Nier...and FAR. Nier: Automata Review

I've finished my first playthrough of Nier:  Automata ("finished" is a bit of a technical term, but I will get to that) and it's time to reflect on my experience.  For a game that I had been extremely hesitant to buy, I had a good time and am impressed by the ability of Platinum Games to make enjoyable games with unique mechanics and gameplay features.  If you're someone who's reading this and has felt on the fence about purchasing Nier, I would recommend giving it a go.

Nier:  Automata follows a pair of androids as they are directed to investigate the behavior of hostile robots that currently occupy the Earth.  As you play through the story, you learn that the aliens attacked the Earth and drove all the humans to space (and eventually to a hidden base on the moon).  Androids, developed by the humans, serve as a sort of protection force for humanity (they seem to be tasked with attempting to drive the robots off the Earth so humans can return--this is a bit unclear though).  The story gets much more complicated as you progress and there are aspects that are particularly foggy (purposefully so).

2B and Pod face off against a boss.

Pros:
+ Combat is fluid and enjoyable.  I was hoping for something much like Bayonetta, but it's not quite that developed.  There are fewer fighting game-esque aspects (like stringing together combos using different abilities), but many of the enjoyable parts of that system are still present--for example, well-timed dodges unleash powerful attacks.  One fun aspect of combat is the fact that players have the ability to use melee attacks or to use ranged attacks (through your floating, robot companion--the Pod).

One of the other fun aspects of combat is that some fights require you to use a "flight unit" which is a bit like being in a fighter jet.  The style is bullet-hell/old-school spaceship shooter and requires dodging, shooting, and timing special attacks at waves of enemies.

+ Boss fights.  In true Platinum style, you will face off against some bonkers bosses.  These bosses are gigantic (or sometimes normal size and very agile) and present tons of challenging mechanics--bullet hell-like projectile attacks that require insane dodging abilities, multiple-phases with changing mechanics, waves of smaller enemies to contend with, etc.  These fights are extremely fun and very satisfactory to complete.

+ Semi-open world design.  There are many large zones spread around the map with different aesthetics.  This allows for a bit of exploration and some environmental changes to keep things fresh.  A ruined city full of empty skyscrapers, an arid desert full of sand dunes, a towering forest...there's a bit of everything.

+ Multiple playthrough mechanic.  One of the most interesting things about Nier is the fact that the story really can't be completed in one playthrough.  Essentially you finish one piece of a larger puzzle when you finish a chunk of the story (it took me about 19 hours to reach the end of my first playthrough).  When you start a new game you play through the story, but through the eyes of a different character.  The main story remains very similar, but there are pieces that are different and reveal more of the story.  In reading about this mechanic, it appears that you need to play through the story four times to fully reveal all its details.  I really like this mechanic because it gives the game a strong replay value.  (And yes, it's like New Game+--you keep your items and continue levelling up).

+ Skill system that allows for customization of playstyle.  Throughout the game you are able to find and loot "chips" which can be used to grant your character different abilities.  Your character has a certain number of chip slots (which can be upgraded to a max of 128) and you can customize them to exactly what you want--there are chips which grant offensive abilities like increasing attack power; defensive chips might reduce the amount of damage you take; support chips can give you special abilities like faster movement speed.  The nice part is that you can upgrade abilities and customize chipsets for certain situations.

+ Great soundtrack.  If you're a fan of Japanese games and their soaring soundtracks, this one is fabulous and will scratch that itch.  Each zone has its own theme and they all sound great.

+ 2B and 9S (the main characters) have a very cool look.  I don't understand the blindfolds at all, but I like the strangeness of their outfits and the whole black and white aesthetic.

+Optional side quests and challenges.  They are sprinkled around the map and provide more tasks to complete.  Some are quite grindy/fetch-y but there are some that do provide a smidgen of story.  The challenges are mostly combat oriented and can be completed at different tiers with varying reward value.

