NieR: Automata

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4607 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,076 out of 4607
  2. Mixed: 223 out of 4607
  3. Negative: 308 out of 4607
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  1. Streps
    Apr 8, 2017
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Masterpiece of game design? Really, did I bang my head and wake up in 1989? This game offers nothing new, ZERO INNOVATION, but yet it is being heralded as a Masterpiece in every aspect and detail it offers gamers in 2017.

    The story telling is a yawn fest, the earth has been invaded by alien robots, but we managed in the middle of mass genocide to build a base on the moon and then build a space station that for some unknown reason the aliens just couldn't be bothered blowing up. There's a lesson in great story telling, not. This is a weak premise for a game, and the story doesn't get any better, it is an antiquated mess of ideas mixed in with some very typical Japanese inspired cliche characters that are lifeless.

    I haven't come across a single element that this game offers that is new, or even an element that has been copied and improved on from another game. If this game is truly a masterpiece then the core element of the game, the combat, must be absolutely brilliant. Well, the combat in this game is lame, easy and requires no skill, none. I spent the entire game running around in circles, and holding the range attack button on my drone for every combat. Game of the year contender, give me a break.     … Expand
  2. penaferus11
    Apr 8, 2017
    0
    NieR Automata is a great concept. But, sadly, the story is one-noted and the characters are dull. I loved the original NieR, but this game is a bargain bin piece of junk.
  3. daxsheppard
    Mar 13, 2017
    1
    This game is a frustrating mess. The combat is button mashing nonsense, the story is typical boring philosophical bullsh*t. The world is bland and extremely boring, you'll get tired of seeing the same busted buildings over and over again. The game also requires you to play it over and over again to get the 'real' ending. Which wouldn't be an issue but 90% of the missions in the game areThis game is a frustrating mess. The combat is button mashing nonsense, the story is typical boring philosophical bullsh*t. The world is bland and extremely boring, you'll get tired of seeing the same busted buildings over and over again. The game also requires you to play it over and over again to get the 'real' ending. Which wouldn't be an issue but 90% of the missions in the game are fetch quests, so have fun running back and forth for hours on end.

    TLDR: pass on this one, and don't fall for the hype.    … Expand
  4. Switchbutton
    Mar 17, 2017
    0
    A mediocre game that attempts to cash in on the success of Bayonetta or Metal Gear Rising. Terrible characters, bland levels, and a focus on awful gimmicky gameplay.
  5. Gh0st42
    Mar 10, 2017
    0
    Neir: Automata is a broken game. In the beginning, it seems like a really great game but if you die even once you have to restart the entire game. You have ti watch every cut scene and redo the whole tutorial just to die again at a boss who kills you in one hit. This game does not deserve all the praise it's getting. I really regret wasting 60$ on a broken game.
  6. cas514
    Mar 7, 2017
    0
    Love Platinum Games, Hate the characters in this and their designs. Do not buy please.. Make Vanquish 2 and lets forget this thing ever happened...........
  7. Dohmein
    May 29, 2019
    3
    I have seen this game everywhere being hailed as one of the best ever. I really do not get it. I got to the amusement park and was so bored and I actually fell asleep. Picked it back up a few hours later. Again sleepy. Its terrible. The game explains NOTHING to you. You have to figure out its terrible UI the silly chips, weapons - everything on your own. I died twice in thatI have seen this game everywhere being hailed as one of the best ever. I really do not get it. I got to the amusement park and was so bored and I actually fell asleep. Picked it back up a few hours later. Again sleepy. Its terrible. The game explains NOTHING to you. You have to figure out its terrible UI the silly chips, weapons - everything on your own. I died twice in that mission and uninstalled it. I just see no way this monochromatic boring game will improve in any way. I really want to see what people love so much about it but I cannot. The soundtrack which apparently is "mind blowing" annoyed the ever loving **** out of me so I killed the sound. I should have known then I was in for a bad time. To each their own but I would rather mow my lawn than play this game.… Expand
  8. JoseEsVirgen
    Mar 20, 2019
    1
    Es un juego sobre valorado, con una historia superficial que pretende ser profunda pero como se descubre después de jugar las múltiples campañas, el jugador se ve ante un bodrio japonés con extra de menores sexualizadas que pretende emocionar al jugador con sus personajes paupérrimos y sin personalidad en un universo generico. Además de esto se intercala la pésima jugabilidad sinEs un juego sobre valorado, con una historia superficial que pretende ser profunda pero como se descubre después de jugar las múltiples campañas, el jugador se ve ante un bodrio japonés con extra de menores sexualizadas que pretende emocionar al jugador con sus personajes paupérrimos y sin personalidad en un universo generico. Además de esto se intercala la pésima jugabilidad sin profundidad y repetitiva apresar de la experiencia de Platinum En resumen un juego pésimo sobre valorado por sus fans… Expand
  9. Woboof
    May 9, 2018
    2
    Critics made me buy this game, huge deception
    Graphics - Ok, Gameplay is easy, but there's no game it's a movie, no matter what you do, you get throught ! just press the firing button until the next video, wasted money
  10. MaximumD
    Aug 9, 2019
    3
    I judge games on various things, but most importantly it comes down to one factor. When I'm at work or doing something else, am I feeling a giant urge to return to playing this game? If yes, I would say the game is a good for me. No? Well I probably won't finish it. That would be like doing chores.

