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. OriginalGinyu
    Sep 2, 2023
    7
    Pretty unique in a lot of ways, but definitely super overrated!!!! The open world isnt exciting at all and it has a lot of annoying game design choices (for example the save system).
  2. Sigarda
    Aug 24, 2023
    7
    A good game, but VERY overrated. While polished and enjoyable, has many flaws. Huge lack of enemy variety, too few bosses, combat is clean but gets repetitive, the story is predictable if you are not under 14yo, and I couldn't care for any of the main characters. A good game overall and better than most of modern games, but as I said, really overrated.
  3. YakusokuNoJi
    Jul 20, 2023
    7
    Spoilers ahead.

    An Age where the Children of Mankind and Extraterrestrials are the next Generation: A.I. vs A.I. When Nier Automata was announced I could not have possibly been more happy. Nier Gestalt is my second favourite game of all time. The setting, the main character, the story - I always wanted a sequel. And it is finally here. I am also a great of the ficitional theme of    Spoilers ahead.

    An Age where the Children of Mankind and Extraterrestrials are the next Generation:

    A.I. vs A.I.
    When Nier Automata was announced I could not have possibly been more happy. Nier Gestalt is my second favourite game of all time. The setting, the main character, the story - I always wanted a sequel. And it is finally here. I am also a great of the ficitional theme of A.I.s, so not the ones that we as computer scientists make that do not live but the A.I.s that are actually already alive from developing a consciousness.
    And Nier Automata takes exactly this theme. Drakengard already introduced A.I.s as it already consisted of Androids. Nier Automata takes it to the next level. It puts you into the role of the Androids, this time fighting machines that were brought from outer space. And as we think of it from out ordinary A.I.s, the Androids think of the machines as mere machines without consciousness and emotion. No person, no A.I. Of course this brings some twists with it within the story as Androids obviously are not the only artificial lifeforms that achieved psychological living. At the same time, while appropriate to the Drakengard series it brings several tragic questions with it concerning your side and that of the others. Granted, it is not as good for me as the first one. But I did not expect that anyway. I knew from the very beginning that it would not be the case because Nier Gestalt, so the Western Nier has a father-child story and talks about what you would do for your most precious while giving you the original you were cloned from as antagonist who of course feels exactly like you and at the same time shows that with both sides to be pities people still do not have the right to de-value other lifeforms like clones for example just because they were not born naturally or intended.
    The story of Nier Automata still brings its own nice side of life and valueing and all with it and the post-apocalyptic setting together with its incredible music, character design and a wonderful combat system from platinum games does the rest.
    Con:
    Unfortunately, though I love it as part of the Nier timeline, I cannot just normally enjoy Nier 2 as I did the first one. The decision of making this RPG more action-oriented heavily influenced the overall design of the game. I prefer a more simplistic style like in the first Nier where I can just sit back and enjoy instead of getting constantly frustrated. Example: Nier Automata tells you it has no auto-saves. Well, that is not 100% accurate. Still, while there are some automatic moments where you get set back in case of losing you might find yourself in trouble. In some situations you just cannot save manually and Nier 2 consists of those Gundam air battles. One of them was very long and I ran out of Potions. It should not be a thing that even on Normal difficulty you are stuck in a battle forever because you are allowed to make only very few mistakes. This is the most apparent checkpoint complaint I have but there were a few more moments. Another thing is the hacking: Hacking is a little minigame feature in the game that you just have to go through even when doing the regular storyline. The problem is, this minigame consists of just moving your analogue stick and shooting. You cannot evade anything other than by moving away, you cannot heal, you cannot really do anything in a problematic situation. The mingame consists basically of the thought of "Learn the pattern for the harder ones" but that is easier said than done often. You are allowed a few mistakes but sometimes even when already knowing what to expect the maneuvering alone might lead you to the need area where the enemy units that you want to destroy with the hacking shoot at you. There are several hacking instances which are very easy and then some where I think they should just ot have been there because whenever something needs simply too long then it should be re-considered. Hard Modes exist for a reason but why doing such frustrating things on lower difficulties - it just is an obstacle so you cannot fully enjoy and that is something I really think of as a real pity for a sequel of Nier.
    Finally, the last thing I think that was very risky: The narrative style. Drakengard is always known for a very unusual narrative style both theme-wise as well as how the story is put together. The thing is: In Drakengard you might be used to the story being presented after a few playthroughs but in Nier 1 it was more like you had to go through the same storyline, then go through it again and again with just a few additions ad endings. Here you have the first two endings in the middle of the story, get more to know during run 2 and after run 2 you actually continue with what happens after those endings, so unlock the rest of the game you could say. I am fine with it but I am not sure how many people who are not used to this actually have the nerve to do 2+ runs. Still: I love Nier and recommend it.    … Expand
  4. JoseManuel10_
    Jun 24, 2023
    5
    +The combat is fun
    +The soundtrack is great
    -Too long with too many endings
    -The map is awkward with ugly environments
    -Invisible walls
    -Same type of enemies
    -Some parts are annoying and tedious
  5. edxtan
    Jun 19, 2023
    6
    Both the story and gameplay of NieR:Automata™ repeatedly change your perspective, but the gameplay is boring and the more ambitious choices feel inconvenient and pretentious.
  6. Elite_Soldier
    Feb 3, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Route A Review
    -Enemies are generic and boring
    - Combat is repetitive, just spam square essentially
    - 2b and 9s have no personality. 2b developed by showing her emotions but it's feels really shallow
    - The characters contradict themselves all the time between side quests and main quest cutscenes. One second she's supportive of non-combative machines and in other moments she doesn't give a toss
    - Her caring for 9s felt forced, they had like no chemistry (you find out why in future routes but it still was poorly done)
    - Voice acting in this game is amateur
    - Villains had no personality, they were just bad for the sake of it (In future routes you see why, but it still wasn't organically fleshed out)
    - Map and UI is clunky
    - Side quests were BORING
    - By the end of route A, it felt like I played a stupid anime kid's game

