#a2 dynamic with 9s would be so fun

[ryllen]

if they ended it peacefully, i want to see more 9s with a2

[xb-squaredx]

Nier: Automata Review: Do Androids Dream?

2017 was a solid year for video games, and one unlikely candidate for Game of the Year for a LOT of people was found in Nier: Automata. A sequel and somewhat of a spinoff to Nier (which is itself a spinoff to the Drakenguard games), this game might prove to be the breakout hit of director Yoko Taro. While not quite a household name yet, Automata’s financial and critical success provides him with a decent foot in the door. While his games have a devoted cult following, this will likely be a great many gamer’s introduction to the man and his…interesting ideas on game design. Let us begin the weird, melancholy journey that is Nier: Automata and I’ll attempt to do so with as few story-spoilers as I possibly can.

Set far into the future, humanity has been driven off of their planet by aliens and their powerful machine lifeforms. With the remnants of humanity living on the moon, Project Yorha is created, a military force of powerful androids that work to repel the machines and take back the planet. The war has been locked in a stalemate for a long time however, and the story begins at a crucial time in the conflict, following the perspective of androids 2B, 9S and A2, androids at different stages of dealing with the constant struggle. The atmosphere of the game is definitely somber, downright heartbreaking at times, but balanced out with some odd humorous moments and sweet interactions, before the viewer’s heart is yanked out and shown to them. This isn’t a game to induce good feelings, is all I’m saying.

Obviously, the story is the biggest draw here, and I’ll take care to not say much more. Automata’s story details the ongoing conflict and questions what it really means to exist. The lines between humans, androids and machines and how blurry they really are; it gets quite existential. Along the way there is a good amount of foreshadowing and twists that, on a repeat playthrough, completely re-contextualize several moments in the game. There are several sequences in the game that are incredibly disturbing and will stay with me for a long time. An uncanniness in these metallic characters displaying human-like qualities, but being ever so slightly off. Automata isn’t quite a horror game, but it’s very haunting all the same as you explore the ruins of mankind with something in its place that feel like cruel imitations.

The voice cast is phenomenal, everyone knocking their roles out of the park. Kira Buckland and Kyle McCarley have a great dynamic in 2B and 9S, 9S in particular developing in an interesting manner throughout the game. Cherami Leigh plays the gruff A2 well and Alexis Tipton brings a lot of heart to the character of Pascal, one of the few friendly machines the player encounters. There’s a great amount of talent to be found in this game and it really makes the more emotional moments hit hard. Other aspects of the presentation are great; the music is the standout there, with hypnotic, somewhat haunting vocal themes throughout the OST, aided by slick visuals. I’m not a fan of the somewhat desaturated look the game is going for, I like vivid, colorful games myself, but it goes with the tone so I don’t mind too much.

Now, gameplay is where things get interesting. Any fan of Yoko Taro’s games will tell you that while his games are almost always interesting…they aren’t that great to play. This time around, PlatinumGames have been brought in to polish the action and the results are mostly fantastic, resulting in two companies playing to their strengths. While not nearly as in-depth as most of the action games in Platinum’s resume, Automata has their telltale slick and stylish footprints all over it. You can chain together simple attacks with a variety of weapons, from swords of varying sizes to giant fists and spears. All the while, you have a dodge that can allow for a counter attack if you time it right that seems right out of Bayonetta. Players also have a Pod accompanying them, a little drone that assists in battle. Pods work as a long-range option, their default attack being a gatling gun that sends bullets straight ahead, and can use Pod Programs as special attacks working off a cooldown. You can summon a shield or hit enemies with a big attack; it’s quite similar to Grimoire Weiss in Nier, for reference.

