I need to say this

Stars_InTheirEyes · Post by **Stars_InTheirEyes** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 02:10

NieR: Automata is absolutely brilliant.

Have you ever played a game or watched a movie and once you had finished it, it was so good you just couldn't get it out of your mind and wished it never ended? Well thats me right now.
I love everything about this game. The characters, the gameplay, the lore, the enemies, the humor, the world, the soundtrack, the depth, the story -- just perfect in my eyes in every way. It gels together so well. Its made directed by Yoko Taro who's known for storytelling and produced by Platinum Games who made Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising Revengeance who are known for fast fluid gameplay.

The multiple playthrough aspect is something I hadn't experienced before and took the game from a 7/10 to a 10/10 for me. (FYI: the end of the first play through isn't the end, start from the same save-file and you'll understand - it's not just New Game Plus)

I played on PS4, was released last Friday and I've already put in 60 hours. The Steam release is on the 17th. If there is one game I think everyone needs to play, its this. I cannot recommend it enough. Its one of the, if not the, best games I've ever played.

Rednoahl · Post by **Rednoahl** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 05:03

Nier despite it's flaws was one of my favourite games of the last generation. Even with Platinum onboard with development I am a tad worried that the questing will be dull like the first game though. There were a few aspects of the first Nier that seemed rushed, and given that Square were struggling to get the Lightning final fantasy out at the time I can't really blame them for cutting Nier's dev time to focus on a title that 'should' in theory sell more.

I really liked the characters from the first Nier, and honestly was staggered to find I liked the English voice cast too - that's never happened before. So I'm really happy that there are some folk who are loving Automata, but I'm rather concerned about the true end because the true end to Nier broke me. One of the other things that worries me is more to do with platinum and my hands not working like they used to - I can't play Bayonetta properly anymore (using dodge offset) for more than about half an hour without my hands refusing to work.

I'll be getting it on PC if the port is ok, but I'd be cautious of overhype because Taro's writing is an acquired taste. A lot of folk didn't get the gestalt/replicant thing from the first Nier and thus didn't understand the story whatsoever... and they hated it as a result. I hope the demo comes to PC too though, because one of my friends got it at Xmas and absolutely loved it despite being a fps addict.

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 08:18

From videos I've seen the game looks good, but it's definitely not for me. I'm not a fan of games where you have to get up close and personal with the enemy, I prefer stealth or sniping, neither of which seem to be viable playstyles in this one?

Jericho · Post by **Jericho** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 10:14

pjknibbs wrote: I prefer stealth or sniping, neither of which seem to be viable playstyles in this one?

I do to, and recently I wonder if I've been missing out on some games. I'm currently replaying Mass Effect trilogy, up close and personal with shotgun, charge, and that kind of play. It's made the games fresh once again.

So is this Nier the one that they are comparing to darksouls? (I haven't played that either. Looks fun, but not for me, as the reasons that pjknibbs says, and these days I tend to go for story over action).

Stars_InTheirEyes · Post by **Stars_InTheirEyes** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 10:39

No, stealth doesn't exist. This combat is about dealing damage while avoiding receiving damage. Its a lot of fun and when mastered you can go a long time without dying. I died once in 60 hours and that was right at the beginning, had a couple near-misses but I guess I just got good.

You would be missing out if the combat put you off because the world and lore is so good. You can set difficulty to easy which simplifies combat quite a bit if you're unfamiliar with this playstyle.

This is a spoiler free review which sums it up very nicely: https://youtu.be/dKdP9mmJA-A

Jericho · Post by **Jericho** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 11:27

Stars_InTheirEyes wrote:
You would be missing out if the combat put you off because the world and lore is so good. You can set difficulty to easy which simplifies combat quite a bit if you're unfamiliar with this playstyle.

Yes, I was thinking of doing this with the darksouls and bloodborne, simply because I love the look of the game.

Those kind of games sound like the things I would enjoy about 10 years ago, just playing it for hours to perfect it. But I just don't have the time these days, so I go for the story or the quick release of headshots

Bishop149 · Post by **Bishop149** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 13:04

I must admit I really liked the general concept but was then put off by its JRPG-like appearance.

Is the story especially JRPG like? i.e. over complicating minutiae to the point nothing makes sense contratsing sharply with a slopply written main plot full of obvious holes, interpersonal relationships which are essentially just highly purified tropes.

Then there's the typical JRPG gameplay, often over complicated, dreadful UI and during combat a screen so full of flashing colours that its hard to see what you're actually DOING.

I'm guessing from what you're saying it's not . . . .

Stars_InTheirEyes · Post by **Stars_InTheirEyes** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 17:14

Bishop149 wrote:I must admit I really liked the general concept but was then put off by its JRPG-like appearance.

Is the story especially JRPG like? i.e. over complicating minutiae to the point nothing makes sense contratsing sharply with a slopply written main plot full of obvious holes, interpersonal relationships which are essentially just highly purified tropes.

Then there's the typical JRPG gameplay, often over complicated, dreadful UI and during combat a screen so full of flashing colours that its hard to see what you're actually DOING.

I'm guessing from what you're saying it's not . . . .

The story is set in the very distant future with a war of androids fighting for humanity against sentient machines which took over Earth. It doesn't over complicate.

Gameplay wise, as the reviewer said in the link I posted above, "easy to learn, difficult to master". Its not overly flashy and the UI is good. UI actually fits the theme of the game perfectly.

Ezarkal · Post by **Ezarkal** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 18:00

Jericho wrote:
Stars_InTheirEyes wrote:
You would be missing out if the combat put you off because the world and lore is so good. You can set difficulty to easy which simplifies combat quite a bit if you're unfamiliar with this playstyle.

