Nier : Automata Review

Nier: Automata is truly a gem, it is one of the best game in PS4. This game is an action RPG developed by PlatinumGames, published by Square Enix, and directed by Yoko Taro. It was released for Playstation 4, PC, and Xbox One. Nier: Automata takes place in the ruined Earth, long after the event in Nier. The human race has fled to the moon after the invasion by aliens. The aliens created machine lifeforms to dominate Earth and to win back their home planet, humanity created an army of androids to fight back the machine lifeforms and their creators. Don’t worry though, since Nier : Automata’s story is pretty much stands alone you can enjoy this game to the fullest even if you never played the previous game.

Nier Automata allows the player to experience the game in 3 different perspective and has a devastating 26 endings (5 main endings and the rest are alternative, silly endings). At first you will play as 2B, a member of  elite android forces on her mission to search and defeat a goliath class machine. Of course as a soldier you will be given a mission after mission and the story will progress in line with that. Aside from the main missions, there are also quite a lot of sidequests you can do. Overall, I think the story is good with a lot of twist and dark atmosphere. Just be prepared for the unexpected turn of events.

The battle system is to my liking, it is packed with actions, fast-paced with a lot of acrobatic moves. The way it’s presented is very elegant and satisfying. You can choose a wide range of weapons from sword to fist and as an android you can install plug-in chips to enhanced your capability (speed up, attack up, auto heal, etc). You are also always accompanied by pod, the pod provides you with a long-ranged attack and various kind of support program. As I mentioned before, you can play this game as 3 different characters, each characters has their own specialty in combat. As 2B you will experienced an action packed combat since she is a battle type android, the second playthrough allows you to hack into enemy system and make them self-destruct or take control of their body, the third one is similar to 2B but with the ability to go into Berserk mode.

You will feel a sense of freedom when playing this game. The environment is vast with so many explorable areas, you can jumping around the remains of buildings and trees and surfing the sand in the desert. And more than that, this game also give you an option to do something outside what is supposed to be, try it and you may get one of the endings.

The world map in Nier: Automata is horrible and difficult to make sense with though. Mini map is much more useful. But fortunately, it is very easy to remember your way around, especially if you are working on the sidequest since it requires you to backtrack quite a lot. Also, the story can be a little difficult to follow since it is very complex. If you want to understand it fully, make sure to read every archive you find.

Well, my screenshot may not clear enough but if you look around the internet and watch the playthrough video in HD you will know that the graphic is mesmerizing, combined with one of the best soundtrack ever. I often found myself letting my character stopped moving and just enjoy the music.

And finally the conclusion. Nier: Automata is the game worth playing. You won’t be disappointed by it. Beautiful graphics, beautiful soundtrack, a lot of mysteries to unravel, and an outstanding battle system. It is really make me addicted to this game.