Nier: Automata (PS4/PC)

[Executor]

The relatively abrupt ending of the first playthrough (Ending A) caught me really off guard. It came after roughly 22 hours of gameplay, and initially left me a bit saddened, confused and disappointed, because from watching the original game trailers I expected much more than what was revealed during that playthrough.

The ending itself (the cinematics, not the boss fight), however, was very nice, surprisingly intimate and anti-climactic (in a good way).

Spoiler

Advice: do not give up on this game if you feel somewhat same as me after the Ending A. While it seems like a lot has been left on the table, you will soon find out that nothing could have been further from truth.

The second playthrough, with 9S as the lead character, is not nearly as tedious as I feared it to be. I immediately realized two important things: you still get to play alongside 2B most of the time, and some key aspects of gameplay are so markedly different that there is almost no chance the game will get boring as you advance deeper into the story.

Spoiler

One thing I did not like about second playthrough is that you start with all the XP, items, materials and weapons from the first playthrough. That is at least confusing, if not downright immersion breaking, given that you are playing basically the same story over again, but at the same time it spares you a lot of time fishing for materials, exploring the map or upgrading weapons. (I got the Ending B in about 10 hours.)

Good thing about second playthrough is that it allowed me to replay some of the side quests I either did not attempt during the first one, or was cut off from at certain point in the story. I made sure I finished them this time around.

The Ending B caught me off guard just as same if not more as Ending A, because they both appear to look exactly the same, but then the game will really blow your head off once you get to the end of the closing credits. Trust me, wait it out. It's goddamn worth it.

[Executor]

Don't want to turn this into another LPGA Tour thread but I feel like this game definitely deserves one last summary before I move on... or not.

Having reached Endings A, B and G at the beginning of the year, I have now returned to Nier after nine months to get remaining "main" endings, and promptly got one of the "surprise" endings (P), losing all my 2.5 hours worth of progress in the process because I did not make a single save.

On one hand I was pissed off because I hate wasting time (even when playing gems such as this), on the other it allowed me to actually get back into the story and lore and all that, because at first it felt definitely weird being back after such a long time.

So one day later I again loaded up from the previous B ending and went through what turned out to be probably the best playthrough of them all. The twists and turns of the story, the surprises and revelations... All the sadness, betrayal, rage, hate, compassion, sacrifice... At the end of the playthrough, I went with my guts (and heart) and made a choice...

Spoiler

A2 over 9S

...which led me to Ending C.

The playthrough did nothing but confirm the game's firm standing in my personal Top 3 of all time, and I was dying to continue through at least another two playthroughs to get endings D and E.

However, it turns out that no more playthroughs are available, and all you have to do to get the other two main endings is to make some alternate choices during the final boss battle.

Also, after that third playthrough all chapters of the game are unlocked for immediate play, also showing you how your progress went as you progressed through your game. I was shocked to learn I actually completed (quests) or unlocked (items, weapons) less then half of the game's content, including vital lore / story information.

At first, I felt like the game failed to lead me to many of the quests and to many of the hidden but vital lore items / documents, but I was also mad at myself to not really give myself enough time, moving through the game a little too quickly at times.

After a day or two of feeling quite miserable, I have returned to get Endings D and E, while also browsing a little bit of internet for bits of information I missed in my own game. This allowed me to get comfortable with how I played the game all that time and where it have lead me to (I consider Ending C to be my official ending, with the total play time just north of 48 hours).

I am also pretty certain that I will do a NG+ somewhere in the future, to not only reward myself with pleasure of playing this masterpiece of a game again, but also to find as much stuff I missed first time as possible. I am hell bent on one day getting the prequel, Nier Replicant, and finishing Replicant might feel like a right time to do the NG+ run of Automata.

Can't wait.

FREAKING. AMAZING. GAME.

[peter42O]

Currently playing Replicant. It's good but nowhere near Automata in my opinion. Of course, it is a remaster of a 2010 PS3/360 game so it makes sense that Automata is better.

[NoleFan]

Just bought this on Switch. I like the gameplay but when I die in the opening and have to start over, it’s shutdown down and onto something else until my next
Attempt. Lol

[Executor]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoleFan

Just bought this on Switch. I like the gameplay but when I die in the opening and have to start over, it’s shutdown down and onto something else until my next Attempt. Lol

Go with the easy difficulty and you do not have to worry about dying all that much.

The story alone is why this game's worth a million bucks.

Odoslané z moto x4 pomocou Tapatalku

[NoleFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Executor

Go with the easy difficulty and you do not have to worry about dying all that much. The story alone is why this game's worth a million bucks. Odoslané z moto x4 pomocou Tapatalku

Funny, that's exactly what I read. I only died at the end on the bridge. Playing on Normal was pretty straight forward the whole way until I got there. LOL