    The one good thing about this route was the music.
    5/10, the most average game ever. It tried to be deep, but it wasn't.

    Route B Review
    -Very repetitive as it's the same story, but with some interesting bits.
    -The delivery for some big story beats fell flat, like the info on humans. 6/10

    Route C, D, and E Review
    - Thought the story would be a mind f like people say, but it was straightforward, kinda boring actually.
    - Sometimes the game impresses you with certain sequences but it's always short-lived.
    - Last 10 mins of C and D and E were good. 7/10

    The game is a 6/10 overall. It was poorly directed and executed. It was tedious, and the gameplay dragged; cut scenes featured poor voice acting(English DUB) and stiff animations. It felt like the writer was lazy by making the lore boring and meaningless. Keep in mind that I don't particularly like Eva. If you want to play Japanese games with better stories and gameplay, you should play Shadow of the Colossus and Gravity Rush. Though the story of Gravity Rush was a little disappointing, it had much better gameplay and much more interesting characters. And SOTC is a classic, highly recommend.     … Expand
  7. GuiBio
    Dec 31, 2022
    5
    Got a little desapointed about this game, it tryed so hard to be emotional and stuff, but didn't work for me.
  8. Crimson9
    Dec 25, 2022
    7
    Games are rarely philosophical like this. And even more rarely do they successfully deal with these themes and tie them into an interesting story. That's what Nier does better than any other game. Its a decent example of games as an artform, although I'd argue that it falls short of other examples such as Dark Souls and Shadow of the Colossus.

    Other than that, I loved the music, and    Games are rarely philosophical like this. And even more rarely do they successfully deal with these themes and tie them into an interesting story. That's what Nier does better than any other game. Its a decent example of games as an artform, although I'd argue that it falls short of other examples such as Dark Souls and Shadow of the Colossus.

    Other than that, I loved the music, and enjoyed the variety of different gameplay.

    But overall, despite the variation of different gameplay, it overstays its welcome and becomes really dull. Level design and the main type of combat are pretty uninspired. Its very tedious.

