I have a ridiculously long list of games that I want to play so I finally got a copy of this game.

I am about 3 hours into and and Wow, it is really great. The save system is a bit wonky so about an hour of that three hours was being annoyed getting past the first boss. You are only allowed to save at save points and the first save point you get to is after the first boss. So I died on him/it twice.

Most of what you do leading up to the first boss is just learning the mechanics of the game. So having to redo that three times was … annoying… but that makes you learn fight mechanics, so I appreciated that after I got him “down”.

Visually the game is great. The combat system is really intuitive and the game uses camera angles that are a bit jarring at first. Sometimes the camera angles feel like old school 90s arcade games. The aesthetic of the game is awesome.

The game seems to be very deliberately rolling out the story, so the experience so far has been very hack and slash. I am curious how that will play out. I am hoping that the story gets more involved the more I play the game.

Like I said I am only three hours into it and so far it has been fun!

  • audaxdreik@pawb.social
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    4 days ago

    If you’re having fun with it 3 hours in, just wait. This game fucking goes places

    Do not quit, make sure you play it to the [E]nd. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

    The soundtrack is amazing and one of my favorites to put on in the background while I’m working. The story is definitely silly and paced oddly at times, but it has a lot of things to say that really spoke deeply to me. I get a bit choked up thinking about it still. Hope you continue to have fun, I think it’s reputation is well-warranted!

    • Muffi@programming.dev
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      4 days ago

      Read and listen to this comment. I made the mistake of quitting at the end of my first playthrough. This game is quite a trip.

      • Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        4 days ago

        100% this. Intentionally being cryptic here - even if you think you “get it” after two, you are wrong and know nothing John Snow. Keep playing…

    • naticus@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Absolutely. I had the same problem as OP on the first boss and immediately put it down for the day after my first death, but when I got back to it the next day, I couldn’t put it down. Went through and got all endings and the game just kept rewarding me with more and more as I did.

      Loved the soundtrack, loved the philosophical arguments, and that emotional rollercoaster punched me in the gut repeatedly and I just kept getting up for more.

  • Danarchy@lemmy.nz
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    3 days ago

    I had a moment with the game where the etherial, unintelligible music seemed to make sense for a sec and it tripped me out, like I heard something about being altered by “strange reddish slime” and it sent me down a rabbit hole trying to find the lyrics only to discover it’s a made up language or something? Anyway, top shelf stuff!

    • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      The lyrics are designed to evoke a feeling, but not confuse the player with actual lyrics they might understand (especially if the song is playing while characters are talking in-game).

      To do this, the songwriter just created nonsense words that made the sound they wanted, and later on called it Chaos Language. That way they only had to record the song once for all localizations. Its not a real language though, because it doesn’t have any grammar rules or anything.

      They did sing some songs in multiple real languages though, which typically play during the end credits.

  • HarkMahlberg@kbin.earth
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    4 days ago

    Without spoilers, there are 5 major endings to the game, A-E, and you haven’t really “beat” the game until you have seen them all. There are 21 additional minor endings, F-Z, which are more or less optional.

    Take advantage of the game’s online connectivity. Similar to Dark Souls, other players that died will leave messages and a bit of their loot in your world.

    I hope you enjoy the game! Nier:Automata is one of my favorite video games of all time.

    • Katana314@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Part of me is really confused they’re called “Endings”. Like, the “switch” after the first credits, to be vague, is the closest to that. But moving past that part, what you’re playing are “Chapters” where more stuff is happening. When you realize it’s a terminology switch, it becomes less “genre-breaking” and more just “a confusing, long game”.

    • e0qdk@reddthat.com
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      3 days ago

      There’s also a 27th (non-alphabetical) “ending” that’s quite different from all the others. I think it was originally part of a DLC but it just came with the version on Steam when I played the game ~5 years ago.

      • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Ending ◬ (white up pointing triangle with dot) came from the 3C3C1D DLC. You likely played the Game of the Yorha edition of the game which had the DLC included.

      • Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de
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        4 days ago

        What HarkMahlberg means is that the game isn’t finished when you reach the credits.

        When you replay the game a second time, you get the story from a complete different perspective. And when you start again after beating the game again, you get again a totally different experience from a different perspective.

          • Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de
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            3 days ago

            It isn’t a spoiler though, it are basic game mechanics for Nier.

            It is crucial to know you should keep playing after the credits. Because this isn’t normal for games. Otherwise people would get to the credits and think that’s the end.

    • theroastedtoaster@lemmy.ca
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      4 days ago

      I second this. Definitely the most emotionally involved in a game I’ve ever been, for better or worse.

  • Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de
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    4 days ago

    I love the chip system in this.

    You can basically automate certain actions to make the game easier the way you like. Don’t enjoy shooting? Automate it. Don’t like doding? You are now a master. Slashing? Any enemy that gets close gets auto slashed.

    I had the automated shooting enabled all the time, because I didn’t want to hold the button down the entire time.

    The only thing you are missing out is more chip space for cooler upgrades.

    • balgruuf@nord.pub
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      4 days ago

      I felt like I always wanted more space, but the compromise for getting something big was also a nice way to manage difficulty. In a way, there was already too much space; I had to stop myself from using a loadout with absolutely broken healing.

    • IWW4@lemmy.zipOP
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      4 days ago

      I was tinkering around with that, and it looks reallly cool! Right now a bunch of my chiop slots are locked, I am certain that will change as I level or meet other thresholds.

      I knew I was going to get hooked on this game really quick.