    Unfortunately for me, after a few hours I hung it up with this game. No idea what the    I judge games on various things, but most importantly it comes down to one factor. When I'm at work or doing something else, am I feeling a giant urge to return to playing this game? If yes, I would say the game is a good for me. No? Well I probably won't finish it. That would be like doing chores.

    Unfortunately for me, after a few hours I hung it up with this game. No idea what the hype is all about here. Genuinely. I gave the game a shot, and was excited to start playing it. But there where a few apparent issues right from the start:

    -no respect for my time. I played a half hour through the intro and died on the first boss. Figuring ok, this game is fairly challenging but that's good! Much to my horror though, as I soon found out, this game does not save during the intro. That's right, over half and hour of time wiped out and it's back to the BEGINNING OF THE GAME! That means back to the first tutorial. With no warning. Let's just say that did not start me off on a good note. I was pissed, and almost hung up the game right there. I was literally in dis-belief that I had to re-start the entire game because saving is not allowed. Ridiculous.

    -Despite sticking with it and changing to EASY mode for the intro, the repetitive fetch quests and backtracking through a massive central world just got to me. No fast travel and nothing but a barren wastleland to travel through with a few random re spawning enemies around to beat on. It actually started out kind of cool with the first 2 quests, and then I was hit with what this game is about. You go to a village and meet the leader who gives you an item to take back to base. You slog all the way back to base, on the other side of the freaking map. What do you get? The leader of the base gives you a mission to go BACK to the other village and deliver an item. LOL. I'm supposed to be an android warrior, but i'm making FedEx deliveries for villages. Excellent design on display here, LOL. Like I said before, this game does not respect you time whatsoever, and apparently developers thought it would be funny to rub in your face constantly too. They actually remind you in game that you are basically doing chores!

    -Gameplay. Repetitive and bland. Spam light attack and heavy attack, or shoot from range. That's pretty much it. I was bored of this after the lengthy intro, where you do it ad nausea um. But then you just keep doing it, over and over, for the rest of the game. Awesome.

    Story might be good in the end, I wouldn't know cuz I couldn't slog through this borefest to find out. At least I bought this at a discounted price form Gamestop otherwise I would have been genuinely pissed considering the high praise this game got across the board. What an overrated pile of garbage this is. Game design has come a long way but these guys missed the boat completely.

