NieR: Automata – Game of the YoRHa Edition

Had no idea what I was getting into with this one. Why didn’t I read Eric Layman’s March/2017 review of NieR: Automata, where he broke down the game and laid it all out? Eric’s well-written GRE-like review of the game brought more questions than answers for me, which was only stoked by its inclusion in our Holiday Gift Guide 2018 video segment, where he tried to sneak in a 2017 game into GOTY contention. Knowing nothing about it made me incredibly baffled on what made this game so good.

I mean, it was just another RPG, right?

Yeah…NO. No, it isn’t.

The NieR: Automata: Game of the YoRHa Edition was laid down in front of us on February 21st from our Square Enix rep, and I found myself instantly drawn to it. If you’ve never had the chance to play it, go into it with no expectations, as it will not provide you with any due to its multifaceted genre crossovers. That is the most amazing part of this game, as you truly don’t know what to expect from scene-to-scene. And it’s not so much amazing that you get a variety of different genres clashing together in a single game, rather it’s amazing that the gameplay design caters to such a genre shift-to-shift.

You start the game in classic arcade shooter style, where you’re introduced to your main character, 2B (unit 2, type B), an android that is built on defending mankind from an evil race of relentless alien machines, and who is flying a ship with other androids around her. The game gives you the impression that it’s going to be smooth sailing with this type of genre leading the way. You spend about 5-10 minutes shooting up flying robots that are coming at you in proper flying/shooter sequence, nothing unusual from a typical shooter experience. Once that finishes, though, the story then shifts from shooter to action/adventure/hack-slash. The shift makes sense, you’re put on and off rails with a sword-wielding 2B, and put up against gobs and gobs of enemy robots in hopes of supporting fellow android, 9S.

It should be noted that when this moment happens that the controls shift just slightly, you gain a small robot/laser companion, and you go from top-down shooter to 3D environment. Instead of moving a ship, you’re controlling 2B. Your laser buttons on the shooter are switched over to light/heavy attacks with a sword. Your laser/robot acts as an additional weapon that you can continually shoot while you’re hacking/slashing with a sword. Think about that insanity, it’s pretty dope.

All of it makes sense within the narrative design built for the game, which drives the action, as well as the genre switch. It’s an absolute thing of beauty. The shift from 3D to 2D-on-rails is also present during this moment. It reminded me a lot of Bionic Commando from back in the day, you run through a 2D world fighting your way through waves of enemies. Then it shifts again to a giant boss fight, where you go from 3D fighter to 2D shooter, mixed with just a bit of 3D.

It all freaking works, and much like George Miller’s center-framing technique that he signs every one of his movies with, it never gets tiring on the eye because of the design. On top of all this genre-mixing, constant action gameplay, the narrative lies thickly on top of it, like you would find mounds of icing on a buttercream cake. The story is a perfect fit and a driving reason why you want to keep pushing forward in the title. You feel for these androids, you want to use their vicious talents, and you want to complete missions to progress their goal of freeing mankind. Because all of the above works so well, it makes the story work so well, which compliments the genre shift and helps make sense of it all.

BUT. THAT’S. NOT. ALL.

The game’s first act ends only to reveal the next act, and the next genre — open world. So, let’s recap:

– Shooter
– 3D action
– 2D action
– Open World

One game.

Of course, if you’re PlatinumGames and you’ve gone this far with NieR: Automata, then you might just want to take it one step further by adding an underlying RPG component to it all. You can upgrade your characters, your weapons, your gear, and you can even craft to an extent. It’s not a complicated RPG structure, nothing like you would find in a Skyrim or Fallout adventure, but it’s complicated enough to identify as an RPG component. It will give you more reason to pursue and push further into the story. It will give you motivation to revisit places, collect material, and indirectly make the world in NieR: Automata much larger than it might be.

I now understand why Eric was so high-up on this game. I get it now why people consider this gameplay Frankenstein a well-designed beast that deserves all the high praise it receives. It’s quite the game, quite the adventure, and it’s nothing close to straightforward on its intentions. It’s everything you would want for a gameplay feast, with a bit more dessert on the side waiting for your tamed appetite to dig into. And I didn’t even include the endings.

I’ll leave that up to you to unravel and enjoy.

Overall, I’m shocked with the scope, the size, and the feel to a game that is now two years old (as of March 7th). It is still very much a unique title that offers up about everything you ever dreamed in one single experience. The fact that you’ll want to replay it speaks volumes about what is in store for you. There aren’t a lot of games that make you want to revisit them so quickly, but NieR: Automata is definitely one of them.

Now, for those of you who have not experienced the game yet, you’re probably going to want to take a look at the Game of the YoRHa Edition. It includes the following:

– NieR: Automata 3C3C1D119440927
– Grimoire Weiss Pod
– Cardboard Pod Skin
– amazarashi Head
– Retro Grey Pod Skin
– Machine Mask Accessory
– Play System Pod Skin
– Retro Red Pod Skin
– NieR: Automata GOTY Theme (this is fun because it freaks out my kids with small screen imperfections)

It’s a damn good spread for the asking price of $39.99. Definitely worth the look, if you don’t own the content or the game.