Nier: Automa is a action RPG game that was released in 2017 as a sequel to another game titled Nier. The game was created by popular developer Square Enix and was hugely popular in Japan at the time of release. In America, the game also was met with good reception but mixed reviews across the board. I honestly took a long time to play this game because reviews said how hard the game play was which turned me off a little bit. Somehow I finally got around to playing this game way latter on.
Two androids are commanded under a a group called Project Yorha; who were created after the human race was forced to live on the moon when the earth was overrun with machines. It's Yorha's mission to fight for mankind by destroying every machine that threatens earth. GLORY TO MANKIND!!!!!
Let's go back to what I said about the gameplay of Nier: Automata being difficult. There's certain aspects of the game that might throw players for a loop. One major example was how the game gives the player no manual for how the game mechanics work. You're just thrown into this game and told to press a few buttons. Other than that, Automata gives you no clues on all the vast features that are available. Players are then forced the face a hard starter boss at the beginning of the game. You will honestly have the play this battle a couple of times to get the hang of what to do to win. I wish that this game would have given a bit more warnings of how abilities work. Abilities are give in the form of chips that you have to stack together for your character to use in battle. All the combat is in real time for a fun fast experience. Weapons are found as you explore, plus they can be upgraded at a camp in the game. I ran into about two boss fights throughout the whole game that made me want to rip the hair out of my head. Even just put down the game for good because all hope seemed lost. Latter on I would beat the boss after switching up my skill chips. Nier isn't always being on a high level, game play is also about making sure you are ready equipment wise. You have a little robot friend for a reason…. USE HIM TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITIES. Some parts of the game pair you with a partner like other games. It makes battles feel better but doesn't really change the difficulty. The air battles in the spaceships are a love hate relationship for me. I enjoyed some of the battles while other take a long time to complete. Not to mention the idea of skill chips applies to these kinds of battles as well however, the game doesn't tell you this. You have to figure it out on your own and until you do, you will probably die a lot of times. If you die any other time, you lose all of the chips you had so you have to backtrack to where you died to touch your android corpse. I wish the game wouldn't let you learn the hard way. I guess there's a charm in a game being created like this. Some smart ass somewhere is probably bragging about how easy the game was or games need to be challenging to be fun. Please miss me with your one sided views. I want a equally balanced difficulty in a game. Not too hard, not too easy if it can be. Nier: Automata can be really hard at some points in the game, then really fun when you get a firm grasp on the gameplay.
The world of Nier: Automata is promoted like it is this big vast place that you will get to transverse during gameplay. When players first see the ruined earth, everything does look very vast but as you play the game you learn that this is a different story. Players go to enough places to call it a full game, just don't expect a huge adventure since it won't happen. Everything about the world actually felt closed in to me. Not to mention you have to play the game more than once to get all the endings so you have to see the same places several times. Should even discuss how you fight different bosses that look like the same boss toward the end of the game? I was disappointed…. I'm not going to lie. Only saving grace is that you see things through different character's eyes. The graphics look good none the less…. Like every other Square Enix game.
Automata's story is an overall sad one. In fact, I would call the plot a beauty in sadness. Especially when you realize that nothing is what it seems. Each character grows on you as you realize that something is off. You just don't know what and the secret is a very upsetting one. 9S is the character that has the most personality and sucks as a playable character. 2B is the starting character that you play as the most until….. you don't. I won't spoil the game but there's a lo of faces of the story to cover. Pretty much to the point that the game doesn't cover everything neatly….
One would guess that's where the novels come in. I'm going to be honest. Long Story Short summarizes the game in a short formate during each chapter while Short Story Long expands on parts of the story the game didn't quite cover but hinted at during game play. If you want to revisit the story in a novel format, then take Long Story Short for what it is. The only new content in this novel is the new perspectives of the character's Adam and Eve which it was nice to learn more about their characters. Short Story long goes deep into the backstory of the character's that the game only hints at. I felt more connected to the characters after reading this second novel. A ton of information is given about the original story in general. You will realize why the characters act the way that they do after readying Short Story Long. I recommend playing the game before reading either one of this novels. The game will set you in the right frame of mind when reading the novels.
Nier: Automata's gameplay and story are an A+ in my book. Yes, the game has some problems with difficulty and recycling some boss designs but the effect this game's story has on you will linger on after you beat the game. You will want to learn more about Nier's world through the novels too.
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