    Actually, the music is awesome though and I might buy the soundtrack :).    … Expand
  11. aalfred7
    Jun 17, 2019
    0
    I don't understand the hype surrounding this game. The negatives are as follows: graphical issues, a dumb and shallow story, shallow characters, a short main game, and bad UI. Don't waste your hard-earned money on this title.
  12. flo47
    Oct 6, 2019
    1
    Graphics are really bad, low details
    endless travelling through an empty environment
    enemy battles feel very rare.
    no fun at all - the demo felt much more like action
  13. shootingstars99
    Sep 1, 2019
    4
    Over hyped something that comes to mind when I think of this game. Having played it, the combat is not that deep at all, which is usually the main draw to action games. The first few times I turned it on, I had a good feeling, like that this was going to be like an old school action RPG, but with some semblance of combat depth, nope. The graphics are nice, but are wasted on barrenOver hyped something that comes to mind when I think of this game. Having played it, the combat is not that deep at all, which is usually the main draw to action games. The first few times I turned it on, I had a good feeling, like that this was going to be like an old school action RPG, but with some semblance of combat depth, nope. The graphics are nice, but are wasted on barren wasteland after barren wasteland. The main draw to me, the combat, does leave a fair amount to be desired, as it has the depth of a kiddie pool.

    The character designs on the other hand, while odd and unique, don't appeal to me. I don't find the story to be as deep and emotional as people let on, but rather cheesy and even melodramatic at times, nothing moving or ground breaking. Hearing what other people said about the game before getting it myself, made the bar sound like it was set pretty high, but that wasn't the case, because I did the limbo right into the bar on this one.    … Expand
  14. Gravypie
    Mar 25, 2018
    3
    Please DO NOT believe all the hype for this game. It is a festival of boring fetch-quests through a maze of bland scenery (PS2 textures) and mash-fights. Very boring and tedious. This style of game should've died out a long time ago. If you enjoy looking at the main character running and running...then more running, getting lost, back-tracking and then lots more running then this is thePlease DO NOT believe all the hype for this game. It is a festival of boring fetch-quests through a maze of bland scenery (PS2 textures) and mash-fights. Very boring and tedious. This style of game should've died out a long time ago. If you enjoy looking at the main character running and running...then more running, getting lost, back-tracking and then lots more running then this is the game for you.
    A cardboard cut-out of a game.
    P.S the graphics in the prologue/tutorial are lovely. That's where the good graphics end.    … Expand
  15. Hanxius
    May 27, 2020
    1
    This game is so god damn boring... The Characters and their diaolgues are god damn cringe and, the Story, the Levels and the World Design made me sleep as hell... Even controling 2B and the Camera is **** up. The Gameplay is so repetitive and the game so easy you just have to lock on an ennemy and shoot it until it dies. No need to say that the Enemies and the Bosses are really really bad.This game is so god damn boring... The Characters and their diaolgues are god damn cringe and, the Story, the Levels and the World Design made me sleep as hell... Even controling 2B and the Camera is **** up. The Gameplay is so repetitive and the game so easy you just have to lock on an ennemy and shoot it until it dies. No need to say that the Enemies and the Bosses are really really bad. The game doesn't even look good... Really I really don't how people can describe this game as the best in the world...

    At least 2B is hot tho (Oh and **** thoses 2D/Topside view parts.)    … Expand
  16. Xepher
    Jan 11, 2020
    2
    Cheap garbage. It became overrated because of the interesting designs and beautiful soundtrack but beyond that there is nothing there. It's a poorly made boring indie game parading as AAA.
  17. CinderShoiler
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    The game was overrated . It has a lot of disadvantages :
    Not a big world that you can run in 5-8 minutes .
    Total 4 types of weapons . Few game mechanics . Uncomfortable the linear flow . With the inability to even run around the world without a task . There is simply nothing to do in the game after a complete pass . Price . Game landscape, with design and filling with a strong    The game was overrated . It has a lot of disadvantages :
    Not a big world that you can run in 5-8 minutes .
    Total 4 types of weapons .
    Few game mechanics .
    Uncomfortable the linear flow .
    With the inability to even run around the world without a task .
    There is simply nothing to do in the game after a complete pass .
    Price .
    Game landscape, with design and filling with a strong sense of isolation .
    The developers refused to support the game and fix problems with bugs .
    Textures , no matter what anyone says, but they are terrible .

