LogFAQs > #933482715

4. Nier Automata

What do you do when you take Nier's emotional storytelling, mix in some AI existentialism, and add in a dash of 'competently made gameplay', and you get Nier Automata. I'm a huge sucker for stories about AI - especially from the perspective of AI - and I love Yoko Taro's brand of crazy, so this was right up my alley. The story doesn't reach as many emotional heights as Nier 1 does (although Route C matches it in quality, god damn), but that's due to it being of a more introspective nature. I find myself immersed deeply in Nier Automata's world and spent a lot of out-of-game time thinking about it. The music is very good too, and the gameplay retains the unique variety of NIer 1 while removing the jank. This game somehow managed to meet my expectations that were already really high considering the pedigree.

So that's the cliffnotes version of why I like this game, so I'm gonna take a moment to talk about how this game exists. Seriously, what the fuck? Nier 1 was a cult following JRPG with bad reviews and bad sales, doomed to obscurity. When one of my friends texted me that a Nier sequel was being developed by Platinum, I did not believe him. Then this game released, IN THE SAME MONTH AS BREATH OF THE WILD AND HORIZON ZERO DAWN, carved out its own popularity through word of mouth, and has now sold 4 goddamn million copies. What timeline am I in right now?

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.