Game Info

NieR: Automata

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　　Yoko Taro, still unknown to many JRPG fans, has expanded the breadth of Japanese storytelling by taking the conventions of modern gaming and unweaving them into the common threads that not just make their respective genres great but also memorable. His latest contribution to the action RPG genre, NieR: Automata, brings together the unexpected with the exceptional combat framework that Platinum Games has made their trademark.

　　Taking the role of YoRHa combat android 2B, players set forth on a mission to help reclaim the human motherland of Earth, some twenty-thousand years in the future. In that stretch of time, machines have taken over the landscape and thrown humans into a destructive spiral that culminated with humans having to take refuge on the Moon and wage small skirmishes in hopes of recovering that land they once called home.

　　NieR: Automata, much like Yoko Taro’s other experiential offerings in the Drakengard series, continuously struggles with an identity crisis. Is it an action RPG? A sidescrolling platformer? What about a fishing simulator or visual novel? There are a number of striking similarities that link NieR: Automata with that of its predecessor, Nier Gestalt (or Replicant, depending on the region/version played).

　　Platinum Games’ signature action is on full display in NieR: Automata. Taking that high-paced action and infusing it into a full-length RPG has been something I’ve wanted from the studio for years, and NieR: Automata certainly hits all of the right marks in terms of style and finesse. Main heroine 2B has access to a pair of load outs with two weapons and assisting Pod that she can swap between mid-combo for a bit more style. The other characters in Automata each have their own unique quirks, with the first such character trading in their secondary weapon slot for a unique ability to hack the enemy, suddenly changing the combat into a brief top-down shooter.

　　What makes NieR: Automata’s combat shine so brilliantly is how flexible the playable androids perform in combat. In addition to the various weapon styles to swap between, each android has their own logic board of Plug-In Chips that can be swapped out (up to a certain memory threshold that can be upgraded at one specific shop on Earth). These Plug-In Chips can typically boost characters’ stats in predictable ways (melee damage and health increases come to mind), but also with a number of elements that can directly change how combat works. It isn’t until the latter half of 2B’s route that players might come across Chips that offer Counter or Overclock which directly can be attributed to abilities in other Platinum Games’ titles, MGR’s Parry and Bayonetta’s Witch Time respectively. NieR: Automata continually surprised me with adding additional layers of depth as 2B’s adventure expanded.

　　Players that have a firm grasp on how Plug-In Chips work in