Adding to all this, players can use Plug-in Chips to customize your abilities. Augment movement speed, attack power, grant yourself a parry maneuver or slow down time after a dodge—there’s a lot of chips out there to really change things up. However, you have limited memory to work with and have to pick and choose chips that will fit, but in an interesting twist you can remove aspects of your HUD to free up extra space. If you really want that extra bit of attack power, then you don’t REALLY need that minimap or health bar visible, right? Just don’t remove that OS-Chip. You kinda need that to live. All and all, the combat in Automata isn’t quite as deep as Platinum’s other titles in terms of weapon variety or combos, but has plenty of options to keep it interesting. In fact, the gameplay itself will change up quite a bit throughout the game; you can pilot a flying mech or engage in hacking, the camera even changes to overhead or side-scrolling positions at times to keep things fresh. One thing is certain though: Yoko Taro LOVES bullet hell and you better be prepared for a LOT of that sprinkled in. Enemies frequently launch projectiles at you, but most can be cancelled out with shots from your Pod, though some require a melee attack to dissipate. These sequences can be a bit bothersome if you’re not into that genre, but if you stick with it I don’t think they’re too bad (up to a specific point that anyone who’s beaten the game will know anyway…).

The Platinum touch is very appreciated with the combat, though there are some elements that don’t come together as well I think. The bullet hell sections occasionally work, and sometimes they don’t. I find the changing camera perspectives to be disorientating more often than not, and more than one boss feels way more awkward than they needed to be. While battling against common enemies isn’t too bad, there are times when they seem to just…randomly ignore hitstun and attack me anyway, or else there are SO many enemies being thrown at you, and you can barely get a hit in before you have to dodge like mad. One area really stuck out to me; fighting a bunch of strong enemies in a little pit with a ladder in the center. The camera gets hung up on the geometry of the area and at times I’d accidentally attach to the ladder and be unable to escape as an enemy winds up and knocks off half my health. Most of the game is set up in wide-open areas at the very least, but to say every fight works smoothly wouldn’t be true.

But now we get to the BIG elephant in the room, one Yoko Taro fans know all too well: multiple endings. The Drakenguard games and Nier all have multiple endings and that much also holds true for Automata, but that isn’t to say you can beat the game once and are stuck with the ending you happen to get. The “endings” in Nier: Automata are less like endings and more like “routes.” Each new route you play through will add new elements that weren’t there before and eventually more parts of the story are shown. This isn’t like Ghost n’ Goblins where you beat the same game twice just for a slightly different ending screen; things can get VERY different as you go through later routes, but this does lead to a bit of repetition in a game that’s already filled with backtracking. Without saying too much, ending A of Automata is only about a third of the game as far as narrative is concerned and stopping there (where I fear a lot of people will) would result in a story that has potential, but doesn’t seem to conclude much of anything. So I will say this: keep playing. Square Enix even puts in a message at the end of the credits asking you to keep playing. I was invested enough to keep going and I was glad I saw the game through to the end. The REAL end. There’s so much more story, so much more variety to the gameplay after those credits roll the first time, and it’s sad that so many people will likely miss it because…well, we got to credits, so game’s over, right? But that isn’t how Yoko Taro thinks, for better or worse.

Speaking honestly, while I enjoy the game a great deal and really like the places the story goes��I won’t pretend that the decision to break the narrative up like that does the game a lot of good. I think it only harms the game, really. Compared to something like 999, a game that integrated the concept of new-game plus into its narrative in a way that made sense, Automata doesn’t handle it as gracefully. In 999 you can skip past dialogue and scenarios you have already done, but you aren’t so lucky in Automata. Granted, there are fairly significant differences that appear as soon as you start that second playthrough but it’s not exactly fun to go through the same story beats and wait to re-unlock fast travel again. I get what Taro is going for; only in video games can you do something like this. You can’t read a book, then go back to re-read a section and have new pages suddenly added. I can appreciate him for trying something different, but I question if that’s the best usage of the medium for telling a story. It might not be worth alienating people who don’t want to jump through all those hoops just to get closure to a story, nor is it going to help if people don’t know that the game has multiple routes in the first place. That Square Enix needed to put in a message after you beat the game is pretty telling.

