Nier: Automata – Become as Gods Edition | Xbox One Review

July 4, 2018 Zack Parkerson

It’s difficult to find new things to say about Nier: Automata. It released last year to critical praise and incredible sales and managed to take home plenty of awards by the end of the year. Over a year away from its initial release, it no longer feels like hyperbole to say Automata is one of the great games of all time. It will be a game looked back on as helping to define this generation of consoles. This a game so groundbreaking it will be written about for years.

Androids Do Dream of Electric Sheep

Needless to say, picking up the Become as Gods Edition should be a no-brainer. It’s easy to recommend to anyone and everyone, and it’s finally available for Xbox One owners. Including the “3C3C1D119440927” DLC is a nice touch, especially since when it came out on PS4 and PC it required restarting the game for most players to access. The DLC pack is mostly three arena combat modes (though each has a rather distinct hook), as well as some customization options and outfits for the characters. There is a brief story you’ll pick up as you fight in the arenas, and as touching as it is, it’s fairly inessential.

The big, beautiful thing Xbox One owners get is a rock-solid port of Nier: Automata. Though it’s over a year old at this point, let’s give a brief overview. The year is 11945, and a proxy war is being waged between humans and invading aliens. The humans are living on the moon, using androids to fight the actual war on Earth. Likewise, the aliens are in hiding and use machines to do their fighting. Already you can see how this might get a little complicated for the combatants.

You primarily play as 2B, a YoRHa combat unit. Accompanying her is unit 9S, and it’s this relationship that forms the true crux of the game. Though emotions are not permitted in androids, this pair sees too much for their emotions not to shine through. The exciting thing about Automata is that the question of “are androids people” is already answered, so we get to explore questions beyond that. Most sci-fi stories about artificial life ends with the realization that they are indeed life. Nier: Automata demands more than that.

A War That Never Ends

I don’t want to say much more beyond that for fear of spoiling new players, but suffice it to say that almost every question you would ask is addressed here. The concepts get pretty heavy as the game goes on, but the story remains focused on our protagonists. You will not be able to put this one down.

Making it all the easier to keep playing is Platinum Games trademark action combat. The combat is fast and furious here with plenty of depth. You have two weapons equipped at any given time, each assigned to one button. The interplay between them all constantly rewards. There’s a special attack on one shoulder button, and a ranged attack on the other. Combined with the responsiveness and top-of-the-line animations, combat never gets old. Not even in repeat playthroughs.

An RPG for the Ages

Automata is in Action-RPG, however, so combat is not enough. There’s plenty of exploration, deeply customizable stats via the game’s “plug-in chip” system, and side quests galore. Though those quests can occasionally feel tedious, they always reward with incredible side-stories. They help to flesh out the world in a way that only the best RPGs manage to.

The game stays fresh by constantly changing up the mechanics. A hacking system exists, and doesn’t even get introduced until roughly 15 hours into the game. The camera is constantly shifting perspective, occasionally turning the game into a side-scroller or twin-stick shooter. Nier: Automata is never a game to rest on its laurels, and that’s something you’ll appreciate.

I could write 50,000 words on why this game is perfect, but you don’t need that out of me. Anyone who listens to the podcast knows nary a week goes by where I don’t mention Nier or Nier: Automata. These are games that last with you for years. You’ll think back on characters like Emil or Pasqual often, think on all the times you laughed, and all the times you cried. You’ll wonder why other games don’t try to tackle so many themes that mean so much to all of us. Games are art, and Nier: Automata is the prime example.