Nier: Automata does seem like something of a Love it or Hate it game, most people falling in the former category, but people in the latter category being quite loud and forceful too. While I definitely did enjoy the game a ton, one Automata takedown on Gab of all places has kinda stuck with me, with its contention that “in Yoko Taro’s world, there is no good and evil, only crying children”. When the game at one point portrays a mass-murdering, mountain-sized machine monster as, no joke, a sad, lonely child crying out for his mommy, I was definitely reminded of that description.
And there are definitely some very questionable story moments, like how hardened, cynical battle android 2B (B for Butt, since hers is the best in the business) has a minor crisis of conscience about killing unexpectedly human-like machine enemies, while her normally naïve, curious and open-minded partner 9S (S for Shota) repeatedly dismisses her concerns, basically going “fuck those machines, lol, no way they’re capable of thinking!” Given what we know, and also what we later learn about 9S’s personality, it seems odd that he would so uncritically toe the YoRHa party line like this, and also (given what we learn about HER) that 2B would encourage him to develop potentially dangerous, subversive thoughts (2B at other points will scold 9S for mere shows of emotion). It really would make way more sense if the roles were reversed – which they actually are, a bit later in the story, with 9S voicing concerns about their supposedly soulless machine enemy being a bit too sentient for his liking, and 2B quickly dismissing said concerns – and THEN a bit later, a similar scene happens AGAIN, this time with the roles reverting back to how it was in the first scene.
It’s especially clumsy because we all know where the writers are going with this – the machines turning out to be Not So Different from our android heroes, and the whole ongoing war between android and machines, on behalf of their human and alien creators respectively, being questioned. It’s obvious that many of the machines we encounter aren’t just mindless pieces of junk programmed to wipe out humanity, and making our heroes slow on the uptake just ends up being annoying and feeling forced rather than carefully setting the stage for organic character growth.
Later on, the game also raises heavy, existential questions without ever really attempting to deliver answers, or even giving the questions proper examination. And a late-game villain ends up at the end being depicted as shockingly chill – shocking because up ‘til that very point, it had showed an extremely disturbing appetite for gratuitous cruelty and sadism. Not to mention that the ending itself is just a bit too neat and tidy considering everything that went down before. And the game also has various minor moments that can be considered just a bit too artsy, maybe even pretentious.
And yet…I find that none of that really matters all that much. Not in a game capable of delivering scenes of incredible beauty and wonder, like your first visit to the Amusement Park, or Emil’s secret flower field. Not when the game can disturb and delight you alike with a location like the Copied City, or instill a subtle, yet profound sense of dread and doom with a song like The Tower. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Nier: Automata’s soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, though you probably already knew that. So many achingly beautiful, hauntingly emotional songs that are bound to leave a powerful impression. Not *quite* my favorite video game soundtrack of all time (Xenoblade 2 still holds that title), but definitely a top 10 contender. And when a game has such wonderful music, I’m willing to make a lot of allowances.
