NieR: Automata critique

[@Rogue2316]

It's 4 AM. I had intended to put this on my 'recently watched' list so I could watch it later. But here I am, an hour later, typing out my comment to say: thank you for this video. It was a bit shocking to find another person who had nearly the exact same experiences as I did, who played through the whole game wondering when it would magically show it's brilliance. Your points were well explained and deeply cathartic to hear, as I had so many of the exact same thoughts as you did, though I've had much more difficult time putting them into words. One idea I want to bring to the table is that Nier: Automata feels very... Otaku. What I mean is that it comes from a subculture that is defined by consuming everything there is about a particular piece of media, where something is never just 'a show' or 'a game,' it's a whole product line of different things, much like what you see in a lot of anime or manga targeted at obsessed Otaku. It bares a lot of the hallmarks of something that comes from that sort of space: the casual fanservice, the on-the-nose writing, the over-the-top action sequences, etc. And so it expects a degree of obsession, that you're going to look into all the little details and make all the connections to Nier and read all that side material. This, I think, is where fans of the game get lost: they've read all the side stories and done all their research and forget how bare-bones the actual story is. It is, in many ways, a video game version of Otaku-target anime, complete with pretenses of class and casual sexism. And that, to me, really encapsulates everything wrong with the game. Like you said, the game never really examines any of it's preconceptions, it just has robot soldiers in fetish wear like it's completely normal. And if the game can't get past the assumptions of the niche subculture it comes from, how can it say anything about the human condition?

[@PixelaDay]

Oh thanks, it’s extremely validating to get comments like yours 😊 It definitely feels like a game that people who mostly only consume anime and games would find deep. I say this as someone who was a huge anime fan for a decade. I know that subculture well, I loved it as a 14 year old and I’m thoroughly tired of it as an adult 😅

[@myusername3689]

….You literally had a conversation with socratetris about this but you still promote the “facts” in this video that have already been proven wrong. Man Socratetris defending you by saying you don’t have malicious intent against this game is wrong.

[@Rogue2316]

@@myusername3689 The very fact that you think that you think that her viewpoint and opinion and viewpoint has been "proven wrong" means you understand basically nothing about literary criticism or philosophy. A key idea in both disciplines is the idea that there are multiple different ways of viewing something. Claiming she has "malicious intent" is just being a rabid fanboy, and rather contrary to the whole idea that the game is philosophical in the first place. Philosophy has always been an argumentative subject (just look at all the ancient Greek writers and how many jabs they take at each other,) so attacking criticism is deeply ironic for a (presumable) fan of such a "philosophical" game.

[@wolfi9180]

@@Rogue2316 Not the user you are replying to, but man your reply comes across as absolutely pretentious, I have watched that video they are taking about and yes a huge bulk of Kat's criticism is poorly researched and in fact is in the game, no one is talking here about the philosophical aspect my dude, In fact as pointed out in the pinned comment Kat literally says ''I don’t have a thorough knowledge of the specific philosophies that are apparently being referenced''. Your reply comes across as even more misunderstood after that.

[@Rogue2316]

@@wolfi9180 Admittedly, I was very frustrated when I wrote that, so that definitely bled into that. And yeah, it was really arguing against a straw man. It's just so frustrating to see legitimate criticism be dismissed as "you just don't get it." Like, bro, this is a game that goes out of it's way to excuse panty shots and objectifying it's female cast, we're not talking about high art here. I'm not saying I disagree with your criticism of my statements, far from it. I just want to say they come from a place of frustration due to fans claiming the game is one amazing high art, yet dismissing criticism applied to any art or media.

[@rylands4289]

the start of every chapter being repeated is such a funny touch for a vid essay of nier automata, chefs kiss!

[@NormalZebra]

Finished the game on Saturday night. I actually hate-finished it. I couldn't not finish at least routes A-C because I was under the impression it was going to blow my tiny mind. It didn't. Instead, it left me feeling the way you have largely just described in such a perfect way. Thank you for putting this together. It summed my feelings up perfectly. I've just accidentally ended up on another video describing how the ending to N:A is the greatest and most groundbreaking ending to any game ever, ever, ever the gushing comments just had me shaking my head, baffled. I genuinely don't get why this game is so lauded and so highly acclaimed. But the fact that at least a few people (including those in the comments) feel largely the same sense of confusion and bafflement about why this deeply tedious, uninteresting, uninspired game that lacks subtlety and nuance, and has the depth of a puddle, is so highly regarded is enough for me. I've subscribed just based on this phenomenal critique. Edit: having glanced at a few of the comments, it's very telling that superfans of this game (& the game dev) are highly sensitive to any form of critique or criticism and usually just respond with abuse and/or telling you you're unfollowed/blocked.

