Square-Enix’s NieR, an obscure spinoff from their equally-obtuse Drakengard series, was at best a niche title that saw its original release in two different versions during the PlayStation 3 era, only one of which saw release in North America. Despite its obscurity, it would prove popular enough to spawn a sequel, NieR: Automata, which would garner decent acclaim and spawn a rerelease with the full title NieR: Automata – Game of the YoRHa Edition, not to mention a remaster of the original game in the spinoff series. Is Automata a worthy successor to the original NieR?
The sequel occurs millennia after the original game's events, with a far greater emphasis on science-fiction than fantasy elements, focusing on a proxy war between extraterrestrial machines and manmade "YoRHa" units, with the "female" 2B and her "male" companion 9S serving as the primary protagonist and deuteragonist. The game generally tells its story well, with great backstory, a few endearing characters, sidequests with their own yarns, and decent pacing, with some scenes told concurrently as the player navigates the semi-open world. Granted, the narrative is somewhat derivative, yet has various endings and a polished translation that only has minor errors.
Solid gameplay backs the experience, with the player controlling 2B manually and the AI controlling 9S. 2B has a variety of weapons with which to exterminate her enemies, two usable at a time, and her pod unit can fire projectiles such as missiles and lasers. The sequel introduces top-down flight sequences similar to those in shooters such as Raptor: Call of the Shadows that are fun diversions from the central gameplay yet still raise 2B's standard experience level like ground-based combat does. Players yearning for a more casual experience can set the game to auto-battle, with 2B dodging and attacking foes on her own while doing a mostly-good job evading enemy attacks. Aside from the need to gather enemy drops that give money, the core mechanics serve Automata well.
Control is also solid, with the gameplay action pausable any time, alongside cutscenes the player can pause and skip. Teleportation units quickly convey 2B and 9S to other areas of the gameplay world, doubling to allow players to record their progress; players only need to be near said terminals to do so. One issue the game acknowledges is its lack of autosaving, although the save system is fair enough despite occasional long stretches without save points. There's also maybe one issue with poor direction for a narrative objective, which entailed a specific option in the game interface. Otherwise, Automata generally interacts well with players.
Much like the original NieR, its sequel relies upon music reliant on vocals, most of which is solid, and the voice acting, despite some irritating performances, doesn't disappoint. The sound effects, too, sound as they should in a contemporary game.
Akin to the first game too, Automata utilizes a realistic graphical style prioritizing whitish and grayish hues, with good character and enemy models and fluid animation aside from the slower framerate during many cutscenes and pixilated textures when seen close-up.
Finally, the sequel is short as the inaugural entry, with a minimal twelve-hour playtime; however, there is plenty of replay value in the different endings, variant difficulties, Trophies, and many sidequests.
Ultimately, NieR: Automata is for the most part a superb sequel from Square-Enix that isn't Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, given its accommodating game mechanics, solid control, good narrative with potential variations, and great audiovisual presentation, and unlike many other Japanese RPGs puts quality well above quantity, although it does have plentiful lasting appeal to pacify those who protest games being too short. There are some minor issues surrounding most of the game's aspects, though luckily, these don't detract from an all-around excellent experience, and I certainly hope that the developer continues the franchise in some fashion in the future.
This review is based on a playthrough of a copy borrowed by the reviewer.Score Breakdown | |
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The Good | The Bad |
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The Bottom Line | |
An excellent sequel. | |
Platform | PlayStation 4 |
Game Mechanics | 9.5/10 |
Control | 8.5/10 |
Story | 8.5/10 |
Localization | 9.5/10 |
Aurals | 9.0/10 |
Visuals | 9.0/10 |
Lasting Appeal | 10/10 |
Difficulty | Adjustable |
Playtime | Less than 24 Hours |
Overall: 9.5/10 |