    I can not say that it is terrible , but I can definitely say that it looks raw and unfinished with this overrated quality .    … Expand
  18. CapNcrunk
    Mar 30, 2020
    2
    I bought this game after playing the demo, which contained the shooter elements of the game and nothing else. I was disappointed after finding out the full game was 75-80% wandering around a sparse, empty open world, fighting the same respawned enemies over and over again, wondering where you're supposed to go next. I uninstalled it, but decided to give it another shot a couple years laterI bought this game after playing the demo, which contained the shooter elements of the game and nothing else. I was disappointed after finding out the full game was 75-80% wandering around a sparse, empty open world, fighting the same respawned enemies over and over again, wondering where you're supposed to go next. I uninstalled it, but decided to give it another shot a couple years later because I remembered the shooter elements being so much fun. This time, I got to the end of the prologue that takes 30-45 minutes to complete and died, only to find out it doesn't save the game until after you finish it. Thus, it forced me back to the begining to play through the 40 minute prologue again. Uninstalled. It gets one point for the decent shooter game it advertised itself as, but only lets you play a few minutes of every few hours in reality.… Expand
  19. OneManCast
    Aug 7, 2018
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I find its lack of self-awareness and its lack of factual backup to the story, quite reprehensible. There's so much I can rant and rave about, down to finite details.

    NieR: Automata is made by Square Enix and Platinum Games.
    It features a multitude of gameplay mechanics, and those who love nostalgia may initially get their kicks and such.
    Normally I'd say "Until they grow tired of it and realize how worthless and bland it is" but it is quite clear that people are so delusional that they are no longer qualified to judge what a good game is.

    Where to start?
    Let's break down this story.
    So, starting with the story setting, and we already have problems.
    Basically, aliens arrived on Earth and invaded.
    "In the year 11945 during the 14th Machine War (some time after the 4th ending of the original NieR), Earth has suddenly been invaded by extraterrestrial life forms, armed with weapons known as “bio-machines.”

    Facing imminent destruction, mankind had no choice but to flee the Earth and take refuge on the moon. In an attempt to reclaim their planet, humanity formed a resistance army of android soldiers.

    To break through this deadlock and reclaim their homeworld, humanity sends the “YoRHa” – an infantry unit of state-of-the-art androids – into battle.

    An arduous battle between androids and bio-machines unfolds on an uninhabited, barren planet. And who knows what forgotten truths are revealed in war…"

    Two things. A)This gets a literal retcon closer to the end of the game. B)Biomachines are physically and universally impossible. None of the materials known to the entire universe allow metal based alloys to allow biological life. Constantly, you are FORCED to watch as BS goes down.
    Stuff like machines creating humanoid machines (which is literally just androids, of which does not need the overt attempt at a moral and philosophical gray zone) is physically, chemically, biologically IMPOSSIBLE.
    Here's the thing about this game ladies and gentlemen. This entire game is a pseudophilosophical ATTEMPT at commentary over what makes someone or something "human". Both sides show this shallow attempt as well. Pascal reading Nietzsche, Androids having emotions and desires, biomachines making humanoids, said humanoids reading religious and historical diatribe to further solidify of how 3Deep5Me this game is.
    The aliens who invaded? Already dead. The killers? Adam and Eve. I kid you not, those are the names of the two machines. If you cringed in disgust or annoyance, I can't blame you. It is so transparent about how cool and edgy and meaningful they wish to be.
    It is disgustingly overbearing, with no basis in actual fact and it requires your suspense of disbelief to an ABSURD degree.
    They're passing off this other message of mere Nihilism, and to a real Nihilist like me, I see through this phony BS.
    The whole premise of "what makes us human" is so easy to properly portray that a mentally low-functioning eight year old could do it in their sleep.