Even without taking the multiple routes into consideration, I’m not fond of all the backtracking. While at times new things are added to locations you’ve already visited to keep it interesting, a lot of the time you’re simply going across the same four or five areas. I can’t tell you how many times you’re told to explore the factory that makes up the first “level” of the game. Often times this is for sidequests, sure, and thus the backtracking can be optional….but then again, the sidequests are so rewarding both in experience points and rewards, it’d be crazy to NOT do a good portion of them. On top of that, the areas just feel kinda empty, which might be the point. Still, navigation could be better. You CAN ride on the backs of animals to cut down on travel time…sometimes anyway, and you do get fast travel later on but it’s limited. Why is it I can save when I get close enough to an Access Point, but have to physically touch the Access Point when I want to fast travel? There’s even one extended sequence of “controllable helplessness” where you have to drag your limping body halfway across the game world that, while memorable…is memorable more so for dragging on WAY too long. It’s a bit of fat that could have been trimmed.

At the end of the day, Nier: Automata is a game I won’t soon forget, and it’s largely a positive experience. I do really enjoy it, even if at times the frustrations overwhelmed the good parts. Platinum and Yoko Taro’s team gelled together fairly well, resulting in something that’s solid in just about every fashion. The combat is slick and open-ended, the soundtrack is fantastic and the performances by the voice actors really sell the scenes and add a little extra heart to it all, but the fragmented story, constant backtracking and the rare shoddy battle here or there brings it down a bit. If you’re a fan of Yoko Taro’s work, you’ll enjoy it immensely and if it’s your first experience with the man’s games, you’ll still find a lot to like here. I WILL state that it would be better if you’ve played Nier beforehand, but there’s generally enough context within this game that certain late-game moments will…mostly make sense. You’ll just be lacking a bit of clarity. Glad I was able to get to this game before 2017 was over, and I would look forward to whatever Taro does next…because no matter what it is, it’ll be something worth talking about. See you next time.

-B

[avoresmith]

Nier: Automata

So I have finished routes A,B,D, and some rando ones (H, K,P??). Please don’t spoil me for anything outside those routes because I do intend to play quite a bit more, but I won’t have time until the weekend and I think I have enough of the shape of the game to go on about it at more length. Cut for spoilers.

I’m bad at metaphor.

I'm so bad at metaphor I often forget I'm bad at metaphor because I forget metaphor is a thing. That people try to convey with ideas in a nonliteral fashion, and that others pick up on those ideas and pull them apart and spin them around and see an entirely different world than I do.

Part of the reason I really enjoy @iaiamothrafhtagn's opinions on things is because she engages casually with metaphor in a way that is very much like watching someone translate another language, where you THOUGHT you spoke the language of the story? But then someone else is like no man, there was a whole second story, weren't you paying attention?

And the answer is usually a sort of perplexed "I… ma… may… I dunno."

So anyway I think about stuff like this when I play canons like Nier: Automata because I know there is a lot going on that I am not privy to because it's happening on a level I have a lot of difficulty parseing.

I think also this is probably why I'm very fond of Kojima, who ALSO enjoys his metaphor, sure, but his worlds, characters, and perspectives are detailed enough that I can still take a LOT away from the games strictly within their own universe. And THAT, that is something I think I am pretty good at, understanding character perspective and where those people exist within their own canon. Their stories, their growth, their relations to each other. Making sense of the parts of it that DON'T make sense, making whole and interesting and flawed characters out of what is really just bad writing.

But while I feel like Kojima's works are rough with texture from all of the detail he wants to cram in, Nier:A is glossy and reflective and strangely pristine.

I LIKE Nier:A quite a lot. I have had and assume I will continue to have a lot of fun with it. Nines was (predictably) my favorite, but I enjoyed his dynamic with 2B and the reveal of her being and E type. I liked A2 tons and there are still lots of details I am missing about the origin of A2 or 'Number 2', and her connection to B2, and I want deeply to know more about B2 and Nines history.

But basically all of the elements I really care about are the actions or implications of actions of characters within this simple but still deeply fucked up universe created for them.

As a story of personhood and agency as told thru AI/Robots…

Ehn… /handwave

It GESTURES at these ideas, but doesn't engage with them in a way I find very satisfying. Nines screams about his programmed love for humans in the last battle with A2, and I was like 'why are we just hearing about this NOW?'. I wanted to hear about the limitations of their programming and how they feel about it 40 hours ago. Instead I got Nines repeating that Machines Can't Have Feelings ad nauseum.

