Nier Automata

Retr0gamer

Andrew76 wrote: »

I plan on picking this up at some point but is there much variety in the locations for those of you playing it? I've only watched a few videos which show the starting area.

Yes there is. Showing anymore would have been a spoiler. Also there's no shortage of variety in gameplay. The game changes game genre every few minutes!

Andrew76

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Yes there is. Showing anymore would have been a spoiler. Also there's no shortage of variety in gameplay. The game changes game genre every few minutes!

Cool thanks. Yeah I spotted the

shmup

and

2D

sections and they're definitely a plus point for me.

Will keep an eye on Argos, they got bugger all copies in of it so far, not a big name release I guess.

johnny_ultimate

The PC version is a tad messy at the moment. On a 970 I'm experiencing the 1080p bug where it automatically downscales to a lower res when in full screen but is fine when windowed. Also constantly fluctuating between 59 and 60 FPS which is noticeable enough to be slightly irritating. But hey, that's boring technical stuff that'll hopefully be sorted soon.

The game itself is fine so far. A few hours in and it hasn't completely grabbed me yet, but there's enough potential there to pull me back. Combat is satisfying if not quite Bayonetta levels. World feels a tad drab, although I blame Breath of the Wild for that Still, already a few quirks and oddities that I'm looking forward to seeing play out.

Retr0gamer

I think the frame pacing is the worst issue otherwise it runs fine. It's just really annoying and noticable when there's no action.

Ugh can't buy this while I'm waiting for my new bank card to arrive

Moist Bread

Have they even said if they are going to patch these issues? I see nothing offical acknowledging the issues. I waited for the PC port, but now I might just get this on PS4.

johnny_ultimate

Intro was fun. The constant switching of perspective seems fresh but I couldn't remember the controls to save my life between switches.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The PC version is a tad messy at the moment. On a 970 I'm experiencing the 1080p bug where it automatically downscales to a lower res when in full screen but is fine when windowed. Also constantly fluctuating between 59 and 60 FPS which is noticeable enough to be slightly irritating. But hey, that's boring technical stuff that'll hopefully be sorted soon.

The game itself is fine so far. A few hours in and it hasn't completely grabbed me yet, but there's enough potential there to pull me back. Combat is satisfying if not quite Bayonetta levels. World feels a tad drab, although I blame Breath of the Wild for that Still, already a few quirks and oddities that I'm looking forward to seeing play out.

I think I opted for 1600x900 resolution. Did you get a black border around the screen? Maybe 1-2cm

Retr0gamer

So a friend of mine finished it. Said its b probably one of the best stories in videogames. Kind of trust this guy since he was the one that got me into Persona and Atelier games. Dropped my game project to play it last night and finished the opera boss. This game game is mental but in a good way. Why aren't more people playing it!

Andrew76

Retr0gamer wrote: »

So a friend of mine finished it. Said its b probably one of the best stories in videogames. Kind of trust this guy since he was the one that got me into Persona and Atelier games. Dropped my game project to play it last night and finished the opera boss. This game game is mental but in a good way. Why aren't more people playing it!

Refreshing Argos stock checker everyday waiting for it to come back in stock!

Watched another Jim Sterling video on it where he mentions having completed the main 5 endings - full of praise. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

K.O.Kiki

Retr0gamer wrote: »

So a friend of mine finished it. Said its b probably one of the best stories in videogames. Kind of trust this guy since he was the one that got me into Persona and Atelier games. Dropped my game project to play it last night and finished the opera boss. This game game is mental but in a good way. Why aren't more people playing it!

Did you recommend to him to do a New Game Plus?

Retr0gamer

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Did you recommend to him to do a New Game Plus?