    The fix is simple. Switch the Androids of YoRHa with the machines (I.E. the machines serve YoRHa and the Androids serve and eventually kill the Aliens), and adjust the story accordingly. Makes FAR MORE sense, less overbearing, and the ending part of the whole final arc makes more sense too. Not only that, but 9S and 2B would also be more imposing of villains than Adam and Eve, who we have a complete disconnect with.

    It is so simplistic to make your point better than the writing direction you gave it, that it baffles me how stupid Yoko Taro is. I mean, if you wish to write the story your way, by all means. Just don't pass off this story as something so intellectually and morally deep when WITH EASE I can just Mad Lib and switch out adjectives and nouns to make it a million times more effective.

    It is so shallow and so transparent to me, that it amazes me that this game has successfully conned its way to not only have common acceptance by the ignorant masses, but also be considered one of the BEST games of 2017. I kid you not, this is a real thing that people delude themselves to be.

    I only covered the entire skeleton of the game. I would prefer not to do play by play honestly, but to be frank there's so many issues with the story, I do not have the time nor character limit to go over it all.    … Expand
  20. Daniel_Campbell
    Mar 9, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I LOVED the first Nier, but I really wasn't a big fan of this one. The environments are drab and the combat feels very one-note. But my biggest gripe is a narrative one. It has an interesting story to tell, but it's undercut by the idea that all the androids have another version of themselves living in their HQ that will activate upon their destruction. What's the point of crying over a fallen comrade if their just going to reawaken in HQ with all of their memories? In this world, death means almost nothing. Why would 2B cry over 9S being destroyed when it means literally nothing is lost? There are no stakes if death means nothing. If that narrative bullet point were not there, it would be a profound and deep story...but it IS there. So, for me at least, it ruins the entire story.… Expand
  21. Grobeu
    Jul 17, 2021
    0
    Played 3 hours and uninstalled it. If you don't like anime, you'll hate nier. All the tired clichés are there. The map is hideous. The combat (80% of the gameplay) is beyond boring, the enemies are badly designed bullet sponges, the story and characters are cringy, childish and ridiculous. Levelling up doesn't change a thing, the weapons are all the same, the combat never changes, andPlayed 3 hours and uninstalled it. If you don't like anime, you'll hate nier. All the tired clichés are there. The map is hideous. The combat (80% of the gameplay) is beyond boring, the enemies are badly designed bullet sponges, the story and characters are cringy, childish and ridiculous. Levelling up doesn't change a thing, the weapons are all the same, the combat never changes, and you'll have to grind through this poorly developed grind fest 6 TIMES before you can get the really ending - if you really care about the run-of-the-mill, boring weeaboo sci fi "story".
    Easily the worst game I played in the last 5 years.    … Expand
  22. overratedhuman
    Dec 30, 2020
    0
    I don't know who designs games these days and what kind of people think, "let's just not let people save the game for the first 2 hours".
    It's baffling, it could have been a great game perhaps, but I'm fed up with this silly details like "you don't save", or "your character dies forever". It's a game, the main point is that there's no serious consequences for failure like in real life. I    I don't know who designs games these days and what kind of people think, "let's just not let people save the game for the first 2 hours".
    It's baffling, it could have been a great game perhaps, but I'm fed up with this silly details like "you don't save", or "your character dies forever". It's a game, the main point is that there's no serious consequences for failure like in real life. I don't want to play the game in easy or normal mode because that's boring, and in hard it's not easy enough for you to pass through on the first run... I've died 3 times an hour and a half into the game and had to repeat the entire thing. All the artistic effort you put on the game is wasted on some silly stubborn decision. This one goes into a special place with Death Stranding of designers I write the name down so I never buy anything created by them ever again.    … Expand
  23. Emilh
    Jan 15, 2023
    0
    Bland and blinding action at too high speeds. The camera is shaky at best and gets locked when you really want to have it free. The music doesn't fix the context with the vocals totally out of place. In "easy" mode the game is no longer a game - it becomes a cringeworthy slow bad movie. It is obviously made with fanservice in mind, so much so that it becomes ridiculous and disgusting.Bland and blinding action at too high speeds. The camera is shaky at best and gets locked when you really want to have it free. The music doesn't fix the context with the vocals totally out of place. In "easy" mode the game is no longer a game - it becomes a cringeworthy slow bad movie. It is obviously made with fanservice in mind, so much so that it becomes ridiculous and disgusting. After x hours into the game I have no feelings at all to any of the characters. Better pick up any other game in the genre.… Expand
  24. Virtue777
    May 20, 2017
    0
    I really didn't enjoy this game as much as I had hoped. They make you backtrack through the same boring lifeless areas over and over and over. And there are several segments of the game that are purposefully frustrating because they're trying to make some weird artistic point. Just watch someone play this on YouTube or read a plot synopsis. The story is good, the rest of the game is garbage.
  25. DMB1985
    Sep 3, 2020
    4
    I really struggled to see why there was so much hype around Nier:Automata. One of the biggest areas of praise I heard about N:A as how powerful and original the story is. Whilst it isn't bad, it doesn't cover anything that hasn't been done in sci-fi media numerous times before and relies on anime clichés to try and deliver an emotional punch. This is made all the worse by the fact that inI really struggled to see why there was so much hype around Nier:Automata. One of the biggest areas of praise I heard about N:A as how powerful and original the story is. Whilst it isn't bad, it doesn't cover anything that hasn't been done in sci-fi media numerous times before and relies on anime clichés to try and deliver an emotional punch. This is made all the worse by the fact that in order to see the full story you need to play the game 3 times. If you can't get into the game on your first play through then you are in for a painful slog trying to see everything, especially as the second playthrough is by far the worse.