+ Plenty of very cool, stylish weapons to loot, upgrade and experiment with.  Small swords, large swords, spears, and axes.  Each weapon has a set of special abilities and part of the fun is figuring out what works best for you.

Cons:
- Not an ideal PC port.  This is extremely well documented and is the main reason why I waited for over two years to buy it.  There have been problems since the game was released on PC in 2017.  The game was patched one time (which fixed some MAJOR problems) and hasn't been patched since.  There is a lot of anger over this fact (and it's very obvious that the PC port was definitely not a priority) and as a practice, it's particularly galling that a developer would seem to willfully ignore trying to fix glaring problems.

Fortunately, the modding community jumped on these problems and the game is stable if played with a third-party mod (the FAR mod, which is easily accessible through the Steam workshop).  There's a definite moral argument about not supporting a developer who blatantly refuses to fix a dysfunctional port.  I would strongly caution anyone who is thinking about buying Nier to read the reviews and to be very aware of the Steam return policy.  I used FAR and had only one crash.

- Opening sequence.  The opening sequence on your first playthrough of the game serves as a tutorial of sorts.  You get experience with the flight combat controls and navigate a chunk of the story on the ground.  The entire thing can last from 30-45 minutes.  The truly irritating part is that there are absolutely no saves throughout this sequence.  If you die...you have to start over from the beginning.  I would recommend starting the game on the lowest difficulty and then changing to a higher difficulty once you've finished the entire tutorial.

- No tutorial system for other gameplay mechanics.  The only way to learn about certain gameplay mechanics is by talking to certain people who offer advice or information.  There isn't much explanation about the chip system and it takes some trial and error (I accidentally killed myself by removing my OS chip on my first playthrough--I thought the [2] meant I had two rather than that number indicating the number of slots it was taking up--this isn't explained anywhere).  There's quite a bit of just figuring things out on your own or Googling them.

-Some side quests are quite grindy or are very fetch in nature.

-Game is playable with mouse and keyboard, but I would recommend a controller.  If you're dead set on playing with mouse/keyboard there are mods that allow for customizable controls.  The default control mapping can't be changed.  I played with a controller (which I like for fighting games) and it felt great.

Final thoughts:
Nier is a really fun game with the unfortunate record of being a less than ideal port.  I think calling it a "masterpiece" is some very lofty praise (and on the console side of things, I think it is quite good.  On the PC side...I think there are better games out there).  It's definitely worth playing.

UPDATE 5/19/19:  I'm going to add to this as I play through the remaining endings.  I've played through two and they've only managed to make me want to play even more.

UPDATE #2 5/25/19:  I've played through 3 of the 4 main endings and they've each managed to reveal just a sliver more of the story.  Each ending makes you want to start right over and work toward actually revealing the veiled story of the androids and machines in Nier.  As a mechanic, it's interesting.  It makes me think of Dragon Age II and how that game has been traditionally maligned for using a tactic that is somewhat similar (same areas, but the story changes).  It works well in Nier because there are different playable characters/mechanics in some of the stories--this manages to make the gameplay feel new-ish even though you are tromping through the same zones.

UPDATE #3 5/25/19:  It turns out there are only 3 playthroughs and then you unlock a "chapter selection" option that allows you to go back and replay any quests that you missed.  I am a fan of this option and did go back and unlock two more of the endings. 

Recommended for:
+ Fans of Platinum Games.  Nier continues the trend of innovative game design and genuinely fun combat.
+ Gamers who like fighting games and anime-style characters.
+ Gamers who want a weird story and even weirder bosses.

Not Recommended for:
- Hardcore PC moralists.  Yup, the port never was fixed.  Yup, you definitely want a controller and it clearly wasn't designed with PC players in mind.  You should skip it if you're unwilling to accept those facts.
- People playing on toasters.  It's very possible you will have some serious performance issues.  My PC is 5 years old (but I did upgrade the GPU) and I had minimal issues but I am still probably closer to the recommended specs than the minimum specs.  I've read about some issues with lower-end PCs.