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I had strong, emotional reactions to multiple parts of this game. Let me put what little credibility I may have on the line by issuing a declarative statement: NieR: Automata is the most important video game I have ever played - a masterpiece. This is the part where I should be gushing about NieR’s story, and its characters but frankly, I’d be doing a disservice by simply running down a list of why I feel it is great. I was never pushed away from the game because of any of these issues. Truth be told, when contrasted against all of the amazing parts of N:A, these criticisms barely detract from my overall feelings on the game. I also ended up having difficulties due to the lack of autosave on a few occasions (though, to be fair, that is more on me than the game). I was also not in love with the format of a number of sidequests (a few too many fetch quests for my liking).
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For example, the performance/framerate on my OG PS4 was often middling (sometimes downright bad, if there is lots of vegetation). There are several things that I felt mixed about. All of these positives being said, I’m not going to say N:A is perfect. I feel that this game would not be half of the experience that it turned out to be were it not for such a spectacular soundtrack. They are emotional, and they perfectly convey what director Yoko Taro is conveying with his story. (If you want to dive deeper into how this works, look up ‘layered soundtracks’) Not only are each of these pieces of music unique, strong as standalone music, and stylistically diverse they each carry weight. There are over 40 pieces of original music, each of which has alternate versions depending on the scenario you’re engaged with.
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MONACA studio, as well as Keiichi Okabe knocked it twenty times beyond the park with their music. Often you’ll find games that try to do something drastically different from its main style of play crash and burn because of it (think The Walking Dead season 1’s shooting sequences), but one of N:A’s strengths is that all of these systems work together to create a cohesive, engaging experience. Overall, the game’s willingness to change itself time and time again is one of the reasons I like it so much.
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There are sections which split into 2D platforming, top-down bullet hells, and a hacking minigame which ends up proving both difficult and a little frustrating down the line. Gameplay doesn’t just take place in the typical 3D character action game mold, however. There are far too many plugins to list here, but there are so many that - no matter your playstyle - you’ll find a combination which sits well with you. How about a sensor that reveals the location of all the hidden items onto your minimap? It has that too. Want more critical hits? There’s a plugin for that. Want a more active heal? Then you can get lifesteal stats. You can add healing chips, so that you heal a percentage of your health back over time.
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You have a massive selection of upgradeable weapons, and can upgrade those pods of yours too! Another interesting mechanic is the “chip” system, wherein you can upgrade your character’s hidden stats. Your character is adorned with a light attack, heavy attack, and a “pod” - your little robot buddy who can fire missiles/shoot bullets/pew-pew lasers at enemies, as well as provide other special moves. The combat system is simple, but fun, and engaging. Please, let me share with you just some of the reasons why NieR: Automata has taken its place as my favourite all-time game. There is no question in my mind that NieR: Automata is not only the weirdest, but also the most fantastic. We have games like Persona 5, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Night in the Woods, PUBG, among many more - and we're only halfway through the year! I think the most noteworthy trend among these great games which has stolen my heart has been the resurgence of fantastic, weird Japanese developers. Back in 2016, I continually caught myself saying “games haven’t had a year this strong for a very, very long time.” I’m thankful to be eating Back in 2016, I continually caught myself saying “games haven’t had a year this strong for a very, very long time.” I’m thankful to be eating these words a bit, because so far, 2017 has provided us with an even greater bounty of amazing experiences - some of which I now consider among my all-time favourites.
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