    1 point off for the oversexualization of the main characters too. Its just JRPG cringe.    … Expand
  9. ZangBang
    Oct 30, 2022
    5
    54/100
    Automata aims to explore the human condition through inhuman characters, tackling themes of identity and existentialism, but it fails at it, completely lacking the nuance to do it in a compelling way, with heavy-handed dialogue and simplistic, basic characters. Even with such flawed writing, the plot itself manages to surprise and entertain thanks to a great art direction, coupled    54/100
    Automata aims to explore the human condition through inhuman characters, tackling themes of identity and existentialism, but it fails at it, completely lacking the nuance to do it in a compelling way, with heavy-handed dialogue and simplistic, basic characters. Even with such flawed writing, the plot itself manages to surprise and entertain thanks to a great art direction, coupled with a beautifully melancholic soundtrack and a couple of captivating segments that take full advantage of videogames' systems and interactivity as an artistic medium to enhance the player's involvement in the narrative, even more than its predecessor did. Also like the original Nier, Automata frequently shifts its camera perspective, going from third-person to top-down, from side-scroller to isometric, giving each area a distinct exploration flare with varied battle scenarios. This framing variety accompanies combat's multifaceted structure, since the captivating blend of Action RPG and Bullet-Hell is also back. The combat system is greatly entertaining thanks to a nice weapon variety and fluid combos, while the Bullet-Hell element is now even more relevant but greatly suffers from severely repetitive battle scenarios. Physical combat has a similiar problem due to a shortage of meaningful variables unlocked throughout the experience and an extremely poor enemy variety, but the game partially makes up for it with great boss fights and a pleasantly extensive equipment system allowing players to strategically organize inventory space to add various active and passive abilities, suiting different playstyles and customizing progression.    … Expand
  10. Jofe
    May 15, 2022
    5
    "Dodge the balls: The Game". Bad gameplay, uninteresting characters and boring writing. It's fun the first two hours, not more.
  11. RCAVHS
    Mar 20, 2022
    5
    Add this to the list of games I put down after 10 hours or so. I really wanted to like the game but it never gave me anything to want to keep playing it. Fetch quests are okay if the open world is filled with things to encounter on the way. This world was not. One thing I've noticed in games that I stop playing is they have items laid out around the world as simple glowing orbs (seeAdd this to the list of games I put down after 10 hours or so. I really wanted to like the game but it never gave me anything to want to keep playing it. Fetch quests are okay if the open world is filled with things to encounter on the way. This world was not. One thing I've noticed in games that I stop playing is they have items laid out around the world as simple glowing orbs (see Xenoblade Chronicles). Please just put them in a treasure chest or some sort of box (see FF7R). Or maybe make them a part of the environment (see BOTW).

    But hey the music was amazing.    … Expand
  12. AdrikD
    Dec 5, 2021
    5
    I don't understand why do people like this game so much. Long, not interesting fights, terrible graphics
  13. DJKrimson
    Sep 15, 2021
    6
    This game has it's good and negative side. It has amazing music, good graphics and okay gameplay. There are some really annyoing flaws though:

    *Like the manual saving that made me redo 30 minutes gameplay for being instakilled by a boss:s first attack (after the hacking tower with 9s). * The 9s playthrough is pretty much exactly the same as 2b:s. * The fact that 2b ans 9s being so    This game has it's good and negative side. It has amazing music, good graphics and okay gameplay. There are some really annyoing flaws though:

    *Like the manual saving that made me redo 30 minutes gameplay for being instakilled by a boss:s first attack (after the hacking tower with 9s).
    * The 9s playthrough is pretty much exactly the same as 2b:s.
    * The fact that 2b ans 9s being so affectionate towards eachother makes no sense, they have known eachother for like no time at all and aren't even supposed to being able to develop feelings.
    * Combat is classic japanese like, it takes ages to kill some of the monster and you'll have to bulk up with a million pots.    … Expand
  14. Yotanabe
    Sep 8, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Probably One of the best games i ever played in the playsation!!
    - Story Wise? It's a masterpiece
    - Gameplay? lot of weapons, different Kinds of fighting style, fun combat movements
    - Voice acting? English and Japanese Dub did they very job to make this game wonderful, they managed to Relay the feelings of the androids even if its hard because they supposed to not have any feelings.
    - Music? Nier have the best ost out of all the games i played, Really hits you right into the heart and feelings
    - Design? superb, Well not going to lie most of people came for 2B's Cultured Android Parts but i know very well that we all stayed for the story
    - Characters? everyone of them got their own Characters and behavior, i may find 9S little bit unreasonable at the end but i find it really beautiful.. the brothers adam and eve, they both really have a wonderful relationship, mostly eve being a little spoiled brother.. Machines like Pascal Really well made, it's a little bit sad that everything that he tried to protect gone and at the end he chose to forget it since he said that it pains him in his heart (even if he is a machine), A2 your typical Tsundere type but really fun to play and watch with, she may not straight with her feelings but when she do, you know it's something special.. 2B although 2b's original mission was regarding to all the YoRHa units, she still forced herself composed with her emotion, it's indeed a curse of cycle of life and death. The Twins Devola and Popola, Same as Adam and eve, The Twins really made the story much more interesting, also them dying together rather than being alone is little bit sad but beautiful reason.


