So, with this post it’ll be two in one day, after almost two weeks of silence. Well, not like I have people hanging on my every word, and it’s better to write when I have something worth saying.

Anyways, to the subject in question. Nier Automata is a sort of sequel to the Nier games for the Xbox 360 and PS3, which itself is a spinoff from the Drakengard series.

The game follows the androids 2B and 9S, as they conduct some missions in the ruins of a city on Earth.

So, here’s the thing. This is a great game, very fun to play, but what really got me hooked was the combination of the story, the music, the art, just… Nier Automata doesn’t feel so much a video game as a work of art which happens to be a video game.

The story twists and turns and keeps you hooked, pulling you in and making you want to dig for more and more answers.

The music, while initially kind of odd, starts to grow on you after a while. Slowly it creeps into your mind, and just starts to… fit.

The art, of my god the art, is absolutely gorgeous. The ruins of the city, the vast, seemingly endless desert, the dilapidated amusement park and the ruins of an age gone past in the forest. It feels amazing, makes you want to explore, or sometimes just sort of…sit, and just enjoy the view.

Then there’s things like the menu. 2B is a robot, and as such, you upgrade her by plugging in chips. UI elements like health bars, damage points and even save points have chips which take up slots. Heck, even your operating system has a chip, and yes, it can be removed. It adds an extra layer of immersion, by being sort of self aware, and making that into a game element.

The voice acting is just so good. There’s this scene where 2B is crying, and the voice cracks, just for a moment, like she’s trying to hold herself together.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have its flaws. I found parts of the game rather cumbersome or annoying, (some, not all, of the aerial combat portions come to mind) and the story leaves a lot of loose ends, and a lot of unanswered questions.

However, despite those flaws, this game still shines, and a little personal bonus for me is that it’s by Platinum Games, a company whose games I absolutely love. (It’s produced the classic Bayonetta, as well as the underrated Vanquish (both of which we recently released on PC for the first time!))

But hey, that’s just my experience.