After trading fistacuffs with a Transformer, cartwheeling around a bullet-spewing tank controlled by evil clowns, and using a moose to buck my way through killer robots, it’s safe to say that there are very few games – if any – quite like Nier: Automata. At different times it’s a hack-and-slash, an RPG, a shoot-‘em-up, a brawler, and even a text adventure. But no matter which style it is at any given moment, this dazzling hybrid delivers 30-plus hours of fantastically fun action, remarkable locations, and a story so weird I doubt I’ll forget it anytime soon.
Nier: Automata takes place in a desolate but stunning futuristic dystopia where humanity has fled to the moon after an extraterrestrial invasion, leaving behind an army of androids to fight the aliens’ more primitive but prolific machines. It’s a world where lush green tendrils of ivy coil around the massive skeletal remains of crumbling skyscrapers and tears of rust streak down the sides of old factories, with rotund buildings and looming cranes dominating the skyline.
Automata's striking art style and enormous sense of scale are mesmerizing.
Automata’s striking art style and enormous sense of scale are mesmerizing to look at on the PlayStation 4, but especially on the PlayStation 4 Pro. It doesn’t go above 1080p on the Pro, but colors appear fresh and vivid, while better lighting and shading bring the world into sharper focus. I did encounter a few hiccups that knocked the frame rate below 60fps and witnessed a fair share of texture pop-in, but they only pockmarked Automata’s lovely features ever so slightly. That, or I was too enchanted with the soaring, chorus-filled soundtrack to really notice; Automata will definitely be joining its predecessor’s score on my playlist.
The story that takes place amongst the tumbled remains of abandoned superstructures is bizarre and entertaining, if somewhat haphazard. First as an android named 2B and later as other characters experiencing the same events from different perspectives, your job is to fight the alien machines and bring an end to the war. The quirky, full-tilt drama that unfolds as you bounce between Earth and the moon is an intriguing one, touching on existential themes like the meaning of life and humanizing those on the other side of war. It works, for the most part, due to a couple of bonkers plot twist and well-done voice acting that helps sell the more outlandish bits of allegory.
Like its predecessors Nier and Drakengard, Automata does have an unfortunate tendency to wander into uber-convoluted territory, and this is where problems start to arise. Try as I might, I couldn’t always understand what was happening, even after I played through several of Automata’s multiple endings. There are also some emotional moments that struck me as forced. It's as if the game's lead writer Yoko Taro wanted to make me cry and was casting about for ways to make that happen. (To be fair, one event did have me pretty darn misty-eyed.)
I was happy to see familiar faces from the original Nier.
The bigger issue was the disconnect I felt from 2B and her fellow androids. Their personal dramas take too long to unwind, which prevented me from fully investing in their fates. Why should I weep or cheer for them if I’m not given a reason until 20 hours in? With that said, I was happy to see familiar faces from the original Nier pop up to help clarify the connection between it and Automata. Their presence brought about a welcome sense of nostalgia and helped bring closure to Nier: Gestalt's open-ended finale.
I didn’t feel much of a rapport with the heroes, but I definitely enjoyed playing as them. There’s an incredible sense of freedom that comes with effortlessly surfing sand dunes in the desert and shimmying up the concrete remains of office buildings in Automata’s open world. Parkouring plays a big role here, and it’s highly enjoyable thanks to ultra-fluid controls and a very smart camera that effortlessly tracks the action no matter how insane things get. And things get pretty nuts: Automata’s different flavors of combat are a maniacal, supersonic affair, and a total blast to play.
Automata is described as an action RPG, but it’s really an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kind of game. In between hearty chunks of feel-good hack-and-slash, you’ll trade a fireworks display worth of projectiles with flying enemies, hack into robot mainframes, read a text adventure or two, and even brawl with a pair of psychotic twins. This radically changing gameplay makes for a thrilling roller coaster ride, and I mean that literally: in one of the craziest, most beautiful action sequences I’ve ever encountered, you’ll fight atop a moving roller coaster while racing full speed through the dilapidated remains of a sun-kissed boardwalk.
The radically changing gameplay makes for a thrilling roller coaster ride.
The majority of enemy encounters take place on the ground, in sun-dappled pine forests and submerged cityscapes. These seamlessly connected areas offer plenty of space to experiment with Automata’s excellent free-flowing combat, which is where the gameplay shines best and brightest. The system is streamlined into a variety of light and heavy attacks that make it easy to leap, shoot, hack, and slash through giant metal serpents and giant arm-flailing bipeds whose hard knocks can only be avoided through quick thinking and nimble dexterity.