    overall this game has been one of the greatest choice i ever made in my life, with the ability to do the things at the end of Ending E (which is deleting data just to help the other players stucked) i found it very beautiful, to me deleting all the data i had (more than 50 hrs) even if i picked yes out of curiosity, in the end when i found out that it really got deleted, it was the best choice i did not because i hated it but because it's the best way to end a journey!! Thank you very much yoko taro for making this game and as for the other nier games i highly recommend you all to play it!!    … Expand
  15. Denis94
    Sep 7, 2021
    7
    Es un título que hace cosas de 10 y otras que no llegan al 5 me explico: la banda sonora es una autentica maravilla y quizás sea lo más destacable del juego, la jugabilidad se nota fresca y rápida, no tiene muchos combos pero si variedad de armas para dar profundidad al combate, gráficamente está bastante descuidado excepto los modelos de algunos personajes que lucen bastante bien, elEs un título que hace cosas de 10 y otras que no llegan al 5 me explico: la banda sonora es una autentica maravilla y quizás sea lo más destacable del juego, la jugabilidad se nota fresca y rápida, no tiene muchos combos pero si variedad de armas para dar profundidad al combate, gráficamente está bastante descuidado excepto los modelos de algunos personajes que lucen bastante bien, el mapeado de mundo abierto es un auténtico solar en ocasiones caminarás y correrás sin apenas encontrarte nada y la historia sin ser una revolución se puede decir que cumple, en definitiva un juego que podría ser un 10 pero se queda en un 7 por esos aspectos poco pulidos.… Expand
  16. vvv123
    Sep 3, 2021
    5
    I loved the visuals and soundtrack, but the story is lackluster and the enemies are all too similar. I think the first route should be enticing enough for me to play the other routes, but as it wasn't I don't think I'll come back to it. Imo, there are many other RPG/JRPG to get into that have a better story.
  17. MarleyW
    May 16, 2021
    6
    Only did first play through started 2a and have to say this game is extremely overrated. It has no real story on the first play through and first personally wasn’t good enough to warrant a 2nd play through as a less fun character.
  18. karmic_devil
    May 2, 2021
    7
    Nier Automata is a beautiful game with a beautiful score in a fascinating world that falls short of greatness by quickly becoming repetitive. In the beginning of the game as you figure out the combat and learn about the world it does a great job of capturing your interest but as it goes on the battles all feel the same and the questing devolves into simply heading to the illuminated pointNier Automata is a beautiful game with a beautiful score in a fascinating world that falls short of greatness by quickly becoming repetitive. In the beginning of the game as you figure out the combat and learn about the world it does a great job of capturing your interest but as it goes on the battles all feel the same and the questing devolves into simply heading to the illuminated point on the map - and worse sometimes the spot on the map is so vague that you can be right next to it and then spend 30 minutes wandering around to figure out how to actually get TO it.