[@soy_boy69]

I critiqued the game at nier automata reddit , and man they almost ate me alive , really toxic fans . If someone is angry for criticism, it is usually because they have no counter points .

[@NormalZebra]

@@soy_boy69 you're braver than me! They're so defensive on the NA Reddit. Can't take even constructive criticism

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks for the comment! I'm glad some of us over here made you feel validated :) There are a lot of fantastic N:A fans too and quite a few them have left comments which I've really appreciated. The toxic fans give them a bad name unfortunately.

[@xar6398]

Having a lot of sad moments or just a genuinely good soundtrack that will probably make you feel something even by just hearing it without knowing any context are both elements that on their own are usually enough to trick people into thinking they're experiencing something that is "really mature and deep". Now imagine what happens when you make a game that tries so hard to make you cry every two minutes (without actually saying anything, mind you, because Yoko Taro couldn't be bothered to write any actual on-screen relationship between the characters) and also has good music.

[@KajiCarson]

I love this game but it's refreshing to hear an opinion about it that isn't simply, "This game is an existentialist masterpiece!" Some very valid and thoughtful points.

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks, that means a lot!

[@myusername3689]

Socratetris is where you wanna look if you want a true Nier fan. I guess Clemps is good too but he’s not a hardcore philosophy nerd like Socratetris.

[@iamerror]

This summarizes my feelings on NieR: Automata quite well (though I didn't pain myself to push through it as much as you did). It's difficult to make a negative critique without sounding like you're just complaining or hating, but this threads the needle exceedingly well. Great work!

[@PixelaDay]

Thank you! That means a lot!

[@therookieshaker7795]

As someone who loved Nier Automata but doesn't think it's a masterpiece everyone thinks it is I'm glad you made this review. You put to spotlight a lot of issues that both people who liked and hated this game have but were ignored because of every other "THIS GAME IS A PHILOSOPHICAL MASTERPIECE AND IF YOU THINK OTHERWISE YOU'RE JUST A IGNORANT FOOL" Reviews and compliments that gets thrown at it without actually thinking about the story for a second and thinking how good actually it is. You deserve a lot more subs.

[@PixelaDay]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Mitsrahim]

As a few people have said before in the comments section, you put my thoughts about the game into your video. Thanks a lot. I wanted to get into the story, but I just couldn't connect with anything in the game. As far as the A2 character, she was intriguing to me, but it was a disappointment in the end. I constantly felt like I was missing something because of all the praise, or I felt like I didn't understand what the heck was going on and tried to find the deeper meaning. Also, when they touched on some kind of philosophical subject, I was like, "Oh, it's going to get deeper," and then they left it and never dug into it.

[@XelchanTheBrave]

I didn't play Automata, just the first NieR game, and a lot of this criticism can honestly apply to the first game too. It's refreshing to hear someone that doesn't sing the absolute praise of Taro's work... as much as it can be enjoyable, it's still such wank, among the fanservice/outfits that has no place in a character that questions their life as a being worthy of respect and love (Kainé and 2B, A2...), the hyperbolic, nihilistic events in the games... I think you could pinpoint his faults as a writer very well.

[@DPortain]

A very thorough and well-structured review. The criticism is well deserved. Impressive that you made it through to the end! I'm glad you covered the character design too; I haven't seen anyone else talk about this aspect.

[@PixelaDay]

Thank you so much for watching and commenting, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@ig7157]

Now I know what I was missing when I dropped the game after 3-5 hours and why I just could not see what other people saw in the game. Thanks for doing what I could not in order to see what was behind it all.