There is also stuff with the machines going on that I assume hasn't been revealed yet because it all feels a bit open ended.

I liked a lot of the fridge horror elements of the machines. Actually, all in all Nier:A does fridge horror really well. And the way machines ape humanity was pretty interesting.

I think The Style of Yoko Taro is to gesture at really complex ideas with simple and beautiful strokes and then move onto the next thing, and I really kind of want to grab him by the collar and shake him until more detail falls out.

Here's a list of ideas and concepts I think were really cool and would like to see explored at length which the game barely touches on, SO FAR:

Nines becoming Every Machine In the City as a way to survive having his memory wiped when his body is killed. Used as a deus ex machina and never spoken of again.

The mysteries of the Black Box, the meaning of their usage. The game touches on them a number of times but doesn't engage very deeply with it..?

The fact that Androids and Machines are BOTH joined by a Network, and the meaning of individuality when separated from it. We have basically three characters dealing with this (A2, 9S, and Pascal). A2 and 9S are LIVING it but don't really engage with it or talk about it, 9S is in the throes of loss and grief which is a bit different than being condemned to individuality. Pascal we actually get some interesting notes on this subject. A2 is really just A Typical Loner and doesn't engage with this much at all.

The whole Consciousness of Humanity thing?? Which I felt was PARTICULARLY weird and maybe when I did up the Explanation There it will make more sense, but it mostly seemed like An Idea Which Is Probably Cool but it wasn't around long enough or meaningful enough to the characters for me to really do much with.

Adam and Eve??? Literally everything about them is vaguely interesting but then they are there and gone and I'm kind of confused as to why they ever existed.

More detailed engagement with Are Machines People instead of Nines repeating the same denials and not really being ALLOWED to evolve as a character on this subject was hilarious but also I really wish we'd gotten into that part more. I feel like it introduces this concept on step 1 and then repeats itself for the next 99 steps until we get to the endgame where suddenly Nines is screaming all of his fears and insecurities and accepting his mistakes and then the end bye.

Time is meaningless. I find the fact that there are a handful of important events spaced out across thousands of years really disorienting. Something could have been done here but?? Mostly I get distracted by it as a world building element and how that works in this universe.

Claiming your own agency and personhood in the face of a world that denies you it. Retroactively more real when you realize that B2 was actually supposed to be prepared to kill Nines but instead wanted desperately to save him and probably wouldn't have been able to go through with her mission this time.

Machines having children? 

Individuality when you are part of a series of models presumably identical to you and how one handles responsibility for crimes of a copy of you.

Programming and free will? We get weirdly little on this from the Androids.

The evolution of newer/better models vs less good/older models. I’m thinking of Adam and Eve vs the rest of machinekind here more than 2B vs A2.

^ EVERYONE OF THESE IS A COOL IDEA WHICH THE GAME INTRODUCES AND TOUCHES ON IN SOME WAY. Some more than others. But every single one of them leaves me unsatisfied because I feel there is so much to more to say and do to really get your teeth into it and show what it means for the characters involved.

None of these are 'thereby, it isn't a good game' complaints. This is mostly me musing over how Yoko Taro wants to present a story vs how I want a story to be presented. Yoko Taro wants a game played from many different perspectives, engaging on many layers, touching on many interesting ideas.

And it DOES that.

I think more than anything Nier:A strikes me as a game where someone got to do what they really, wholly wanted. Not flawless, perhaps, but intensely personal. A bunch of complex ideas represented in broad strokes so that he could sculpt something you could look at from various perspectives and distances and in different times. And honestly that is cool as fuck.

It isn't going to go down as something I fall intensely into the fandom for, but that's fine, most games AREN'T. I'm very excited to get further into the various routes and learning more about the world so I feel more comfortable taking in other people's opinions. This is EXACTLY the type of game where other people are going to have way, way, way more interesting thoughts than I do, because I think it's made by and for a type of person who views stories differently than I know how.

But overall, I mean, it's really fuckin cool. I don't think it got to me in exactly the way people were expecting it too, but I'm glad I played it and I look forward to playing more, and I'm definitely going to play Nier when I get the chance because I'm real curious about it, and I'm led to believe the story is a bit more engaging.

