NieR Automata - [Q]
NieR Automata - [Q]
I invested a significant amount this month and shouldn't purchase anything just to avoid wasting money. I'm still working on completing Witcher 3, currently playing Blood and Wine DLC, Rise of the Tombraider, and several other titles, though none are as crucial. I'm considering buying NieR Automata. It seems interesting, but there are some concerns. It's priced at €42 on Steam right now, which is quite high for a single game. Here are my main points:
1. How long does it take to play?
2. Story quality – Good, Great, Excellent?
3. Gameplay experience – Good, Great, Excellent?
4. Will I want to play again? Yes/No based on overall?
5. FPS requirement – Locked in? Does unlocking it affect performance? No spoilers.
It varies by individual, but I think it’s great. Make sure your TV is in gaming mode; we played it on a PS4 Pro. It depends on each person—maybe my wife could enjoy it too.
1. Ignoring optional content takes about 20-30 hours; otherwise it's over 50.
2. Very good overall.
3. Very good.
4. Provides solid replay value.
5. FPS lock exists but can be removed with a major mod (check details). Some reports suggest it may cause issues.
In the video they noted the game needed a fix for proper resolution (2560x1440). The adjustment to Borderless mode caused problems, but there might be another solution for true FullScreen. EDIT: this appears to resolve the issue according to a modder on Reddit.
I spent about 80 hours in it, but that was with a lot of optional content. I think at this point I'm only missing two endings (of the 26) which would require a lot of extra work that I just haven't bothered to go back to yet. The story is weird and unconventional, but there's a lot of extremely clever and enjoyable writing in it. It's emotional at times, and funny and self-aware in others. I was never bored. Just be aware there's a lot of 'anime stuff' in it (not just character designs but interactions and melodrama), which I found kinda charming but it may turn others off. Gameplay is utterly excellent. The combat system is awesome. Platinum has had their misses but this is not one of them. Combat is probably the best part of the game. If you've ever played Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance or Bayonetta and liked them, you need to play this too. Replayability is a complicated one. The first time you play the game, you'll get through Ending A in about 20 hours and it will look like the story has concluded. When you try New Game+, you'll realize the game has made some really big and interesting changes, but you're playing through the same story. The third New Game is a completely new story taking place after A and B. But basically it's all a long, linear story with a lot to do in it… but I don't know if that's "replayability" per se. I can imagine replaying it just for more combat, though. https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Nier:_Automata FPS is capped to 60. The cap can be removed with the FAR mod, but I'm reading that it causes some physics issues. I didn't try it. The port is not so bad that I would tell you to avoid it. I'd recommend using the FAR mod just to fix the fullscreen resolution issue, and I used ReShade because I found the color palette a bit flat.
It's a really poor version of an amazing title, yet it's still preferable to playing on PS4. It's one of the most entertaining games I've ever experienced. I'm puzzled about the claim that it takes only 50-80 hours. At 26 hours in, I don't think I'm near finishing even a simple ending.
I played for around an hour and a half. I began with Hard difficulty and after my big loss of eight deaths at the start, I lowered the setting to Normal. I’m really hooked now—love the music and wish I could keep going but I have to rest since work starts in four hours. Played on Steam Controller. A far mod-fix really helps.
Man, I didn’t realize how great the music was. It really improves. Yoko Taro, the game’s creator, is super funny. Folks kept complaining about explicit content from 2B fans, so he asked everyone to share fresh material weekly so he could collect it all. Now there’s a Weekly 2B's Butt Twitter account packed with that kind of stuff. https://twitter.com/2b_butt