[@PixelaDay]

I'm glad my suffering is being appreciated

[@PixelaDay]

So, the night before I released this video I had an excellent and enlightening conversation with NieR superfan Socratetris (link in the description - it was seriously a really fun and productive conversation, what a smart and lovely person) which gave me a new perspective on the game and my own opinions on it. I’d like to share some of those here: Characters/story: Although he agreed with me that a lot of the writing is very on-the-nose, he was actually able to glean a lot more than I did about the characters from reading into subtle dialogue cues and finding hints in side quests within the game which I hadn’t discovered. Ultimately I’m still not a fan of the game's storytelling style, or the decision to hide away fairly essential story and character information in hard to find places and side quests. Themes and ideas: In his infinite wisdom and philosophical learned-ness, Socratetris was able to draw out a million and one intellectual/philosophical ideas from the game that I was not able to. I’m not even going to try and disagree or say they’re not there, because I don’t have a thorough knowledge of the specific philosophies that are apparently being referenced. In this regard, I am 100% willing to concede that there may be meanings or ideas that I missed. One that I was able to comment on was feminist theory which I am fairly familiar with, and my opinion is that although the game references Simone de Beauvoir, its woefully voyeuristic representation of female characters shows me that as much as the game may reference feminist theory, it does not have much respect for (or perhaps understanding of) it. This does lead me to wonder whether the game is actually doing justice to the other philosophies it is referencing, or whether it’s a patchwork of superficial references with no real understanding of the ideas. I really can’t speak to that - at this point I’m skeptical but open-minded. It seemed that part of the reason Socratetris was able to pull more meanings from the game than me was that he is intimately aware of Yoko Taro’s previous work, themes and references and this really helped him to make sense of NieR: Automata. I am now more keenly aware (and maybe I should have emphasised this in the video) that I was appraising this game as a newbie to Yoko Taro’s work. I can now appreciate more that previous experience with Yoko Taro’s games may be hugely helpful in making sense of this game. At the same time, this also doesn’t fare well for Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito’s intention to make the game accessible to newcomers. My views on female representation in the game haven’t changed. “But 2B waves the camera away” - this is for me a very tokenistic gesture. If you think Yoko Taro truly did not want you to perv on 2B and A2, do you honestly think he would have designed them to look the way they do? The camera-wave only shows that Yoko Taro is aware enough that what he’s doing is “bad/naughty”, but doesn’t care enough to just not do it. Self-awareness is not subversion.

[@thisguyfromtherenaissance934]

Yoko Taro's works are really hard to get into I think. His games are all really flawed in many different ways. However I can also see something that I sadly don't see enough in video games, wich is individuality. I'm sorry if I'm creating this big narrative of game auteur or something but I really feel like it. Also academical feminist point of view of his games would be something that I would love to watch.

[@Medytacjusz]

Damn, I'm really itching to write something about sexualised pervy designs in games. And about death cults. I guess this essay stirs thought is what I'm saying! Also very nice editing, for a small channel. Either you already do editing professionally or you have some helpful friend? @@thisguyfromtherenaissance934 I really see nothing wrong with looking at games from the "auteur" perspective, at least when treating the term loosely and remembering that games are team-made (but films are as well). Then again I've recently seen some vid about "the myth of auteur game designers" or something, it's probably somewhere in my "watch later", gotta give it a listen.

[@vazazell5967]

@Ryan Vetter i really don't get why people keep blaming yoko taro for 2Bs design when he isn't a character designer and doesn't even really cares that much? It probably was like that: yoko told what ideas character supposed to express, artist drew a pretty girl, and yoko said "nice" and that's it

[@etamr60]

I'm not a specialist of either, but calling a character Pascal or Engels, and the passing reference to their writings, creates only the illusion of depth.

[@jellosapiens7261]

I think you're giving this Socratetris guy too much credit, I think your initial feelings are spot-on

[@dipo7502]

Just wanna say, i’ve rewatched this video multiple times since it’s so good. It’s also very validating since the majority of the internet treat this game like it has the best writing in any game ever, so i felt kinda crazy and alienated that i didn’t feel the same way. I couldn’t really put into words what I don’t like about it but you did that perfectly for me. I think another reason why I couldn’t get into this game is because i’ve recently felt like I grew out of anime after spending most of my childhood and teenage years loving it, so this style of “anime” storytelling just felt overdone and annoying to me, a bit sad that I stopped loving something that was a huge part of my life but that’s part of growing up it seems. Keep up the great work! Really want to check out your outer wilds video but im currently playing it and don’t want to get spoiled lol.