[fullbottles]

radicalapollo replied to your post: i think the one thing from gestalt that i missed...

I feel like that problem more stems from the fact that your party is super limited in Automata. Not so much a case of the banter getting worse, because I enjoyed the banter there WAS in Automata, but you only ever really had 2b and 9s talking at any given time, and that’s about it. In Nier OG you had a party of 4 for most of the game who all worked off each other well. Cut that in half and it gets a lil more lonely.

that’s definitely true! i’m not saying 2B and 9S had worse banter/no banter, because they had their moments and it was fun when it happened... it was just much less frequent, and as you said, with only two characters (one of whom actively tries to avoid party banter lmao) it’s hard to get that same kind of dynamic going.

i will say though, i was pleasantly surprised by the banter between A2 and her pod during her parts of the game! it really reminded me of kaine and weiss, and that made me super happy. i would have killed for more of it.

[thomasroach]

Top 5 Upcoming RPGs February 2019 (God Eater 3, Anthem and More!)

The post Top 5 Upcoming RPGs February 2019 (God Eater 3, Anthem and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Welcome to the Top Upcoming RPGs of January 2019! In this series we highlight the Top 5 RPGs for the upcoming month. In this edition, we’re going to take a look at each of the titles, talk a little about each, and then explain why we think they deserve to be on the list. So join me now and find a mixture of some hidden gems and old favorites given a shiny new coat of paint.

Top 5 Upcoming RPGs Of February 2019

Our last Top 5 kicked off the New Year for 2019, the top spot going to the crossover of Disney stars in Kingdom Hearts III. While this month sticks to more traditional storytelling, there are a few titles that bring in some intriguing narratives that aren’t as straight forward as you might think. Bringing undead minions, dangerous planets to explore and a range of abilities that are simply God-like, let’s delve into the month of February!

The third entry in the franchise, Kingdom Hearts III won our top spot. It brought a star studded cast that would make your head spin.

Honourable Mention – Nier: Automata – Game of the Yorha Edition (PC, PS4)

Release Date: February 26th 2019 Platform: Playstation 4, PC Developer: PlatinumGames Publisher: Square Enix

Nier: Automata has now sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide making NieR: Automata a huge hit with its fast paced action combat and intriguing android storyline. It only seems fitting it would be getting a game of the year edition or Game of the YoRHa edition.

Set in the desolate open-world that is void of humanity, NieR: Automata hauntingly intrigues players with it’s android storyline and fierce action. In a story that follows 2B, 9S and A2 as they fight to reclaim the machine-run world, they will battle it out with the powerful machine lifeforms. While the game is a sequel to NieR players will not need to know what happened in the previous game but those who have played it will enjoy little easter eggs that pop up now and again.

The Game of the YoRHa edition comes with DLC expansion, base game, skins, PS4 Avatars and PS4 Dynamic Theme.

Nier Automata: The Game of the YoRHa edition will release on February 26th on Playstation 4 and PC.

5. Iratus: Lord of the Dead

Release Date: February 14th 2019 Platform: PC, Linux, Mac via Steam Developer: Unfrozen Publisher: Unfrozen

Iratus: Lord of the Dead is a tactical RPG fantasy, drawing inspiration from Darkest Dungeon. Setting a twist in the usual good versus evil, this dark fantasy turns it on it’s head as you’ll be playing the side of evil, it’s more fun this side anyway. Players are enlisted to help Iratus escape from the dungeon where he has been imprisoned for many years.

Armed with powers of necromancy, craft your minions from the body parts of your dead foes, after all you can’t let them go to waste now can you? Use alchemy, magic and tactical skills to defeat your adversaries in a strategy turn-based style. Each type of undead minion has their own special ultimate that you can choose to take advantage of, but in return it will cost you resources. Choose Iratus himself to cast powerful spells if you have the mana to spend. Those who are fans of the love-craftian universe will notice the inspiration in the sanity meter, use it to your will to defeat the living.