He has inhaled the game over the last few days. Gotten endings A to E and the joke endings as well and now going back to it on a harder difficulty. You're basically getting a quarter of what the game offers going for the first ending.

johnny_ultimate

Game definitely picks up in the

funfair

level, aesthetically anyway. Still not quite feeling entirely convinced though: the gameplay is good but not exceptional; the world feels slightly restrictive (I blame Zelda and Everything for that); and the narrative has yet to interest me as it's too loaded with convoluted, anime-style sci-fi hokum (that's pretty clunkily told at that). There's definite quirks and hints of more interesting stuff, although just don't think it has settled into anything really special yet. We'll see

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I think I opted for 1600x900 resolution. Did you get a black border around the screen? Maybe 1-2cm

I don't think I had a black border, but was definitely not full 1080p. This fix sorted it out: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-03-23-nier-automata-receives-unofficial-pc-patch

Retr0gamer

It's a little messy and not quite as polished as what you would usually expect from Platinum but I'm enjoying it because it feels like something from the PS1/2 era, experimental and weird and not focus tested and bland like a lot of triple A games.

It's a bit like Last Guardian in a way, except actually fun to play.

Diazou

I bought this video game some days ago and boss fights are really awesome!

Gingervitis

Working through the third playthrough. Holy crap. This game. So glad I went for this over Mass Effect Andromeda.



Edit : finished the game last night. Never had an experience like it in gaming. I was gobsmacked.

Lots of things I dislike about this game on paper but can't put it down. These glowing reviews are helping push me on.

Grahamer666

Really want to pick this up. Hasn't been in stock in Argos at all. Not paying €70 for a game elsewhere.

K.O.Kiki

Grahamer666 wrote: »

Really want to pick this up. Hasn't been in stock in Argos at all. Not paying €70 for a game elsewhere.

Order it online?

I reduced the difficulty to easy in the old factory (become a God...) as I ran out of health packs and wasn't arsed back tracking. The game plays itself. It's hilariously easy.

Gingervitis

The difficulty is a bit of a joke. Except on very Hard, then it's just stupid - 1 shot kill.

Also, the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in any game.

Evade

Deleted User wrote: »

I reduced the difficulty to easy in the old factory (become a God...) as I ran out of health packs and wasn't arsed back tracking. The game plays itself. It's hilariously easy.

You should try getting some offensive heal (percentage of damage dealt heals) and auto heal (starts healing if you haven't been hit in the last 6 seconds) chips.

johnny_ultimate

Some of the sub quests in this are absolutely dreadful. The Jean Claude one was bad enough even before I had to go visit his fans again

Most of them are mindless fetch quests, and even with often quirky details it's just not enough.

Retr0gamer

The first game kind of had bad fetch quests like that and made some meta commentary about it, wouldn't be surprised if this is the same... but then bad game design is still bad game design.

When I saw I had to go all the way to the desert and back again for the Jean Claude one, that was a 'Really!??' moment for me.

Riiiiight. Just saw the credits roll for the first time... maybe I didn't do enough side quests but I'm still completely in dark of what is going on tbh

And I just witnessed another credits roll, presumably the joke one :pac:

Evade

There's 26 endings, all but

5

have the sped up text.

Frankly, I couldn't be arsed going through this again. Interesting idea yet lazy at the same time. I've never been a fan of "New Game +". I might replay an exceptional game again in a few years but never immediately afterwards. I understand that this second play through is probably quite different but I made it as far as the desert and it's got the same problems. I somewhat sped through it the first time around hoping it would pick up but it didn't. The environments are drab, characters enigmas, combat repetitive, story obtuse, music fantastic; overall a slight thumbs down from me but I probably haven't experienced the best of it. The core of it just isn't enjoyable enough to warrant the slog.

Evade

Deleted User wrote: »

I understand that this second play through is probably quite different

It's not really. The second ending is essentially just a perspective flip but there's much more after that.

Gingervitis

Agreed. Once the second ending is achieved everything changes. I haven't been sent into a post game depression since Undertale and this one made me question (briefly!) if I wanted to play any other game after that.

In the latest episode of Consolevania on Patreon, they say it's one of the best games they've ever played, and those guys know their stuff.

Moist Bread

Is this still unoptimised on pc?

Adyx

I believe so (I haven't had a chance to get it yet) but there's an unofficial fan patch which solves a lot of the issues I think.