[@PixelaDay]

Oof I feel you about growing out of anime, me too ❤️ Good choice, don’t let outer wilds get spoiled for you! Thanks for your lovely comment!

[@sharinganmoon]

It's crazy to me that Nier Automata was praised so much for portraying the same story from the perspective of different people... when sonic adventure did the same thing in 1999 lmfao ... With arguably a better story too

[@jasoncook7003]

I've felt for so long I was missing something about this game and have felt guilty leaving it unfinished in my back log. This essay finally feels like the permission I need to set the ambition of finishing this game to rest. Honestly, thank you for making this.

[@PixelaDay]

That’s really nice to hear. Thank you!!

[@ivanhorvat8403]

Play the game. This essay misses so much it's either obscenely oblivious or deliberately dishonest.

[@GuyIncognitoIV]

I found the praise for it utterly baffling for much of the reasons you describe, so it's refreshing to see this. I find that I keep getting burned when I try to engage with anime-esque stuff and go in expecting a deep story exploring interesting themes. Even putting aside certain dialogue conventions and character tropes that aren't my cup of tea even in stuff I do like, I often run into things I consider large issues if the story is meant to be serious and engaging, such as lack of cohesion, jarring tonal shifts into zany or poor-taste comic relief moments, hammy melodrama that's unintentionally funnier than the comic relief moments, nonsensical "deep" speeches, and endless filler. Some of that's still a matter of taste of course, but I find nonsense and extreme filler particularly hard to defend. Automata managed all of this in spades while also insisting on wasting my time at every given opportunity (could have allowed saves at any time, could have cut almost all of Route B, etc.), leaving me in an extremely unreceptive mood when I finally reached the bits and pieces that did engage me. Fair play to him for being open about it but it doesn't surprise me Yoko Taro wasn't putting much thought into the themes, since the one about the nature of consciousness and whether machines can have it was constantly undermined by the fact that you're already playing as machines with consciousness. They might have a different name and look but they're still essentially the same kind of being as the ones they're fighting - consequently, how can you have any big revelation about consciousness? I don't recall any self-reflective moments where the androids questioned whether they indeed were conscious in the first place, which would have been the interesting route to take this. As it stands, you're just seeing them constantly ask a question that has no intrigue because they're already a walking talking answer to it from the very start. I also absolutely loathe "it's all in side materials" as a defence for why a story is actually genius. If it can't stand up within a piece of media without being propped up by external pieces, as far as I'm concerned the story has failed. It's overall frustrating just because you can see the threads of something with the potential to be really interesting, but the implementation fucks that up at every opportunity.

[@GreenZinfidel]

I landed on this video while searching for a fast, spoiler-y breakdown of the game's story since I was unable to suffer through more than the first segment of the game. So first, I would like to thank you for your suffering so the rest of us don't have to! Second, I want to thank you for putting into much more comprehensive and eloquent terms, criticisms that I had about the game but was not able to express well. Watching your essay was like having a lot of puzzle pieces of a complete criticism of this game finally fall into place. Third, using Ex Machina as a backboard for criticisms of the game's character design blew me away because I love that movie so much, and yet never once thought about how brilliantly damning the comparison is of Nathan's and this game's designs. tl;dr: great essay!

[@PixelaDay]

Thank you so much for the kind words 🥰

[@KuratherisTu]

Agree with pretty much everything here. I went in with high expectations because of the praise and because I love the first game, but then it quickly fell apart from the very beginning. -The fairly long segments with no saving. -Half the 2D-movement sections feel pointless and annoying that they're 2D. -The level system is a bad, lazy way to create difficulty/progression and block you off from certain things. -RNG chip drops that you have to grind for if you want a really good build(nearly required for one of the DLC arenas). -Feeling like I might permanently miss some things because the game doesn't have chapter select from the beginning. -Sexualization that feels pointless and out of character. -Route B could probably be combined with route A with small changes. -The main characters are flat with hardly any actual character or development shown. -A lot of the Yorha feel like normal people, yet they crap all over that with the most nonsensical thing I could imagine in the beginning of route C and one of the top secret archives. Nier Replicant(Or Nier Gestalt which is the one I played) is better in nearly every way in my opinion. -An incredible story twist. -Main characters I could empathize with and want to succeed. -Nice little towns of people that feel more real. -Fun banter between characters. -No RNG stat boosts, it just has small stat boosts you unlock permanently and select a few of. -The leveling system doesn't effect too much. -The magic feels cooler and more dynamic to combat than the Pods. -Like Automata, it has you play through a few times for different endings, except you start at the halfway point, it doesn't take long to run through, and one of those playthroughs COMPLETELY changes your perspective on the story even though it's the same events.