    This game isn't terrible. On the contrary it's quite good. But at some point in your play the frustrating is likely to outweigh the fun. And that's a shame.    … Expand
  19. scorp332211
    Mar 23, 2021
    5
    The game starts out pretty exciting. There’s various means of fighting and even vehicles. But once it gets past the Factory it gets pretty slow and kinda boring. There are tedious fetch quests that are just not interesting. Sometimes it’s hard to know what you’re supposed to do next. I thought this would be non-stop action like Bayonetta- but it’s not. Not sure why it got such glowingThe game starts out pretty exciting. There’s various means of fighting and even vehicles. But once it gets past the Factory it gets pretty slow and kinda boring. There are tedious fetch quests that are just not interesting. Sometimes it’s hard to know what you’re supposed to do next. I thought this would be non-stop action like Bayonetta- but it’s not. Not sure why it got such glowing reviews. At about 4 hours in I was ready to quit. I cannot recommend this game.… Expand
  20. JettFueled
    Jan 14, 2021
    5
    This game has nice character design, decent combat, but that's about it. The chip upgrade menu is absolutely terrible, the world isn't one that feels worth saving, the music puts me to sleep, the bosses suck, the side missions are boring and weird, it just feels like I'm going through some sort of contemporary art museum instead of enjoying a bright and inspiring video game. EverythingThis game has nice character design, decent combat, but that's about it. The chip upgrade menu is absolutely terrible, the world isn't one that feels worth saving, the music puts me to sleep, the bosses suck, the side missions are boring and weird, it just feels like I'm going through some sort of contemporary art museum instead of enjoying a bright and inspiring video game. Everything about the world is painfully bleak. God, I just, really REALLY hate the map. People have told me you have to get through the first playthrough before the game gets good. I'm sorry, no. If you have to play a game for 8 hours before things come together, and it hasn't grabbed me in that time, then it is NOT a good video game. Why not START with the good part, and keep that consistent for the whole game?… Expand
  21. Skyyfall
    Dec 3, 2020
    7
    For 2017 year this game not bad. Very bad graphic and open world looks like empty. I think this game needed remake!
  22. Neodamus
    Oct 28, 2020
    5
    This action shooter relies heavily on its quirky setting (an earth which humans left to flee from aliens who created androids to battle humans and now are gone themselves but androids and a few humans are left), its weird battle system (hack 'n slay against thousands of purple bubbles in either third person slasher or 2d side scrolling spaceship mode) and its annoying fan service. TwoThis action shooter relies heavily on its quirky setting (an earth which humans left to flee from aliens who created androids to battle humans and now are gone themselves but androids and a few humans are left), its weird battle system (hack 'n slay against thousands of purple bubbles in either third person slasher or 2d side scrolling spaceship mode) and its annoying fan service. Two androids are on a scout mission on earth and do repetitive and boring side missions for humans while discovering a twist that makes your eyes roll and forces you to several replays of the campaign until you try the bitter-lame final ending and true conclusion.… Expand
  23. DKR
    Oct 22, 2020
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (wip) It hurts me to give NA this score. There is so much here that is so good! Rarely does a game NAIL it's atmosphere like NA does. Chrono Trigger, Kirby Super Star, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, FF7-8, there are some games that make such an immersive atmosphere that stands out above others. The gothic, anime style, the dark story, the giant-robot battles, the delicious waifus (rock on, Japan!), the slick sword play, the numerous, engaging side quests, and HOLY JEEBUS THE REPLAYABILITY, so why the low score?

    NA follows a sexy android known as 2B. 2B is a combat android that can swing swords that gravitate to her back like a sheathe, fly jets, super agile, and assisted by a little floating robot with an SMG, while sporting her standard-issue micro skirt and white thong. Tagging along is 9S, a young male android that's smitten with her. He's a hacker and scout.

    It all starts with 2B entering her mission via jet. The "machines" - more robust, less intelligent, and collective-zealous robots - are building something big, and she's off to save the day in an over the top clash with a giant robot. It's standard and ho-hum....but things eerily change as the machines grow more sentient, and start asking questions about their existence, form religions, and even try to procreate. Even the fellow androids 2B works with start behaving like adolescent teenagers. Things quickly spiral as you realize the game has no villain. You're slaughtering waves of confused innocents, as the game keeps reminding you NOT to feel bad for any of them. They're all just robots, right?

