NieR: Automata — 2B Decided

It’s been over two years since NieR: Automata released, and I’m still in disbelief about how the title was green lit for development. The first NieR (my review here) was far from the best seller in Square Enix’s software library, though it became a cult hit after several months on the market. It was ostensibly inscrutable and thus hard to advertise, and was harshly ridiculed before and shortly after its release thanks to being a lower-budget effort from a publisher known for releasing AAA games. The original game’s developer, Cavia, was also shuttered when it was subsumed into AQ Interactive. All these details highlight how incredible it is that this game exists at all, especially when it was developed by PlatinumGames.

Yet, it was here when I started getting concerned about its quality, despite how it was well-received from critics and a vocal portion of the gaming audience. It was always clear that the core gameplay would be quality given the developer involved and the budget they were assigned. But there was a chance that it wouldn’t be quite as impactful as the original game thanks to its story premise, and many who enjoyed this game may not have played the original. (Square Enix hasn’t helped here, as the previous title was only released physically for last-generation platforms and has yet to be rereleased.)

Automata takes place thousands upon thousands of years after the original, to focus on a battle the YoRHa androids are waging against the machines which have settled on Earth, while some among the latter didn’t do so peacefully. The game focuses on the perspectives of 2B and 9S, two among several androids sent by the Bunker base that hovers above Earth by the Commander to battle the machines directly. They join the numbers of pre-YoRHa “Resistance” androids who’ve been battling the machines for years to lend them assistance. This game is directed by Yoko Taro, who worked on two of the Drakengard games and the previous NieR title, all of which are canonical predecessors to this game. They have one key aspect in common: Not everything is as it seems, and the synopsis I provided is incredibly and deliberately vague.

The story itself isn’t quite as impactful compared to its predecessors, because it’s easier to get an audience to relate to issues characters go through when their struggles are relatable. This game’s androids do have human-like struggles, but they’re nothing on par with a father (or brother in the Japanese version) fighting to find a cure for his daughter (sister in the Japanese version) like in the previous game. But don’t take this to say its story isn’t remarkable, as its character development is still above several other games from Square Enix and other publishers.

Taro’s touch is immediately apparent at the game’s start, with a gutsy decision that would be forbidden by most developers and publishers. A large chunk of Automata’s gameplay involves the characters fighting the machines in direct combat, yet it begins with a shoot ‘em up section involving 2B, who encounters enemies during the descent to Earth with several other YoRHa androids. Most of the game is not like this, and it doesn’t take too long before 2B gets to fight them directly. The even larger kicker is how there’s no option to save the game during the intro level, nor are there any checkpoints, so dying will take you back to the title screen.

I didn’t have an issue with it thanks to remembering the demo and being fully aware of how PG’s games tend to control, but I can see how it was frustrating to some players early on considering there’s a boss at the end with damaging attacks. It’s also the kind of ballsy move I respect.

In fact, the game is stuffed with unique gameplay segments like this, which solidifies it as a Taro game and distinguishes it from other PG titles. Automata’s shoot ‘em up sections are far more polished than its predecessors, and the development team was very willing to show this off by having twice as many. They’re a lot of fun, but they feel excessive by the end of the game. It also doesn’t hesitate to switch the view for exploration and combat, to either an overhead or 2D perspective. This takes adjusting given how far the camera zooms out during these segments, but it’s evident the team made sure the game controlled well regardless of the view.

Given the change in developer from the now-defunct Cavia to PlatinumGames, it would have been a surprise if Automata wasn’t slick and polished compared to the previous game. The combat contains a few hallmarks from PGs other titles, and the animations are reminiscent of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance’s. But dodging attacks has a bit more in common with Bayonetta, where doing so at the last minute will allow a character to counterattack or take advantage of a lapse in the enemy’s defenses. The combat isn’t as deep as PGs action games, but that’s compensated through the number of options, including offensive and defensive customization through chips and leveling up stats, since this is an action RPG. It gets a little too easy later, and the right chipset can make the player nearly invulnerable, but fighting enemies is still fun.

Automata also retains the Taro hallmark of having multiple endings, though this game contains a unique way of getting them all. It’s easy enough to determine which ending you can get on which path, but it sometimes requires replaying the same parts with a slightly different twist before new content opens up, which gets monotonous with some slower areas. This can be rough when fast travelling doesn’t open up for hours after starting the game, and the map isn’t easy to follow. Like the last game, this thankfully doesn’t require replaying the side quests, some of which feel as arbitrarily assembled as those from its processor, and almost all of them end on a depressing note. Basically, I had nothing to worry about with this game retaining Taro’s touch despite PG handling development duties.

Automata has several flaws, but it mimics the last game in being a title whose plot twists and character motivations leave a lasting impression. It also counters that by having gameplay that’s far more polished, especially in combat. The game is more than the sum of its parts.

The soundtrack is another standout aspect of Automata, similar to the first NieR title and Taro’s previous game, Drakengard 3. Keiichi Okabe returns as the lead composer, joined by Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi, Kakeru Ishihama, all of whom are members of Okabe’s music unit MoNACA. Several tracks alternate between vocalized versions and instrumental iterations depending on the area and point in the game, and there isn’t a bad track to be found. I’m having trouble concluding whether this game’s soundtrack is better than the last game’s, but it’s at least on par.

It also continues the trend of having great English voice acting and a similarly great localization, thanks to the work of 8-4. There isn’t a bad voice here, with actors like Kira Buckland as 2B (who was different from the energetic characters she usually played at the time) and the then-new Kyle McCarley as 9S turning in exemplary performances. Even the minor voices are good. The only issue is how the lip movements clearly don’t match the voices for the English version.

NieR: Automata will stick in my head for a while, thanks to its take on story, character, and world development being unique outside titles directed by Yoko Taro. That’s despite not being quite as effective as its predecessor with some of those elements. Given how successful this game was, it shouldn’t take long to find out what Taro and his team have in store next.