Blazing under the radar of many, Nier Automata is everything great about the third-person action-based combat game genre and more. It blends sharp and intense combat with a story about the futility of one’s actions in a grand scheme. During the run time of the game, players take control of 2B, who is a sword toting android on a mission to take down any threat to mankind.

Along the way, players can expect combat to take the form of an extremely competent hack and slash game with third-person shooter mechanics. It is through this combat the game hits its stride in the opening act as players are pitted against a foe that is larger than factories. This introduction is memorable and leads the player to want more as a result of the intense action. 

Enticing players through the first acts of strong combat, it leads them to want to continue down into the dark depths of the story where the player is faced with how meaningless they truly are. The story flexes its muscles, showcases the twists and turns it takes early on with how death in-game is handled. Essentially being undying as a result of data backups, 2B can die repeatedly to accomplish her tasks in the world. This lends to the progression of the story where death becomes no more than an obstacle to be overcome to progress further. The story progresses swiftly through the game’s massive open world with areas being strewn about through a dilapidated city of fallen skyscrapers with overgrown trees and animals reclaiming the lands. 

The environment in this game is breathtaking. It shows what a game with a large budget and proper resources can accomplish through pushing a system to its very limits. Very few games go to the trouble of including extreme levels of detail into their models, while this game has details on even the smallest creatures and plants. Water flows smoothly and makes portions of clothes wet in realistic ways while weapons glint and shine when exposed to direct sunlight. All of this detail shows when the player is thrown into battles with larger-than-life machines that can break apart buildings in an attempt to hinder progress. 

All of the details of the game combined is a masterpiece worthy of mention. Players should expect to remain in the world of Nier Automata for around 25+ hours with more to be experienced through side quests, secret areas and bosses to be found throughout the world. While the story is bleak and rips away everything you love about the game’s characters, the result is worth it and leads to a tale that many have called one of the most intriguing stories in recent memory.