Unfrozen the indie developer that put their game on Kickstarter last year to gain additional funding. They are set to release Iratus: Lord of the Dead on February 14th, for PC, Mac, Linux via Steam.

4. Death end re;Quest

Release Date: February 19th 2019 Platform: Playstation 4 Developer: Idea Factory Publisher: Compile Heart

The story follows Arata who receives an email from his former colleague Shina Ninomiya who went missing a year prior to the events of the game. It’s in this email that Arata realises that Shina is trapped within the walls of the virtual reality MMORPG called “World Odyssey”. The game although had ceased development, is now holding her captive as the only “player’, in a misshapen former version of itself. The virtual world has now become ridden with bug-like monsters that are searching for their next victim. Arata’s only way of saving her is by completing the game to unlock the perfect ending, but the success rate is set at 1%. Mixing fantasy with reality, can Shina be saved?

Taking the classic turn-based style RPG adding a new twist, by allowing players to switch between different game modes. Choosing from fighter, to shooter and to even slot mode. This turn-based battled system brings a group of 3 members to battle, each character has different abilities to choose from. Each turn starts with the characters flexibility to move freely so they can perform combos or choose to attack outside enemy’s range to help keep their team safe.

Death end Re;Quest is set to release on February 19th on Playstation 4.

3. God Eater 3

Release Date: February 8th, 2019 Platform: Playstation 4 release Developer: Bandai Namco Publisher: Marvelous!

In the next instalment of series God Eater 3 follows events of a sudden mysterious life form that begins its uncontrollable quest to consume life on Earth. It’s insatiable appetite and quick ability to learn, makes it the deadliest foes you could ever face, they have been given the name Aragami. These beasts only leave destruction and misery in their path. In order to fight back, individuals known as God Eaters wield special weapons powered by Oracle Cells, these are the only known way to stop the Aragami. But this is not the only battle brewing, a fight between light and dark is wearing thin.

God Eater 3 combines action combat with abilities to dive, use burst arts, plug-ins and more. Use skill install which allows you to equip God Arc skills for your chosen weapon to increase health points, slash attacks or speed buffs with these items. A new passive skill has been added called Acceleration Trigger, which strengthens a players resolve giving the upper-hand during opportune moments.

God Eater 3 releases exclusively on Playstation 4 on February 8th.

2. Path of Exile (PS4)

Release Date: February , 2019 Platform: Playstation 4 release Developer: Grinding Gear Games Publisher: Grinding Gear Games

Path of Exile the action-RPG was originally meant to release at the end of last year for Playstation 4, but was delayed until 2019. It finally get it’s release this February. Those who are fans of Diablo 2 will see some inspiration in this title.

Set in the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast, a harsh continent that has seen many mysterious catastrophes shaped by the past. Various creatures have inhabited the nightmarish land and are ready challenge exiles that dare venture its lands.

Players can choose from a variety of abilities using the skill gem system, which also includes valuable items. These will grant different abilities when combined with equipment. Each character class shares a highly extensive passive skill tree, with seven distinct locations dependent on class. Using the Keystone passives can dramatically change the way your character is played meaning tons of versatility.

Path of Exile comes to Playstation 4 this February 2019.

1. Anthem

Release Date: February 22nd 2019 Platform: Playstation 4, PC, Xbox One Developer: Bioware Publisher: EA

Bioware is back with a new IP, this time its a sci-fi jet packed adventure called Anthem. Best known for their influence on the RPG genre with the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchise. This time Bioware ventures into a harsh environment that threatens humanity. Players will choose powerful Javelin exosuits, each with great abilities to help even the playing field with the masses of beasts and creatures that have inhabited the land. The lore focuses on mythical gods that created a planet but disappear before it was finished, and a mighty power called Anthem.

The game features multiplayer hunts, raiding and collecting loot to upgrade your powerful exosuit. Choose from four types that each hold their own uses. The Ranger which brings a balance of skills to the game, an all-rounder that has some speed and firepower. Choose Colossus for a more tank-like build, use your shield to take on an heavy hits. Storm is just like it sounds, an elemental class that is ready to deal damage and support the team. Interceptor features light armor, can pack a mighty punch and counter attacks in the nick of time by dashing away.

