Current Events > Nier: Automata is on Game Pass; what's it like?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've heard good things about this game, but I don't feel like I have a clear grasp on what exactly it is. Is it like A Dark Soulsy action game, or an open world thing, or like a Zelda?

Help me

It's real good, that's what it's like.

it's an Action RPG with pretty rad hack n slash combat. the story is told in a unique way that requires you to play through multiple times, but each time is a little different.

Good story with mediocre gameplay

Like a breath of fresh ass

it's kinda like an open-world Bayonetta, as far as gameplay goes (it changes up styles at points, though), but the story is deeper, and treated more seriously.

It's by Platinum games, so it plays a lot like Bayonetta or similar games in the genre like Devil May Cry. It's got more RPG elements (leveling up, upgrading gear, equipment slots in the form of "chips") than those other games, though, and mixes in a LOT of other genres (the game is like 10% bullet hell shooter, so be aware of that).

The story takes place in 3 parts. Beat the game once to see the first part, beat the game a second time to see the first part from a different perspective, and then that unlocks basically the second half of the game.

The story, music, art direction, etc is incredible. It's a top tier game for sure. I've seen some people argue it's not great or overrated, but honestly I think that comes down to whether you seriously try to engage with the central conceit of the story or just play it as an action game. Plus the "true" ending (ending E) is something everyone should experience for themselves at least once, preferably without being spoiled. It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime gaming moments.

EDIT: In terms of difficulty it's not a hard game, especially by genre standards, and setting it to hard mode doesn't really increase the complexity. If you end up playing it, I would HIGHLY recommend experimenting with different weapon combinations and chip abilities, because there's way more freedom of expression in gameplay compared to other games in the genre but if you only ever just stick with the default swords you may find that combat feels a bit shallow.