    From a gameplay perspective this is really poor. There are some epic moments. The prologue delivers an exciting introduction to the game and there is a great boss battle just past the halfway point of the first route but these moments are few and far between. Combat is so simple that it quickly becomes tedious. As enemies don't block or dodge, the game quickly becomes a case of just mashing square with the occasional dodge required. I didn't expect this to match the depth of combat games such as GoW or DMC but I expected at least a bit of skill to be required rather than just the mindless button masher that this is. RPG elements are also paper thin offering no depth beside

    I could probably forgive the poor combat and lack of depth if the open world was interesting and fun to explore. Unfortunately this is bland and empty with nothing really to see and do bar some really tedious side quests that are no more inventive than fetch quests or killing a bunch of enemies. There is so much backtracking throughout this game both through the main story and side quests that it quickly becomes soul destroying. This is made all the worse by how ugly the open world is, looking like a late PS2 game. I appreciate that this is a low budget game but there are plenty of low budget games that still manage to look like they belong in this generation by using an art style that is appropriate for the budget. This would look so much better if the devs had gone for a cel-shaded style rather than trying to adopt a more realistic approach.

    One thing that N:A does do really well is mesh numerous different game styles together seamlessly. One minute you can be playing a hack and slash game, then an old school space shooter like Galaga and then a Metroidvania style level. But the novelty of this quickly wears off as the general gameplay just doesn't have enough depth to keep things interesting.

    Nier:Automata is really a niche game that is well suited for those who have a deep interest in Japanese anime culture but will feel a chore for most other people.    … Expand
  26. Skip_Rat
    May 4, 2018
    0
    The biggest let down of a game I have played this year. Don't believe the hype surrounding this game, It's a truly awful slog of battles at the start and just not worth it. Graphics are dull and gameplay and controls are beyond frustrating. Total trash.
  27. tony_blackie
    Apr 27, 2020
    0
    Very childish and repetitive. Deleted after 40 minutes of playing (no way to save btw).
    If you're above 14 I don't recommend this.
  28. reb0014
    Jul 30, 2017
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game could have been so amazing but a few things held it back. First off the disjointed storytelling does us no favors, jumping back and forth confusingly.