    This story telling is by far the most powerful aspect of NA. It does story-telling techniques of visual metaphors that has long since been lost in writing in recent times i.e. both the heroes wear blindfolds; signifying their ignorance to truth or purpose in a cruel world, or how NPC's are named after famous philosophers and behave similar to them. The story is wrapped in philosophical questions about god, religion, existence, war, meaning of life, meaning of suffering, and so on. It's a story like the books of old - Orwell's 1984, for example - where the events stayed with you; loomed in your mind and challenged what you believe in. It even inspired many youtubers to cut into NA's meaning, and they were very entertaining to watch! NA also has about 20 different endings, most of them 10s long jokes, but the final ending, and seeing it all come together had me crying a little.....but...

    The gameplay is where NA falls flat. It's a mediocre hack-n-slash that has 2 maps: a beige, city ruins, and a desert. They're about as exciting as they sound. What really kills it is enemy variety. I think I fought 3 enemies the entire game, outside of bosses. It gets really, really tedious, but what keeps you in it is the looming eeriness of the characters around you changing, along with that weird, anime s*** that ppl love, like if you play online and die, you have to leave a message of your death to other players based on presets. You'll make things like "A desperate android.....thought they heard an old friend....at a familiar place".

    Equally as good as the story is the majestic soundtrack. If I had any power to do so, I would put it somewhere in a list of "Top 50 video game soundtracks of all time". Some of these tracks will stay with me for the rest of my life, like:

    Vague Hope (featuring a beautiful, fictitious language called Chaos)
    City Ruins
    Wretched Machinery
    Treasured Memories
    Weight of the World (English)
    Grandma Destruction (ironic name, epic track)

    NA's OST captures a wide range of sounds from tragic, to nostalgia, to epic battle, to grim and soothing.

    What I commend NA the most for is taking such creative risks with the plot. I suppose I can only speak for myself when I say: I'm sick of every video game having # stories: ex-military's wife/daughter are killed/kidnapped, and now he's out for revenge, WW2, a little boy runs an errand and comes back to a burning village, WW2, a tyrant is taking over the world but stands no chance against the marine that can take a tank shell to the face but as long as he hides behind sheet metal and holds his breath for 10s, he'll be fine, WW2, the princess was kidnapped, WW2, OMG ZOMBIES, WW2. COME. ON. RISKS, like after you beat it once, you play it again but as 9S, and the game is slightly different with some plot insights, then a 3rd time through as the assassin droid A2 where the plot REALLY goes nuts.

    So do I recommend? Not really. You can get anything you want out of this game by watching a youtube playthrough, though I still highly recommend supporting NA in any way you can.

    Conclusion: NA is a captivating experience and a meal for the intellectual mind with lovely waifus to top it off. Epic story, but there isn't much gameplay, which is feeding a trend of playable movies instead of video games.

    "I came for the thighs, and stayed for the cries." -Anonymous    … Expand
  24. TheRavS
    Oct 10, 2020
    6
    Nier: Automata has broken my heart not in the way the game intends.

    Yoko Taro's game is a beautiful action rpg with great visual design and gorgeous music. In addition to that, the way the game plays with its UI is very pleasant and ultimately adds to the overall experience. However, those are the only qualities of the game I can praise. I really wanted to like this game; perhaps    Nier: Automata has broken my heart not in the way the game intends.

    Yoko Taro's game is a beautiful action rpg with great visual design and gorgeous music. In addition to that, the way the game plays with its UI is very pleasant and ultimately adds to the overall experience. However, those are the only qualities of the game I can praise.
    I really wanted to like this game; perhaps because of the general praise I had heard since 2017 or because it comes partly from Platinum games, but I simply couldn't ignore the blaring issues this game has and that make it, in my opinion, something very far from a masterpiece.

    First I want to talk about the combat, to which there is some slight depth with abilities (or chips) and the weapons you can use. However, though some work has been put in it, its depth is completely unnecessary, as one can simply level up the character and upgrade their main, original weapon and melt the enemies either way without any need to switch weapons, despite how much the game wants and makes it available to you. Therefore, as an action game, Nier: Automata falls in the painfully lower end of the spectrum, as the bare mechanics obsolete themselves into button spamming. This is surprising, as the game seems to rely on combat a lot to drive you towards 90% of the objectives and story, but it feels like no one sat to play-test the game and figured that in the 50h of gameplay it would get very old or that the dissonant difficulty in some parts (mainly bosses) was a red alarm indicating there is a problem with this unnecessary core mechanic.