[@hypnotic313]

I got to your part on religion and waited to see if you'd touch on a the "ah ha" moment that occurred here with your writing. All your points on religion versus what is portrayed here are exactly right with the exception of the key thing the game has been trying to get across from the very beginning. The machines are trying to seek a purpose for their existence, but with zero over site, they struggle immensely to figure it out. So they come to what they assumed to he a logically route to travel down, "if we mimic the philosophies of human nature than through those acts we should be able to come to our own understanding of why we existence much like they had." the issue with their execution is that they fail to learn and evolve like humans do. rarely thinking past a binary input of "if we do this than this will be the outcome" for example. the songstress struggled to find meaning in her being "alive" so, through research, she found that humans often stated that they found meaning in their lives through love and romance. So she took that as, "I need to find love in order to define my existence." She failed. repeatedly. and then went to research more. through more research, she found the best way for someone who defines themselves as female to attract a male significant other would be through their looks. with that, she did everything age could to make herself appear "beautiful." Forcing herself through eating disorders in hopes of getting her crush to notice her. but it never works. and unlike humans, who in most cases (thankful) begin to realize that their is more to attraction than the physical aspect, she never evolved past that. The death cult is another example. When their high priest dead, instead of marking it off as, "oh crap! what do we do now" they immediately shifted gears into, "oh! so in order to evolve, we must die. and then we can become God's ourselves!" there are dozens of machines talking about how that isn't the dirt outlook. that the others are just going crazy and misinterpretation the situation. if you stop to talk to them when you can, they'll mention how that that wasn't what they signed up for. they just wanted a safe haven, a community, and a place to live with their families. before the boss fight you can talk to a machine that is basically crying about how he just lost his brother and doesn't understand how things went wrong so fast. the story of Nier is found in exploration and side quest. you aren't forced to complete any of them. you could just follow the main story beats and get your game completion. Yoko Taro made it a point to give you the freedom to choose. Honestly, the best way to describe Nier would be, "Your experience of the game is exactly that. Your experience of the game." I chose to do every single side quest that I could at each stage of the game. For me, each side quest added the context I needed before completing the next main quest. Especially if you complete the mystery of the red cloak quest before completing route C. Made the final revelation of the game that much more impactful. As well as that much more meaningless once you get that "ah ha", moment.

[@LaurenceSouthDrumsUK]

The issue is the side quests are mind numbingly boring, either amount to go to X location to acquire item and bring back or go to X location to fight enemies and return to quest giver. What makes it even worse is the constant backtracking through the same bland 4 environments so it becomes a complete chore to uncover these essential world building components

[@slamdangles]

Wow... you nailed a lot of my opinions on this game. I WANTED to like this game... and at points I did... but it dragged on, and on, and on, and on.... It became a fucking slog to get through. I eventually just uninstalled my torrented + modded copy and said goodbye to it.

[@v12vanquish135]

This is the first review that manages to put words on what I felt the whole time I was playing this game. Like you I had so much expectations about A2, like getting to play her would "unlock" the story and make all the painful trek through A and B worth it in retrospect. All along you see snippets of a plot, a story going on in the background, that 2B and 9S just don't get to see. Especially since there was that sidequest where some Yorha androids are deserting and you help them escape, they mention some kind of resistance. "For sure that's going to be A2!" I naively thought to myself. Then route C starts and..... a big wet fart, like the rest of it. She just kills robots aimlessly and that's all. Nothing more. Because nothing matters, it's nihilism, get it? Except that Nietzsche's point in the whole "God is dead, we killed him" story, was that when you realize there is no ultimate meaning in life, it is all the more critical to find meaning for yourself, so that you may keep going and save your own soul. This game missed that part completely. It has no soul. Thank you for making this essay. It'll be my go-to whenever I need to properly explain my view of this game to someone.