This is the patch, it does wonders: http://steamcommunity.com/app/524220/discussions/0/135512104777399045/

Sephiroth_dude

Anyone get the platnium trophy? How many play throughs ?

Captain Chaos

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Anyone get the platnium trophy? How many play throughs ?

Think its 3 minimum, then you can use level select and save games to get the rest. There's 26 endings.

Gingervitis

5 of those endings are the "big" ones, the rest are joke endings. 20 of them are very easy to get, 1 is quite hard.

Evade

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Anyone get the platnium trophy? How many play throughs ?

Once you get the main endings you can unlock a shop in game that sells trophies. I used it to get the upgrade all pods trophy but got everything else normally.

Sephiroth_dude

Evade wrote: »

Once you get the main endings you can unlock a shop in game that sells trophies. I used it to get the upgrade all pods trophy but got everything else normally.

I was reading about that shop, if you buy the trophies though is that considered cheating I wonder? if you're on a site like psn profiles.

Evade

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

I was reading about that shop, if you buy the trophies though is that considered cheating I wonder? if you're on a site like psn profiles.

Possibly, do they track play time? Anyone getting the platinum in around 30 hours most likely bought the trophies.

Did anyone else do the thing in ending E?

Gingervitis

I did the thing. No hesitation. Then I started again to work towards quests, as well as see the story in a whole new light

Call Me Jimmy

Seen 3 reviews saying its a masterpiece and giving it 10 out of 10s. I'm very dubious obviously but was thinking of getting it coz I havent played a game in a while.

Only thing is my 750 ti probably would die to get me 30 fps, I've got 32 gigs of ram and a decent i7. Anyone any experience with the lower end cards?

johnny_ultimate

I'm on a 970 and managing 60 FPS (albeit with the fix installed to stop some of the unavoidable frame pacing issues). You'll probably be fine, although frankly if you have a PS4 I'd almost be inclined to recommend that as there's a bit of messing around on PC.

Call Me Jimmy

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I'm on a 970 and managing 60 FPS (albeit with the fix installed to stop some of the unavoidable frame pacing issues). You'll probably be fine, although frankly if you have a PS4 I'd almost be inclined to recommend that as there's a bit of messing around on PC.

thanks for that, very interested in your opinion on it now from a gaming / story standpoint

Gingervitis

DLC announced for Colosseum style fighting where you can fight the CEOs of Square Enix and Platinum Games. Because of course you can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOWWzmxYBGE

johnny_ultimate

Right, finally seen the end end credits so I can say this confidently: Nier Automata is a gruelling slog of a video game whose few high points do not justify the tedium.

It sums up, more succinctly than any other game I've played, the fundamental problems of marrying narrative with longform play. There are ideas of worth and effectiveness in NA, but they are frustratingly buried amid 30 hours of 'content'. This is a game with no sense of narrative flow, the story constantly interrupted by long stretches of mindless gameplay. It is a poor open world; the combat is far from Platinum's finest hour (a break from Nier for a few hours of the still magnificent Bayonetta highlighted that in no uncertain terms); the bullet hell sections have none of the chaotic majesty of a Cave shooter. It is several mediocre games blended into one, and on top of that the game repeatedly recycles or remixes a handful of core setpieces. I have heard at least one critic argue the game respected their time - I would say the complete opposite, including one entire playthrough that could have been easily condensed into something more manageable. I get the impression Yuko Taro dislikes many aspects of modern game design, which is baffling that he makes ones that make so little efforts to transcend the limits. Spec Ops The Line was a long time ago now: a few sarky winks about a game's inanity should no longer cut it. (The one design element worth praising is the customisable build options that allow you to break the game in various fun ways).