While a lot of highlights featured by Bioware have been co-op, they have mentioned that you can choose to play with friends or fly solo through the story.

Anthem is set to release on February 22nd on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC.

That’s a wrap for the Top RPGs of February. Did I miss your favorite February release? What games are you most looking forward to this year? Please let us know in the comments below.

You can also check out the Top RPGs of January 2018.

So, do you want more? If so, you can find more Top RPGs for 2019 here.

The post Top 5 Upcoming RPGs February 2019 (God Eater 3, Anthem and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Top 5 Upcoming RPGs February 2019 (God Eater 3, Anthem and More!) published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

[meeraan]

NieR: Automata Overview (I guess?)

This post will contain spoilers about NieR: Automata as I will be explaining the story, the characters and what happens in the game.

Let me start things off by saying I LOVED NieR: Automata. It was such a thrilling experience for me, it contained so many things I love about Japanese based stories. It has fun side characters, a solid set of main characters, and an absolutely bonkers story. I’ll try to develop on these things later on, but first, the world! The world of NieR: Automata is set in the year 11945, in a world where humanity has been put onto the edge of extinction from an alien race that brought with them an army of Machines with one motive, Destroy the Enemy. The humans were crushed, and the last remaining humans left earth, and settled on the moon, because why not.Where we play is an undisclosed ruins of a city that’s been long destroyed. We don’t know how long for, but it’s pretty destroyed. We play as Androids, human-like robots created by humans to fight back the Machine forces. The android base of the force YoRHa, a team the humans made to combat the machines, is just in between the moon and earth. It’s refered to the bunker, and has all the Android units, as well as the Operators and the Commander. The map on earth we play on is separated into segments: The City Ruins, which is the centre of the city, where most things take place, The Desert, I huge desert created next to the city as well of on some of the city, The Amusement Park, a big ol’ amusement park run by passive machines, The Forest Zone, a forest run by a kingdom of medieval styled machines, and The Flooded City, and area of the city... that makes the city a coastal one, I guess. The future is wild. Each of these zones have a vast number of side quests and hidden secrets that rewards your exploration. 

Next, the playable characters. You play as 3 androids at different plays through the game. The game has a total of 3 routes (A, B and C) with the 3 androids, as well as 2 extra story endings. Everyone knows who 2B is, she’s used as advertisement of the game, but has no real impact to the true ending of the game. She dies just as the real meat of the game goes on, and she is replaced with an rouge android called A2 (who is a much more well rounded an established character once you unlock some of her backstory elements). 9S is a character who becomes very interesting once the story picks up during route C. Although androids are not suppose to bring emotions to their work, his and 2Bs interactions during the route A and B causes him to fall in love with 2B. I honestly do not think their relationship is forced, as you see what each of them go through together, as a team. The death of 2B makes 9S determined to wipe out every last machine, as well as the person who murdered 2B, A2. What 9S doesn’t know, is that she was infected with a virus that destroys androids, and she asked A2 to kill her, and look after 9S. This creates an interesting dynamic between A2 and 9S, and the last fight of the game, you can chose to be either 9S or A2, and fight to the death. I won’t go into the ending too much as there’s a lot that needs explaining, that I can’t explain. All in all, 2B was there to sell copies, 9S and A2 are the two main characters of this game.

