Review: Nier: Automata
Never change Yoko Taro, never change.
The camera in Mass Effect: Andromeda is sometimes a little weird in cutscenes, zooming in too close to see anything, or looking in another direction entirely. Nier: Automata, on the other hand has one of the best, most intelligent and intelligently used cameras we’ve ever seen in a game. A single move from the camera lets the player know what is coming next and prepare for that eventuality, not necessarily by showing the player what is coming, but simply by changing angle. Much like the original Nier, Automata is a deeply strange and melancholy mash of genres roughly placed under the umbrella of JRPG. While it definitely fits that mould, Nier: Automata is so much more. It’s something that could only exist in videogame form, and even then, it's something so idiosyncratic that it could only come from Japan. It’s the story of androids fighting robots on a future Earth. It’s the question of what it really means to be human. It’s a story of betrayal and redemption, hope, evolution and endless cycles of despair. It’s a third-person action game, a side-scrolling action platformer and a twin-stick shooter. It’s bullet hell meets gothic Lolita in the post-post apocalypse.
All in all it’s a hell of a thing.
[...]
Verdict:
Sometimes frustrating but always compelling, Nier: Automata is a wondrous and strange experience that could only ever be a game.
Score: 9/10