All too often the game's attempts at storytelling get diluted due to the game's structure - dozens too many hacking mini games destroying any forward momentum, and convoluted lore weighing down some of the game's few concepts of worth. Which is a shame, because here and there there are moments - fleeting in the context of a 30 hour game - where it does work. Recurring character

Pascal gets a strangely heartbreaking, dark arc in the game's final hours

. Some of the main characters too have moments where they travel off in interesting ways, if utterly constrained by the strictly anime-style melodramatic delivery (credit, at least, for a willingness to embrace grim endings). There are scattered sights & scenes that are memorably quirky, surreal and occasionally even poignant (although even the quirks feel mild in comparison to experimental works like the recent sensory and cerebral assault of Oikospiel). And a few sub quests have surprising outcomes - shame, though, 85% of them are mindless fetch quests.

But, above all else, the whole thing feels adolescent - a few (on-the-nose) allusions to philosophers and broad ruminations on what it means to be human are beyond what most games are capable of, but far less than what games should be (and occasionally are) capable of. When you see so much more impassioned, engaging and artful exploration of similar themes in recent films like Her or Under the Skin, do we have to settle for this mish-mash of half-baked ideas where the moments of genuine effectiveness - and there are some! - are spread so very, very thin? Even in-narrative attempts to address the game's cyclical structure frustrate as the internal logic collapse due to incompatibility with certain gameplay decisions (

the decision for inventory and XP to be shared across characters, for example

).

At the real, true, whatever ending to the game, you are invited to delete your save file in one of the game's few meaningful attempts to load a gameplay element with some sort of emotional weight and justification. And yet, after 30 hours of play, I wasn't sad to see all progress wiped slowly and definitively.

Instead, I was just glad to see the back of this maddening, deeply flawed game.

Retr0gamer

I still think the game is well worth playing but everything you say is pretty valid. While the game plays better than the first Nier I think in terms of bizarre gameplay twists and turns and narrative it's a weaker game.

Gingervitis

Well written review. While I disagree, can't argue with where you're coming from.

Having not played the same number of games, this came more as a breath of fresh air, having been burned out by the glut of Western games from last year. Even Watch Dogs 2, while being competently executed, felt very shallow in comparison to this.

Working through Bayonetta now, and the combat is a lot deeper and more challenging - almost frustratingly so. They're definitely different games though in what they're trying to do.
Nier: Automata subverts my expectations in many ways, which few if any games have done before, which is laudable in its own right. Being different in this day and age of triple A games (outside of the big names - P5, BOTW, H:ZD) should be encouraged.

Although 15 bucks for flimsy DLC (May 2nd) may result in a pass from me unless reviews can convince me otherwise.

johnny_ultimate

I agree that games should be different - lord knows I've given games an easier ride than they deserve in the past for that very reason. No doubt Taro is very much his own creator with a very specific vision. But that is a limited allowance: for me there's just not enough going on in Nier Automata to earn much credit just because it's not generic blockbuster #238 (although in gameplay terms, it kinda is for much of the running time).

Games are in an exciting place. Games like Breath of the Wild are thrillingly complex things in terms of design, managing to elicit new surprises and revelations after dozens of hours of play (and, as simplistic as the story in that game is, Nintendo have come up with novel ways to communicate its lore and backstory that suit the grand canvas they've created). Games like Inside and The Last Guardian achieve remarkable symbiosis between all elements to the point where the play and story are often one-and-the-same. And a dive into itch.io will reveal games thrillingly liberated from the shackles of commercial game design altogether. In that general environment, something like Nier exists in a sort of limbo for me: not articulate enough to play with the big boys, not radical enough to coexist with the indies. Good things can and will be done in that limbo - many of the PS2 eras best games came about because of it - but this game for me just doesn't realise the potential.

Retr0gamer

The lack of budget really shows as well. Platinum did a stellar job with what they had but it's always on the verge of being brilliant. It really needed the bigger canvas fir its ideas to be fully fleshed out.

I feel validated :pac:

I pushed on and finished the game after watching this review. Jim loves the game but he never actually says why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gd41YB9mAc

YouSavedMyLife

I want to buy it but the apparent problems with the PC version are putting me off. Anyone know if its possible to try it on steam then refund it and buy it cheaper on CDkeys? Assuming it runs well on my system.