    Secondly and far more important is how the game won't tell you which quests will end the game (and rendering all open quests as failed) and this will result in people having to replay parts of the game to try and finish quests, or just deal with the knowledge that certain portions of the game have been locked away because you didn't complete them in their stupid arbitrary order that they definitely don't warn you ahead of time about. So if your a completionist like myself it's an exercise in frustration.
    There are 4 main endings (they are more like acts in a play) so that's a bunch of chance to ruin your game and not see cool side quests because you accidentally did the wrong quests in the wrong order.

    Finally and worst of all is the absolutely retarded hacking mini game that was shoe horned into act 2 and 3. They force you to use it by making bosses have retardedly huge health bars. The mechanic of hacking with a terrible old school asteroids style game forces you to play what looks like a 30 year old game instead of something that came out this year. Beautiful graphics don't matter when your forced into a washed out grey landscape filled with stupid space ship arcade like crap, which you absolutely will be to get through one of the areas in the 3rd act. And it's not one or two, but like 20 in a row. It is the worst area in the entire game and honestly ruined the experience for me. Being forced to do that crap multiple times really forced it home how out of place the hacking game is, and how they crammed it into the game to give the illusion of depth. I absolutely loathed the hacking game and it's a testament to how great the rest of the game is that I'm even contemplating finishing this game. But seriously **** whoever did the hacking game, or at least forced you to use it so heavily to get through the dungeon. The concept of the hacking game is actually not horrible however by forcing it to into such a large role was an awful idea.    … Expand
  29. Zenketsu1
    May 31, 2017
    3
    On Route C to the game, I decided that in between me running to my objective I decided I haven't saved in a while and I should probably do that. So I decide to jump down a hole towards a save point. I jumped down this hole dozens of times before to get to this save point. But because of the fetch quest I was doing at the time, something different happened. It triggered one of the game'sOn Route C to the game, I decided that in between me running to my objective I decided I haven't saved in a while and I should probably do that. So I decide to jump down a hole towards a save point. I jumped down this hole dozens of times before to get to this save point. But because of the fetch quest I was doing at the time, something different happened. It triggered one of the game's joke endings with the hilarious punchline of kicking me back to two hours worth of progress. Nier Automata does not respect you or your time. It makes jokes about how much it wastes your time and about how boring the tasks you have to do are, at the same time forcing you to do the same tedious tasks it makes fun of. The story it offers is really solid, but the monotonous garbage you have to go through in between each story beat is insulting. Every quest is a boring fetch quest. Warp to location, run to the objective marker, run back, warp to the quest giver, rinse repeat. The dialogue is always either funny, dark, provoking, or some combination of those and is genuinely great content. It's so much running back and forth with the characters also complaining about how boring the task they've been given is. For a pro tip, this doesn't make your game clever, it makes it pretentious and annoying. Aside from running what you also do is some of the dullest combat in an action game I've played. In terms of complexity, the combat is a tick lower than God of War with 9S being one of the most boring experiences I've had in a AAA game right up there with Bioshock Infinite. There is zero combo potential and only about 4 weapon types that all don't actually change how you approach enemies. Pod customization doesn't really add much either, the only Pod plug in that makes combat more interesting is the zip line type utility. With such a lack of depth, the combat loses its charm extremely quick. You don't learn any new moves, your initial moveset is extremely limited, but the most insulting part is that you don't get better at the combat. There's nothing new to learn. The only "advanced" technique I've been able to find and see people discuss is self destruct cancelling. Which all it does it let you do your standard Square combo faster. A massive disappointment from the company that made the Wonderful 101. And then there's all these smaller, more obnoxious moments like when you have the option to tell an NPC how horrible and useless the map is. The NPC then gives you a smug response saying that you should go explore instead and not rely on the map. Listen, I'm running through this map back and forth for hours accomplishing your side quests. Sometimes, I would like to have some clarity on my objective so that I