Mass Effect 2 coupled with what would have happened after Mass Effect 3 if Shepard was alive... Something like this, with stakes similarly high.
And then it happened. Something I declined to believe until the end. This is where my (still in-progress) review of the game went from 7/8 to 9.5/10 at the very least.
Nier: Automata won the best Narrative and Soundtrack at The Game Awards in 2017. It wasn't even nominated for the Game of the Year. I missed this game back then. But now when I'm playing it, I agree with awards for the Narrative and Music, and it's really too bad it wasn't given a GOTY.
I'll share more about the game when I finish it (like, real-real finish it). If you're on the fence about this game and think it's all about fanservice, female androids (btw, you can customize them!), and some quick action, give it a try.
An engaging and thought-provoking story, with complex characters, unique gameplay mechanics, and emotional depth. A true sci-fi game with narrative themes exploring existentialism, humanity, and the nature of consciousness. The game's music, art direction, and world-building are second to none.
I've returned to the game (yay) to complete one side quest. And let me tell you: this side quest was a precise reflection of what the game is. @Cahir once asked me, what else this game can provide beyond fun (and combat-focused) gameplay.
When evaluating Nier: Automata, it's important to consider how the mechanics are intertwined with the narrative. It's impossible to see without playing the game, so only listening to me (or other players who enjoyed the game) wouldn't be enough. That's the key factor that makes it so loved, the "writing" isn't just pure text on the screen, it's the very design of the game itself that shapes the story.
The side quest provides a conclusion to a story about a machine that became the leader of a so-called "village" of peaceful machines. By interacting with the main character through the game, this machine expressed different feelings, such as compassion, kindness, care, and even friendship. In this side quest, you even get to "control" the machine a few times, and (wow) manage a gigantic robot in a fight against another gigantic robot. The quest involved helping out "children" machines (by bringing toys and playing with them) and giving the leader a few books about human philosophy and nature. It has an unusual and unexpected finale, but the finale makes sense from the previous impressions I as the player have already received from interacting with the game's world.
Looking at my Steam profile, it's been 4 months since I had gone through the intense events from Ending B and the beginning of the third playthrough. All these months, these impressions and memories have been with me. With time, I only appreciate them more. And the conclusion to this machine's story has now created another impression that will stay with me for a long time.
The story in the third playthrough might be the best yet. Not only how it's written, but again, how it blends with gameplay sequences.
Here are a few screenshots (you can find previous screenshots here).
