The following review is Spoiler Free, if you’re here to make your mind to buying the game, here’s your place.

Gameplay and Controls: Although the pc port suffers from a lot of issues such as unable to spam evade, almost impossible to aim when in flight units and hack, but aside from that, everything is still on point and very much enjoyable. The flashy combos, weapon pairs and balanced weapons against well balanced enemies. The only problem of the game itself is how underwhelming the hacking ability. The hacking ability is overpowered, it can annihilate bosses in seconds, yet it is a pain in the butt when facing middle class enemies that aren’t as threatening as bosses but enough to post a threat to the player. This also cause me to feel repetitive when playing as 9S. Every battle as 9S goes like this: you either hack in the biggest enemy And finish the battle in under 30 seconds or spend a good 3 minutes or so hacking in the same enemy, whereas 2B and A2’s battles are flashy and can have different outcome depends on the moves players make.


Story: The story is well polished, the pacing is near perfection until mid Route C where things become dragged out and felt like it’s not doing much progression other than building up the tension to the end but took too long to do so. Each side quests, characters tell their own story, whether it’s depressing or cheerful, they make you become more and more invested in the lore of the deserted yet beautiful wasteland that NieR built. As a stand-alone game in the franchise, Automata made a great job isolating its style and atmosphere away from the other Nier and Drakengard games. But details, references and Easter eggs spread across the game can only be appreciated if you play the previous games in the series.


Music: A good game can't be without a good soundtrack, and Nier:Automata took it to the next level. The music clicks in every bit of the world. The soft, warm and calm music of the beautiful City Ruin; The intense, quiet but upbringing vocal of the Amusement Park theme; The desperate, isolated atmosphere of the Desert, and the missed but not lost Ending Theme Weight of the World. It’s not hard to extinguish each BGM from their designated areas, it’s atmospherically perfect. If there’s any game ost that deserves to be fully treasured and appreciated, This game’s OST is the very one.


Conclusion: Every story driven game has its very own vibe that’s designed to be released at its end, no matter it means sadness, happiness, hot blooded. Yet after finishing the game twice, achieving Ending E both times, I still can’t grasp how I feel about it’s message. It’s beyond the point of a story at its very own level. Each corners, each side-quests tell not just stories, but hearts and minds. Everything is beyond any words describable. For that, you just have to explore it on your own if you haven’t played the game. Afterwards, buy the follow up novels Long Story Short to truly appreciate the message it’s sending. Play it, Enjoy it, and Cherish it, because this, is art