Nier Automata

[designforlife]

I needed a break from the grind of RDR2 on the weekend, and wanted something a bit deeper to get into than Forza Horizon 4.

I finally caved and bought Nier Automata off the microsoft store.

So glad I did! I had heard lots of good things, but paying £40 for a digital copy always put me off (i like physical discs, and NA never got a physical release on XB1).

Essentially a JRPG from Platinum games, but with a fast fluid real time combat system a la Bayonetta/Devil May Cry.

Surprisingly engaging and unusual story, not loads of political waffle like FFXV, plenty of traditional JRPG elements, but still manages to feel a fresh take on the genre.

Anyone else on here played/playing it? I'm about 10 hours in, and reckon it'll be good for 40-60 hours total.

[Steve Evil]

Yes I played through and got the main endings for it as well as a few of the other ones, pretty enjoyable and the combat was accessible for someone like me who found the likes of Devil May Cry a bit intensive in terms of combos. If I had to describe it in a word it would probably be 'haunting'.

[point]

Got it a few months back but couldn't make it past the first boss even after the 4th attempt. As the first level is quite long and as it's not possible apparently to save progress until the 2nd level I gave up.
I bought that game after reading good reviews and to take a break from Nioh which had got quite hard and I'm a bit frustrated that Nier seems even more difficult to me...

Edited by point on Tuesday 13th November 15:24

[designforlife]

I got caught out by that too on my first run at it...i swapped the difficulty down to easy and it was a cakewalk.

Stuck it back on normal once i got past that boss and the save points opened up.

[point]

Well, I just watched a vid and realise the 1st boss is not just the initial pair of grinders...
WIll try it on easy then, thanks for the tip.

[designforlife]

Well worth it IMO- the game really opens up, combat is a joy, and the story and characters are great.

About 6-7 hours in you unlock fast travel too, which makes getting around a lot less of a sprint-fest.

[point]

I can't believe how the game almost plays itself when set on easy, and yes it opens up nicely past the initial level, which made the game look like it would be some frantic multi scroll shoot them up.
As much as I like the particular atmosphere of the game the fights are a bit crashy and I can't be bothered switching back to manual fight mode so far... I'm about 8 hours in now... you?

Edited by point on Tuesday 20th November 11:39

[designforlife]

about 10-12 hours in, been grinding away on a few side quests, but just got to the forest castle.

The story is opening up a bit too, getting pretty interesting. I love JRPGs and anime so this game is right up my street.

Agreed, combat is basically just a button mashing fest, but finding it quite rewarding now my weapons are levelled a bit.

[point]

I usually like JRPGs too, but sometimes they get a little childish and Nier Automata is right on the limit I would say, though that's probably due to the dramatic tone of the japanese voices... hopefully things will get a bit more tongue in cheek deeper in the story.
For some reason those Yohra characters remind me of Fran in FF XII.

[designforlife]

Slim pickings on the XB1 for JRPGs so i'll take what i can get! probably for the best though as they are a huge time sink, gaming wise.

quick question for the initiated - do you have to do all of the side quests in the first playthrough, or do they remain in place where you left them for the second/third etc?

[designforlife]

Okay, ive stumbled on a few sidequests which seem to be way high level for where you would end up by the end of playthrough 1...ive heard the game leads you to be about level 30 by the end of the first go round.

[J2daG1990]

True Story - I played the whole game without realizing during the hacking parts you could use both thumb sticks to control the little ship thing. I honestly thought you just used the left thumb stick to both aim and move. Wasn't until I looked up a guide for the hard part near the end that I realized. You can also put it on easy mode and during hacking it dodges for you.