    As an rpg, the game isn't anything special either. You have abilities that are mostly passive abilities to aid you in combat and which can easily break it, such as having passive regen or recovering 30% of your health each time you kill an enemy (of which there are too many to excuse the existence of this ability). There are a few actual abilities, such as pod programs (super moves with cool-downs) or being able to taunt, but they're scarce and overall they don't rock the combat as they could or should.
    Objects, whether materials for upgrading gear or consumables, become more of a chore than an actual nice system towards the overall experience you're given. This, added to the very "Go there, kill that"; "Go there, pick up that"; and "Go there, protect that" with a side of cheap morals/philosophy type of side-quests makes it very hard to actually care about the world you're playing in or to explore it and discourages you from really engaging with the NPCs. This is when the section you're in has been filled, as another issue is that most of the world is far too small and empty to usher the sandbox-ish map, that ultimately also becomes a nuisance rather than adding to anything.

    Given this is a story-heavy game, it makes a very poor job at keeping you engaged with both its plot and characters, as the latter are incredibly 2 dimensional and barely have any depth. Their interactions appear to create some depth, but neither the characters' minds or the themes the game "explores" have anything beyond surface level exposition, which is really heartbreaking. As for the plot, while it could work in some other medium, an interactive videogame is most certainly not the way this story should be told: the storyline is an incredibly bland and uncharacteristic one that pretends to have something to say but ultimately doesn't and tries to hide that through meaningless interactions, eye-candy like androids 2B or A2 and the illusion that you, the player, have some agency, such as with its "gag" endings in this light novel with combat.
    Also, having to repeat 5 hours of unnecessary gameplay just because, when what is added there could have been implemented in the first play-through, makes me think the writers didn't know how to structure a story.

    Conclusion: though Nier: Automata deserves a 10/10 in the visual and musical department, its gameplay, characters and plot completely crash down, mainly because this universe and story should be explored in a novel, not in a videogame. Because of this, it seems Taro's game wants to be a game by adding action rpg elements, but it completely misses the mark or whatever it tried to achieve, completely wrecking the story that could have been told or the entertainment it could have provided.

    The visuals and music made me give it a 6, but were they not there, this game would be a 3.5 out of 10.    … Expand
  25. AlvaroK95
    Sep 10, 2020
    6
    La jugabilidad no está mal pero se hace repetitiva por la falta de progreso real en la variedad de posibilidades que puede ejecutar el jugador y por la repetitividad de las zonas, la historia está muy bien pero no llega a emocionar tanto como parece en un inicio, los gráficos son reguleros y la banda sonora es excelente.
  26. tjhillman
    Sep 6, 2020
    5
    Unfortunately, no matter how layered and philosophical the games “endings” are, the game fails to capture any sort of emotional attachment to the characters and themes due to its poor gameplay, voice acting (including voiceless lines), and graphics. An overall tedious, grossly overrated experience.
  27. Kanon-mg0
    Aug 18, 2020
    5
    Cada video juego tiene algo que atrapa a las personas! Yo ame cada momento de este juego
  28. Subject98
    Jul 16, 2020
    5
    To me the praise Nier Automata gets is like someone saying 'This toaster is a **** masterpiece. You put bread in the slot, push the lever down, then 3 minutes later it pops back out! See how ground breaking and innovative it is?'

    N:A doesn't do much of anything that hasn't been done already, and it doesn't do any of it justice. The world is really small, kinda ugly to look at and    To me the praise Nier Automata gets is like someone saying 'This toaster is a **** masterpiece. You put bread in the slot, push the lever down, then 3 minutes later it pops back out! See how ground breaking and innovative it is?'

    N:A doesn't do much of anything that hasn't been done already, and it doesn't do any of it justice. The world is really small, kinda ugly to look at and overall not gratifying or rewarding to explore. Graphics aren't everything but most environments don't even look good artistically. RPG elements are really tame, almost non existent despite the game being advertised as an RPG. Sidequests are mostly fetch quests, NPCs are mostly lifeless, just standing around staring blankly ahead like action figures.