can run through the same area I've been through 30 times a little bit faster. And when your map is actually useless in areas like the Factory and Forest, it's **** boring to run around the area and guess where the quest marker is. I already explored these areas the first time through. I just want to go through the boring side quest to get the actually decent content. Exploring the same area 50 times for each side quest is not a fun experience and it's not something that you should make fun of you player for complaining about. And I think that small, meaningless interaction summarizes Automata. It expects you to put up with tons of garbage to get to anything meaningful or quality, which is such a shame because the story is great. Although even the story doesn't hold much respect for the player, or at least it feels like it was written by 5 different people. Which is strange considering how focused Taro's other visions are. 2B and 9S' opinion on things is so radically different for each quest it may as well be different characters doing each one. Like when you're in the valley where robots committed suicide, 9S informs me "Don't trust them, they're only machines". This is after hours and hours of content where the characters assume the machines are life, with 9S telling 2B to be nicer to machines of all things in a ton of these. Another thing, at the beginning of Route B, 9S looks on a machine that considers another machine his brother and 9S responds "You can't make him your brother." But in a later side quest, 9S is confused by what a family unit is when talking about the old world. These are only the inconsistencies I can roll off my head after finishing, but playing I recognized a lot more and i couldn't take 2B or 9S seriously until the ending of Routes A and B where they finally became somewhat consistent.… Expand
  30. TheFrog
    Aug 13, 2017
    4
    Boring, uninspired combat, particularly iIrritating when it goes back 30 years in time, forcing you to play an old 2D shooter a la Xevious. Bland and dull when it tackles 3D melee combat, with many different weapons that play essentially the same.
    Incredibly annoying and boring side quests. Go there, talk to someone. Go to another place, talk to someone else. Go to yet another place, find    Boring, uninspired combat, particularly iIrritating when it goes back 30 years in time, forcing you to play an old 2D shooter a la Xevious. Bland and dull when it tackles 3D melee combat, with many different weapons that play essentially the same.
    Incredibly annoying and boring side quests. Go there, talk to someone. Go to another place, talk to someone else. Go to yet another place, find body, quest over. Would be fun if combat were fun.
    Main quest? Storyline revealed after several playthroughs, and it still makes very little sense. Much more attention to classic JRPG dramatic scenes, that usually feel contrived and forced, than to a coherent and believable story.
    The environment is marred by abundant invisible barriers everywhere. Want to climb that cliff? Oof, you bounce into an invisible wall. Want to jump on that trellis structure? Ditto. This is terrible level design, especially considering how SMALL the game world is. Just a handful of small levels you'll need to traverse over and over (and over, and over).
    I see many people loved the soundtrack. Incredible, I wanted to poke a stick into my ears, after several minutes of bleating choruses in the forest area. The rest is at least sufferable, but forgettable.
    I guess this is another videogame you may love if you're into JRPG strangeness, and hate if you are not.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PS4 Game of 2017
6
#6 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
6
#6 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 101 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 101
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 101
  3. Negative: 0 out of 101
  1. Gamers' Temple
    Aug 21, 2018
    95
    NieR Automata: Beyond Gods Edition was a total shock to me with how much I enjoyed it. It takes a very solid experience for me to enjoy an RPG lately and NieR grabbed me quite well from the beginning and kept me entertained throughout. It's the type of game where I want to do everything that I possibly can just to make the experience longer - a type of game I rarely find nowadays. I went into NieR Autamata with no expectations other than the good gameplay that I usually find from Platinum Games, I went away floored with a near perfect action game.
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  2. Power Unlimited
    Oct 19, 2017
    87
    NieR: Automata is not for everybody. In fact, the game looks to be aimed at the most refined fans of the medium by not caring about the regular gaming conventions, in the same way the works of David Lynch are perfect for the hardcore moviegoers.
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  3. games(TM)
    Jun 14, 2017
    80
    Melancholic, wistful and creative at every turn. [Issue#186, p.80]
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