  • Profligate_Parasite@lemmy.today
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    4 days ago

    I get that lotsa ppl love it and have nostalgia… But it was Waaaaaaaaaaay too weeby for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as happy starting at @ 2b’s booty as the next hetero cis gamer male… But the plot twists, ultra gravitas dialogue, teen robot angst paired w a post Apocalypse world that’s still all about hyper sexualized girlbots was all just… Too much for me to take seriously. The combat, while interesting, also became a very tedious exercise in juggling while holding down buttons and switching perspectives. It felt like old armored core… In the bad way.

    • Brave Little Hitachi Wand@feddit.uk
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      3 days ago

      I bounced off this game myself. I was drawn in by the hype, but after I recovered from spontaneously transforming into a cartoon wolf, I was left with a game that just feels like it gets in its own way trying to force a sense of spectacle and gravitas.

    • IWW4@lemmy.zipOP
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      3 days ago

      There sure is a lot upskirt shots in the game. I do love the thong shots, but yeah I get your issue.

  • Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    4 days ago

    The crazy part is the true beauty of this game doesn’t reveal itself until such a long time. 3 hours in - literally nothing has happened yet. Keep playing, don’t stop even if you think you’ve seen it all - you haven’t.

    • IWW4@lemmy.zipOP
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      3 days ago

      Its hard to put my finger on it, other than to say it has that special sauce that draws the player in.

  • ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 days ago

    I will just give yoko taro my money if he does something, basically

    Although imo replicant was better, albeit more tedious to get to the end. He really has a disdain for the people that consume his media and I love it

  • ragingHungryPanda@piefed.keyboardvagabond.com
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    3 days ago

    This is still probably my favorite game ever. You’re going to have an absolute blast with this one. If you have good speakers or headphones, I recommend them for the soundtrack, it’s just 🤌

    • IWW4@lemmy.zipOP
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      3 days ago

      Yeah man, the soundtrack, the voice acting and all the sound has been on point!

  • BlackLaZoR@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Wait for the amusement park. I suggest good headphones because both location and the boss will blow your mind. This was the best shit I saw in my entire life

    • IWW4@lemmy.zipOP
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      3 days ago

      I just did that part last night and OMFG it was great. Both that tank boss and the one that I can only describe as the ballerina from hell were amazing.

      It is impressive how simple and how complex the boss fights are. It hits the right balance.

      • BlackLaZoR@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        One mind blowing part is that some of ballerinas attacks are synced to the music. This wasn’t meant to be just fight but sort of dance macabre with her.

        She also has a back story that radically changes your perception of her. But I won’t spoil anything

        There’s a hidden miniboss in the amusement park… But it’s so cleverly hidden you’ll probably need to look it up on the internet to find it.

        There’s probably a metric ton of details I haven’t found about this game.

  • balgruuf@nord.pub
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    4 days ago

    The game really wants the player to look at 2B’s ass.

    I finished my first playtrough not long ago, got both T and A endings. Really liked it, and I’m definitely going back to see the rest.

  • coolie4@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    These days I usually start games on hard mode or higher. But i remember that was a huge mistake with Nier Automata. Its not a problem on NG+, but without chips, the first play though of the intro is impossible on harder difficulties. After hours of trying to get through the flight, I finally gave in and lowered the difficulty until the first save.

    • IWW4@lemmy.zipOP
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      3 days ago

      Yeah… that is a very good question, that I figure I will learn at some point in the game.

      • Earthman_Jim@lemmy.zip
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        3 days ago

        Well, if you remember, please let me know once you find out. Im curious. I guess its probably just their language for year, but we can’t be sure.

  • Katana314@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I’m glad for everyone that enjoyed this game and found a meaningful experience in it. Kind of wish it could’ve been the same for me. I found the whole experience, from combat through story, to be horrendous by any standard, and quit midway through. Then someone begged me to come back and give it a full shot. So, I completEd it all thE way to the Ending, and it got even worse.

    Anyway, hopefully you do enjoy it; I could probably give a full-paragraph diatribe on what didn’t work for me, but art can be very subjective.

    • theneverfox@pawb.social
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      4 days ago

      The game is a true masterpiece, one of the best works of art I’ve ever experienced. The pacing and story were amazing, even the boring and annoying parts are perfectly seasoned with new information so that your interest and investment to the story deepens

      It’s a world and a story that flows like music, repeating the same melody over and over with new instruments joining in and swelling with each repetition. It constantly adds new information that recontextualizes the story entirely with masterful timing

      I also don’t recommend the game to people. It was perfectly tuned in a way that no longer works, it was made for society a decade ago. Sadly, I don’t think you can get the same experience anymore… We just aren’t the same as we were then

      • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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        3 days ago

        Dude, just let them not like the fucking game. “Oh no! There’s a piece of criticism about the game! I must make a long-winded reply to make sure to balance it back out”.

        Just stop.

          • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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            3 days ago

            No. The kind of Mean Girls esque “polite assholery” of the previous comment needs to be addressed and called out for what it is.

            The people that make those kinds of comments think they’re being nice when they really aren’t. If nobody points it out to them in a way that sticks out they’ll just keep doing it

            • petrol_sniff_king@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              3 days ago

              How is it Mean Girls-esque if they think they’re being nice?

              Anyway, no, I’ve seen your other comments, you clearly have a bone to pick here. Honestly, it’s funny that you’re the one telling me about being the rudeness police.

              I’m sure Katana is old enough to handle whatever problem may be here on their own.