    The story can be entertaining but whether or not you still care by the time you get to the good stuff will depend on how many times you can stand being forced to retread the same bland locations, since the full story is locked behind NG+.

    The combat functions fine but even that is screwed to a degree because your only options for difficulty are play on autopilot, or die in 2 hits and go back to your last manual save, which feels totally out of place in a game like this and ends up making it even more tedious than the easier mode.

    It's a serviceable enough hack n slash if you're just looking for something to turn your brain off and slice up enemies, just beware of the hype surrounding this one.... It's just a freaking toaster!    … Expand
  29. DinoBeam
    Jul 11, 2020
    5
    In the beginning of the second play-through [where you play as a different character with different moves and some new story elements] I picked up a quest I had done in play-through one. Go kill these machines in this red circle on the map and bring back the parts. Just like the first time, I killed them all and got 3/4 parts. Looking it up online I had found out that the only way toIn the beginning of the second play-through [where you play as a different character with different moves and some new story elements] I picked up a quest I had done in play-through one. Go kill these machines in this red circle on the map and bring back the parts. Just like the first time, I killed them all and got 3/4 parts. Looking it up online I had found out that the only way to complete this quest is to quit and reload the game and do that quest yet again. It was at this point, I realized this game has no respect for me alot of the time.

    At first this game's aesthetic and unique chip upgrade system. had me thinking this might be one of my favorite rpgs. But you've heard the hype, lets get down to brass tacks the mainstream reviewers blatantly ignored.

    -Grossly poorly designed and super cringily cheesy shirtless anime boys turn out to be the villains, and ruin the games entire aesthetic and believability

    -There are no level indicators for missions which makes for tons of frustration and backtracking and wasted time

    -seeing enemies level up when I do to stay the same level as me just feels like cheap plastic

    -There is absolutely no warning that you are about to progress the story to a point of no return and loose all those unfinished quests you've already completed 75% of.

    -I did a side quest that took me all around the map and it gave me a key to a mysterious elevator. Found the elevator and it wouldn't open, had to look it up online, turns out because I didn't have a character with me for the rest of the game due to story reasons, I could no longer go down that elevator. No story reason for it, just a blatant big ol' slap in the face.

    -A quest where you hunt down defectors just straight up broke

    -Make sure you save in the middle of big sequences because just because you think it would autosave after a big fight while the action is still building, it may not

    -Plot starts strong and inspiring, then gets generic, predictable, and juvenile

    -I was told i was given a chip and could take it off, spent a long time looking for it. Turns out that chip doesn't actually exist, unlike every other chip in the game, such as the chip that is your life, which you can remove to kill yourself.

    -Finding stuff the world is an annoying chore, had to keep looking up a guide to find how to get places.

    -there is even a part where you get in a giant cannon and have to shoot a giant epic enemy, and they don't even let you aim. might as well have been a quicktime event

    This game is verrry overhyped, and i really hope they come out with a sequel that is much much better, because there is some cool stuff in this game.

    [Update]

    -upon watching the rest of the story on youtube, it is over drawn out despair porn, do not play this game if you want to be happy    … Expand
  30. xboxlikewater
    Sep 6, 2019
    6
    Probably Platinum's worst major game, particularly gameplay-wise. It has very simple, watered down Bayonetta combat with poor RPG aspects implemented into the game. Infinite dodging, an empty world, awful hacking segments, having to play through the game multiple times, a generic story, poor enemy variety. The music and ending are great but the rest is subpar and a real disappointment.Probably Platinum's worst major game, particularly gameplay-wise. It has very simple, watered down Bayonetta combat with poor RPG aspects implemented into the game. Infinite dodging, an empty world, awful hacking segments, having to play through the game multiple times, a generic story, poor enemy variety. The music and ending are great but the rest is subpar and a real disappointment. For me, Astral Chain does everything this game does better barring character writing and is a real step up for director Taura. Automata is a decent game, especially if you're a casual generally not into Platinum's typical action games, but if you're more into weaving complex combos and getting highscores such as in Bayo or DMC this game might be a bit disappointing.… 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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