The side characters are interesting as well. Let’s start with the operators assigned to 2B and 9S during their operations on earth. 2B is a serious character who does her job, and does it well. She likes to keep things formal and to the rules. Her operator, 6O, is a lovable goofball. She’s awkward and cute, she talks about her personal life with 2B, how 6O’s crush turned her down and how she was so upset and come to 2B for advise. She hints constantly that she wants to see earth, and see it’s beauty, until 2B decides she’ll be nice and send her over some picture taken by 2B. 6O is too pure and we never learn her fate.. 9S’s operator is the opposite. 21O is much like 2B, and 9S’s is much like 6O. Although 21O is very serious, later in the story we find out her sensitive side, and how she longed for people to call her family. In route C we find out the virus outbreak that caused 2B to turn evil, as well as everyone else, has taken her find, and we’re forced to kill her, as 9S. The fight was very touching and broke my heart a little, as her dying words were “all I wanted was a family...”. NOW LETS TALK ABOUT PASCAL. Pascal is the leader of a village of machines that have broken away from the network that connects the machines, and are now good! Free to think of their own, the village have lived in peace and harmony with androids and the opposing machines. Pascal is a sweet machine who just wants peace in this world of war. When we reach the village for the first time everyone is holding out white flags, offering peace. Pascal puts all his time and effort in educating the villages children, and making sure relations with the androids stay strong. I will not spoil what happens to Pascal and the village as I genuinely think that you need to experience it yourself. It was the first time in a long time that a video game has made me cry. The next and final character is Anemone. She is the leader of the Android resistance that stay on earth permanently. Her back story ties in with A2′s, as they used to be part of a team. Once again, I won’t go too much into it as there’s a lot to cover. She’s cool, but is only really interesting when interacting with A2.

Now, to try and summarise the story that’ll make sense... 2B and 9S are sent on various missions to destroy Goliath-Class machines - major treats to The Android Resistance and YoRHa. Along the way, the encounter a human-like machine, created in front of them named Adam. They defeat Adam, and from the body of Adam, comes Eve! See the reference? These two become the antagonist for route A/B. They reveal later that the alien race that the androids have been trying to find and destroy have been dead for hundreds of years, killed by the machines. When 2B and 9S make their way into the Forest Zone, they storm the castle to fight the king of these machine knights, only to be greeted with a Machine Baby, in a cot. A2, out of nowhere, comes in and kills the baby king, before fighting 2B and 9S. She leaves, 2B and 9S bested. Who was that mysterious android? Fast forward, past another Goliath-Class machine, 9S has been sent rocketing to half way across the map due to the fight and 2B must find him. She finds a mysterious elevator that takes her to a place named the Copied City. Here, we find Adam, with 9S’s body on a make shift crucifix, and 2B must kill Adam to save him. RIP Adam, 9S is save, woohoo. Except Eve is pissed, like super pissed. He loved his brother and only saw revenge as an option. Fast Forward again, and we’re at the fight with Eve. Mustering all the power he has, he beats 2B and 9S to a pulp, but 9S, using his hacking ability (that I never explained he could do, sorry), hacked into Eve, and destroyed him. Bur doing so exposed him to the machine network, and he was infected with the virus. Much to 2B’s misfortune, she kills 9S, there and then. This is where I have a problem with the story. Because he was connected to the machine network, he could project himself into any of the other machine life forms, why? No clue. But he’s find now, and not infected! Wohoo! But oh boy, that was only half the story. Route C is when the madness starts, the entire bunker is infected with this virus, 2B and 9S have to fight their fellow androids to escape the Bunker, and when they land back to earth, the machines are back, and stronger than before. 2B is then infected by the virus, and finds a place to kill herself. She’s greeted by A2, and A2 agrees to kill her. But 9S sees A2 kill 2B, and thinks A2 killed her for no reason....... and that’s where I’ll leave it. I will not be able to do route C’s story justice by trying to explain what was going through Yoko Taro’s head. It get’s mind fucky, and it’s amazing.

Endings. You know how I said there were 3 routes and 2 extra endings (making that 5 story endings). Well there are 26 ‘endings’ to the game. All the other endings are silly and fun way the game could have ended. For example: What would happen if an android ate a fish? They die, horribly. That’s an ending. What happens if instead of helping 9S when he was captured by Adam, you just walked away? That’s an ending. Killed everyone in Pascals Village? Ending. Self destruct in the Bunker? Ending. There are so many fun way to end the game. It’s a nice touch.

There are so many more things I could talk about. A2′s and Anemone’s backstory. A character named Emil, who was in the first NieR game. One of the story endings to do with the endings credits. The very concept of existence and the meaning of one’s life portrayed by machines created by an alien race. The Gestalt program. The Machine King. SO MUCH. This game has so much story and has such an established lore before the events of the game, it’s amazing. I loved NieR: Automata, and I hope we get some DLC, and maybe after a couple years a new addition to the NieR franchise.