Nier: Automata (PS4)
Posted: March 13th, 2017, 9:05 pm
If nothing else, this will go down in history as the SECOND best game to come out in March 2017.
Jokes aside, this is an interesting title from Platinum Games that is typically classified as an action RPG, but in reality is a mashup of several different genres, most conspicuously games like Ninja Gaiden (the modern trilogy, not the NES one) and Platinum's own Bayonetta. I'm surprised how much buzz it's been getting considering it's a sequel to a game that really only became a cult classic some years after its release.
I'm only a few hours in and like it so far, but I've read that you have to get more than one ending (of which there are several) to fully experience what the game has to offer. One thing that bugs me is how cluttered and chaotic the combat can feel on occasion. Virtually every button on the controller has an important purpose, and it can be tricky to remember which button does what during life-or-death situations. Additionally, I had to make a custom scheme to get more comfortable with the controls, and even after that I'm STILL having some trouble getting used to everything. To its credit, however, custom control schemes seem to be a rarity in this day and age, and it's commendable that it's even an option here.
This game is primarily a brawler, but there are also shoot-em-up segments, which are arguably better executed, and from what I've heard there may be even more kinds of unexpected gameplay changes a la Battletoads. The game also sometimes switches perspectives from three dimensions to two and a half, which reminds me of some of the recent Sonic games of all things.
Nier Automata is certainly unconventional and I've heard (I realize I'm going on hearsay a lot, but bear with me) that it gets better the further you progress. I can't wait to see what else it throws at me. And to its credit, it's managed to distract me from a certain other game that begins with "L" and ends with "egend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."
Jokes aside, this is an interesting title from Platinum Games that is typically classified as an action RPG, but in reality is a mashup of several different genres, most conspicuously games like Ninja Gaiden (the modern trilogy, not the NES one) and Platinum's own Bayonetta. I'm surprised how much buzz it's been getting considering it's a sequel to a game that really only became a cult classic some years after its release.
I'm only a few hours in and like it so far, but I've read that you have to get more than one ending (of which there are several) to fully experience what the game has to offer. One thing that bugs me is how cluttered and chaotic the combat can feel on occasion. Virtually every button on the controller has an important purpose, and it can be tricky to remember which button does what during life-or-death situations. Additionally, I had to make a custom scheme to get more comfortable with the controls, and even after that I'm STILL having some trouble getting used to everything. To its credit, however, custom control schemes seem to be a rarity in this day and age, and it's commendable that it's even an option here.
This game is primarily a brawler, but there are also shoot-em-up segments, which are arguably better executed, and from what I've heard there may be even more kinds of unexpected gameplay changes a la Battletoads. The game also sometimes switches perspectives from three dimensions to two and a half, which reminds me of some of the recent Sonic games of all things.
Nier Automata is certainly unconventional and I've heard (I realize I'm going on hearsay a lot, but bear with me) that it gets better the further you progress. I can't wait to see what else it throws at me. And to its credit, it's managed to distract me from a certain other game that begins with "L" and ends with "egend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."