Yes, I was thinking of doing this with the darksouls and bloodborne, simply because I love the look of the game.

Those kind of games sound like the things I would enjoy about 10 years ago, just playing it for hours to perfect it. But I just don't have the time these days, so I go for the story or the quick release of headshots

Fair warning, if you ever attempt any "Soul" type game. The only difficulty there is is "get ready to get screwed by the game over and over again". There's no easy way through it. (Can't say for Bloodborn, I never tried it since it's only on PS4)
...
Then of course there are new game plus, which gets more difficult with every iterations. But you have no control over the difficulty.

They ARE great games, though. I went through all three of them multiple times, and will do so again in the future. They are just really unforgiving until you get the hang of it.

Stars_InTheirEyes · Post by **Stars_InTheirEyes** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 20:26

... I guess I should specify that NieR is not like Dark Souls. Not at all.

Morkonan · Post by **Morkonan** » Thu, 16. Mar 17, 20:28

I've seen some Let's Plays of this game, mostly pre-release. From what I saw, it seems the "combat" is pretty... easy. It's really flashy, of course, but it looks like "Berserk and Band of the Hawk" reviewed, briefly, in the opening of TB's vid, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afJLdvHu1FY

IOW, you run around and do flashy stuff, but there's little substance/drama to the combat, itself.

Not that I would care for either game, but is that a fair depiction of combat in this game?

Rednoahl · Post by **Rednoahl** » Fri, 17. Mar 17, 16:58

Morkonan wrote:I've seen some Let's Plays of this game, mostly pre-release. From what I saw, it seems the "combat" is pretty... easy. It's really flashy, of course, but it looks like "Berserk and Band of the Hawk" reviewed, briefly, in the opening of TB's vid, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afJLdvHu1FY

IOW, you run around and do flashy stuff, but there's little substance/drama to the combat, itself.

Not that I would care for either game, but is that a fair depiction of combat in this game?

Depends on which mode you play on with Automata. Dunno with Berserk, but Automata relies on offsetting dodge mechanics to combos and that has to be perfectly timed otherwise all that happens is you dodge. To play Automata well isn't easy at all - hard mode you cannot take more than one hit. Combos are fairly simple in Automata, but dodge offset and dodge cancelling are not. Personally I think that if combos were difficult to pull off while also having a really tough dodge system then it wouldn't be as fun as it is now. It's easy to pick up and play, but tough to master basically.

Stars_InTheirEyes · Post by **Stars_InTheirEyes** » Fri, 17. Mar 17, 19:06

Morkonan wrote:I've seen some Let's Plays of this game, mostly pre-release. From what I saw, it seems the "combat" is pretty... easy. It's really flashy, of course, but it looks like "Berserk and Band of the Hawk" reviewed, briefly, in the opening of TB's vid, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afJLdvHu1FY

IOW, you run around and do flashy stuff, but there's little substance/drama to the combat, itself.

Not that I would care for either game, but is that a fair depiction of combat in this game?

Well I haven't played that game so I can't tell you if its the same. On Easy mode, you can safely tap buttons fairly randomly while on normal or above theres quite a bit more strategy involved. Knowing how weapon movesets work together and in which situations to use them, which Pod upgrades to use, which chipset plug ins (basically, character skills) to install and getting good a dodging. That's the simplified explanation of the combat. The combat itself is used to tell the story and its all brilliantly themed.

Rednoahl · Post by **Rednoahl** » Tue, 28. Mar 17, 17:25

Stars_InTheirEyes wrote:I played on PS4, was released last Friday and I've already put in 60 hours. The Steam release is on the 17th. If there is one game I think everyone needs to play, its this. I cannot recommend it enough. Its one of the, if not the, best games I've ever played.

I've put 90 hours into Nier Automata and I agree it's a fantastic game but the flaws (probably due to a limited budget) it has have to get a mention as well.

The invisible walls are some of the worst and most obnoxious I've come across in recent gaming history. The translation is rather off in places too but I can't really blame the translators here because the meanings for some Japanese words can be subtle or have multiple meanings. I may be in a minority here but I think the story is weaker than the original Nier, but that said it's still a great story and it's more accessible than original Nier (that's a really good thing imo.)

I'm about to restart it on very hard. Both normal and hard modes get quite easy fairly quickly once you become to attack patterns.

All that said it is imo one of the best games to have come out in recent memory and I never ever thought I'd get another chance top mess around in the Nier world.

The original Nier sold less than 200k copies worldwide across multiple formats and the steam version of Automata alone looks like it will beat that figure soon. I hope this team get more chances to make more games like this, but when I look at what else has been released around now - good games at that - and I kind of have my doubts.

Stars_InTheirEyes · Post by **Stars_InTheirEyes** » Thu, 6. Apr 17, 17:56

Shameless self-bump with this video review which I found fully expresses why I love this game

Nier: Automata Review | The Masterpiece You (Probably) Won't Play [No Spoilers]

Rednoahl · Post by **Rednoahl** » Wed, 12. Apr 17, 01:52

...and my other favourite game on the 360 gets a PC port very quietly

http://store.steampowered.com/app/460790

With Nier Automata set to have sales on steam of 250,000 my hopes of a remaster of the first Nier may come true and any reason I might have for keeping a 360 lying around totally disappear.

Morkonan · Post by **Morkonan** » Wed, 12. Apr 17, 18:38

Rednoahl wrote:...and my other favourite game on the 360 gets a PC port very quietly

http://store.steampowered.com/app/460790 ...

Uh, if she's some ancient powerful whatsits, why does she wear glasses?

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

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