9S used hacks all the time - still didn't get banned
10/10

No but in all seriousness here - This is not just a game. It is simply a piece of art.
A masterpiece

Most people seem only to be talking about butts - yeah there are butts as well. But it's not just a fanservice game. If you want that, go play Senran Kagura. There is more fanservice there.

This game is really a hidden treasure of the gaming world.

From the absolutely overwhelmingly great music to the extremely likeable characters, the extremely fun gameplay and the simply absolutely stunning story that I don't even have any words for anymore after finishing each of it's unique 5 main endings (not talking about the joke endings here) it was through and through a ride.


Yoko Taro's (the creator of the nier and it's sequel nier:automata) biggest issue with modern triple A titles were, that after you figured out these games for an hour or two they mostly remained the same for the next 20 or 30 hours - he wanted the mix of story and game to be surprising and always fresh and new for players and keep it interesting and exciting.

And he really managed to do that.
Nier:Automata - be it story and gameplay wise will give you one "wow moment" after the other. But it doesn't rest on these moments - no every time you think you've seen it all and think nothing can surprise you anymore this game will slap you in the face and leave you with a huge "wow" yet again.

And the characters.
The way it plays makes you feel more and more attached and familiar with the character you play, the dialogues and story slowly make you love and appreciate the characters and their unique personalities.
Seldom have I felt as much with the characters of a game as in Nier:Automata - joy, sadness, anger, hatred, love, pain - I felt so many different emotions while playing this game and when I had to stop playing I eagerly awaited the moment I could continue this adventure.

It might be one of the greatest games I have ever experienced - the game is incredibly expensive, yes, but what you get here for your money is an experience that you might never forget even.
The dialogue is so thought provoking that at some points I had to stop playing just to really think about the philosophic statements I had just heard.
The fights and the bossfights in this game are simply epic and they feel epic.

The voice acting is great and full of emotions - though I only play with japanese dub and english subs as I think the original dub is the one intended by the maker to be played like that. I always go with the original dub in games and for movies/series, so I can't say much for the english game dub.

I could go on here however Nier:Automata also comes with some drawbacks that have to be mentioned.

First of all the pc-version has several unfixed issue which is why I recommend you to install FAR - which you can find pinned in the community discussions as a download.

Also this game needs quite a powerful pc to run smoothly - if you don't have one it might be impossible for you to play this game with a desireable performance. In that case you might rather get yourself the playstation 4 version of the game and if you don't happen to have either simply have to wait till your pc is better or you own a ps4.

Gameplay wise there are some as well:

Some side-quests like the desert search with the scanner are incredibly frustrating and without some serious luck or the help of the internet can take you even hours to finish

As there is not much of a gameplay tutorial you will discover many possibilities in the game - and the way you can play and move probably only through playing - making some quests incredible difficult as you don't have a clear insight about what your character can do or not.
For example I did not realize that I can grab my pod and use it to throw myself farther - making it incredibly difficult or almost impossible to get to that chest and I only found out about that feature due to sheer luck.

The game is also clearly designed for console playing and I can't imagine someone having as much fun playing with a keyboard - from camera controls, dodging, options, self destruct - everything is completely fine-tuned for an amazing console play with your controller sometimes even vibrating at certain fitting story points, like when a giant stomps onto the ground, really making you feel the impact of the earth shaking

The pc version was probably just released on steam to have another platform they can sell it to and they clearly didn't put much effort in here.

As a last thing that might be taken as a drawback is that some people thought the game was kidding when it warned the player of a certain choice at the very end of the game - far behind everything else with the story already done.
The game warns you multiple times before making your choice and it is not kidding - so either back up your save or really think which option you want to choose as you can't undo that one!
Certain people who didn't think much about it seemingly ended up regretting it.

And also at a certain point at the very [E]nd that will make you want to give up, but don'T give up! Never give up! Keep going and DON'T give up under any circumstances or you will regret it and you will regret it for real!!! No matter how good or bad you are if you don't give up you won't regret it I promise you!


Overall except for some minor difficulties and drawbacks Nier:Automata has one of the best storylines in games I ever played, keeping me entertained from the beginning to the very last second.
Amazing characters , godly music that still haunts me to this day and a great story, very fun and entertaining gameplay, thought-provoking dialogues, every range of emotions - truly a piece of art.
Because of some of it's flaws I would probably give it a 9 out of 10 as a rating - even though it is truly nothing less than a 10 out of 10 experience.

I will never regret spending the amount of money that I spent for this and I wouldn't want to miss this game in my life.



Sidenote: If you have a PS3 or an XBox360 then I'd recommend you to play the first Nier before playing Automata. It will give you an even better playing experience and even many more breathtaking moments. Moments, that can only fully be appreciated if it's played as a sequel after the first Nier rather than as a standalone game.
Yes, Nier:Automata can be played without any knowledge of the first Nier, however it is in it's core still a sequel to that game, so if it's somehow possible for you then let it play that part.