NieR: Automata - Playstation 4

Gotta say i'm in love with the game's combat mechanics (something Platinum games is know for).Never played any of the previous games, so this is my first Nier game. About half way threw the game I found out there are multiple endings around 26 and it kinda pushed me away from replaying everything from the start, (I have a backlog of games) but later I found out that they dont require a full 26 game playthrough unless its the main, main, game. (Like game A,B and C) (3) But they are played from another perspective, have not started the 2nd play through yet, saving it for the weekend.I also found out that some endings stack on your save file. For example, eat a fish that was considered poisonous and you die. Ending the game, but starting from the last save file. (Save before eating it). It saves that ending to your save file, showing which one you saw, but not ending the ability to finish the game like normal. The side endings are smaller text written. Not the main, main, ending. Just a "what if" sorta deal.I'm not gonna be heavily critical of the game, since I have no knowledge of the previous games (how they fight, map layout, system etc to compare it too) but I bought primarily because it was designed combat wise by Platinum Games. I'm a fan of thier fighting system from Bayonetta, this Nier game and the original DMC 1. I will try to be more objective. Graphically its a personal opinion. It's not a Horizon Zero Dawn, but to me the graphics are passable. I'm also using this on a PS4 PRO so the frame issues are non existent.*Negatives:*The first half of the game's open world you lack the ability to fast travel. Which means you have to walk from point A-C every single time. Which makes the game feel like its dragging. You can run, and later you get the ability to teleport to a location or use animals. This isn't a full negative, I know the previous games normally had large open worlds, I just wasn't use to that and failed to plan my target spots to make the most of the trip. I found myself zig zagging back and forth which made the game drag.*Some might get annoyed by the semi desolate open world. Not till later in the game when more enemies appear.Positives:*Fighting system is awesome, reminds me of Bayonetta but without the magical feel and wacky fighting attacks. You can combine various weapons in 2 sets and switch on the fly by hitting up. You can also add a heavy weapon into your quick attack slot, and light into hard attack, changing the way the weapon works. This was pretty interesting, since most would use a lighter weapon for light attacks and heavier for heavy hits.*A lot of things to do, upgrade weapons, quest and find out how the weapons system combos into each other.*The story is not that bad. Not the best in the world, but not the worst. You have to find a balance of moving the story forward, while at the same time doing side quest to level up. Keep in mind, I have beaten it 1 time and going for the 2nd and 3rd ending later to get the full experience. From what I saw so far, I enjoyed it.EDIT 3/13/2017So after being curious what the 2nd play through does. I looked into it online and played the first 12 minutes of the game. You play as the guy, and 3rd part as the Android A2. Everything carries over, including quest that you never finished. After thinking about it, since you now know the layout of everything, the play time should be reduced. From what I heard online 8-10 hours. You learn the events from the guys point of view, his missions are different and he has hacking sections. Your levels, items, etc carry over. This also includes unfinished quest. We have to assume it happens again on the 3rd run using Android A2.

Wow, this is such an amazing game! From the character design, to the art and environments, the music, and the gameplay, this game is unique and excels in every area! They combine so many different styles from classic hack and slash games like kingdom hearts to bullet hell style shoot-em-up games. The game dynamically switches from 3D open maps to 2D side-scrolling to over the head camera angles which keeps things fun and interesting as you explore the world. There is also a cool blend of swords and pods that can act as guns which lets you shoot from afar while hacking away at close enemies with floating swords that you summon out of thin air. The movement feels great (although can be a bit clunky at times) and is very fast paced. Most of the time I just button mash and hope things happen, but the game rewards precise timing by offering really OP dodges and counters.Another aspect that really caught my attention was the art style. The game focuses mainly on black/white and sepia colors, with very few vibrant colors, which I normally don't like. But something about the way it is done is just so fascinating! There is also a very retro and robotic vibe to it that you can really only experience by playing the game. I'm not super huge on analyzing art designs and choices, but I love learning about them. I am sure there is significance as to why the bunker is in black and white, and why certain parts of the map are gleaming with color. I want to research more into this, but for now, I can just appreciate the sort of post-apocalyptic, melancholic world they created.As of right now, I have only played through the game once, so I will admit, the story didn't really make too much sense to me. However, I will say that I love the themes they explored in this game like artificial intelligence (robots and androids) and overall humanity. What makes a human "human" and can robots ever become fully human? I love games and movies that explore this topic, and this game is no exception! The game looks like it is meant to be played multiple times through (which I don't usually like), but my second playthrough is very different from the first and just as enjoyable because you learn things from a different perspective.Overall, just a masterpiece! Nothing like any of the other games you will find out there right now.