Please note this is a review-in-progress, and will be updated (Or renewed) once I’ve completed the game!

So, I’ve been having a tinker around with the new Yoko Taro and Platinum game, NieR Automata. A game that I’ve been very excited for ever since I figured out what was all the hype about. It’s a sequel to NieR, a game released in 2010 which is a spin off to the Drakengard series.

Both of these series have garnered a huge cult following. Not knowing much about the series and dying to know I fell down a deep dark hole of wiki articles and YouTube videos to prepare myself for Automata. I now understand fully the appeal of this game and the previous ones as well.

As of this in-progress review I’ve played around 7 hours total, with story missions and sidequests here and there. And I’ve got to say I’m having a wonderful time.

Something I’ve noticed about the previous NieR and even Drakengard is that the hype is all about the incredibly dark story lines and a lot of the hates comes from the less than engaging gameplay, but now that Platinum has taken the reins for the gameplay it gives that wonderfully eccentric man Yoko Taro more time to flesh out the already incredibly deep story of NieR.

Gameplay is an absolute treat, it’s simply character action goodness. You feel as if you have complete control and combat is fluid, hectic and engaging. Automata doesn’t feel like Platinums deepest games mechanically but the attention to detail and the multiple combinations of weapons you can use is always appreciated.

This is a Yoko Taro game so your gonna be in for more than a few surprises when it comes to gameplay. From gameplay turning into a straight up shmup to perspective being completely changed to accommodate a bullet hell type boss fight, you’ll be more than pleased with the variety in gameplay.

The music in this game is phenomenal. Both haunting and ominous as well as calming and beautiful. Along with the music the presentation of the game is outstanding. The open world is absolutely breathtaking at times. A sometimes dull and uninteresting looking color palette is brought to life with incredible lighting.

The story takes place right after NieR and a uh, stage play. The Earth had been invaded by aliens leaving it in ruins. What was left of humanity went to live on the moon for refuge. You play as 2B an android sent to Earth with a partner named 9S to do a simple scouting mission on Earth, but things don’t seem right as you start to begin to meet strange new characters and begin to question the machines that the aliens used to destroy earth and why they’ve been acting so strange. I believe you can go into this without knowing too much but as I go further into the story it seems like you’re gonna need to do a little homework.

The sidequests in the game can be rather dull sometimes, simple stuff like, “Deliver this package to this person” and “ Defeat this amount of enemies.” but some are rather fun with interesting story lines and fun characters.

One little annoyance is that there has been times where the frame rate dipped a couple of times. It happens often enough that I noticed it but hasn’t hurt my experience overall, I’m sure playing on a PS4 Pro will get rid of this issue altogether.

Overall I’m having a blast with NieR, it’s fun, fast-paced and the music is just godly. Its definitely one of my contenders for game of the year.

Stay tuned for a full, more in depth review, coming once I’ve finished all 5 main endings!