[@StainlessHelena]

Imagine this: You go to a highly acclaimed restaurant and the food is utterly bland. Upon mentioning this to another guest they tell you that need to go to a different place to get certain sauces and side dishes and bring them with you to the restaurant to mix with and accompany the dish. You follow the given instructions and yes, the eating experience is improved but you wonder why it wasn't served in this better way in the first place.

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks for the chuckle! Some knowledgeable people have let me know though that some of that stuff was in the game - just in side quests I hadn’t done!

[@myusername3689]

FINALLY AN ACTUALLY SENSIBLE CRITICISM IN THIS GOD AWFUL COMMENT SECTION! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[@myusername3689]

You deserve a sub just for that alone.

[@myusername3689]

You singlehandedly made my day better.

[@razzy9172]

Man, that's dumb do you seriously Have to do the sidequests to make the game experience "better"? And follow how to play it to understand it. Man that doesnt sound like a fun game at all. Side quests should just be fun side activities and side stories not locking the main story away. Jesus this game is a waste of time 😕

[@huckmart2017]

One thing that disappoints me more than anything is the combat. Its one thing that many reviewers said was fantastic and akin to devil may cry or metal gear revengence, but i find it hard to agree. It kind of seems like it has depth when you first play, but the more you get into it, the more it becomes obvious that stats matter more than the flashy combos and abilitys. It ends up feeling much more like an rpg by the end and player skill just doesn't matter, even on hard. You can just equip an op chip set and mash light attack to win.

[@the_real_breeso]

I just wanna say that I am really glad that this review exists. You must have spent a lot of work on this video and it shows. I was really looking forward to playing this game, especially after finishing Replicant (which had some very questionable and repetitive design choices, but a much more interesting story, themes and characters). This game was a huge disappointment and I felt like I was going crazy, because everyone I've met said that this was their 11/10 deep philosophical masterpiece GOAT. I completely agree with you that the themes were explored in a horribly shallow way and the referential stuff like naming all their robots philosopher names doesn't really add to the depth or anything. But I'm getting off-topic, thank you once again for the video and have a pleasant day.

[@PixelaDay]

Lovely comment ❤️ Thank you!

[@myusername3689]

Calling it a philosophical game is misleading. Throughout the entire game, it paints machines that idolize historical figures without a second thought in a very negative light as they make many mistakes and suffer because they want to be those historical figures and philosophers. Their knowledge of these philosophers is basically elementary school level because they were never able to realize the flaws these philosophers had.

[@s3archery849]

Great summary. Bought game in 2024 due to seeing the hundreds of reviews saying it’s the greatest game of all time, played 70 hours now to get thru ending E plus a spattering of rando finishes, and was feeling I missed everything as I felt nothing and seemed like a bunch of random weird stuff crammed together. Played DS, DS3, ER, Horizon ZD and Horizon FW and was blown away by stories, where this felt utterly incomplete…or I missed everything. Glad there are others with same experience.

[@rustygear447]

I'm glad you made this video. You put my immense disappointment at this game into words far better than i ever could. Thank you!

[@PixelaDay]

You're welcome!

[@bottlezone]

I tried and failed three times to get into this game after having it constantly recommended. Frankly I'm glad to hear such a thorough takedown from someone who's opinions seem to often mirror my own, now I feel more confident in shelving this one good! I'm also happy to know that I don't live in a world in which sexy anime maid/fighter jets are hiding an unmissable piece of brilliant sci-fi writing.

[@flufflenuggit6499]

As someone who's tried to get into Automata multiple times. I can never bring myself to finish it. And once I heard the first Nier was essentially getting a remaster. I bought it for retail price. I thought, "Maybe the first game is just as worse. But it looks more graphically impressive than Automata. I'll give it a try." From the opening sequence where you see a desolate city with broken worn down buildings, snow or what looks to be snow falling from the skies, the somber tone playing in the backround, an abandoned store with a young boy with a pipe curled up as if he's going to die evoked so many emotions that I was already invested within a matter of seconds. Sure, the story took a turn once that sequence ended, but at that point, I was all in and ready to learn more about what happened. Nier Replicant may not have the most engaging gameplay, but the characters and story of life and mystery had me intrigued from start to finish. It was essentially the perfect equilibrium. I felt like I got my money's worth with Nier Replicant as opposed to Nier Automata, where I bought it on sale for $20 and felt as if I spent too much. Props to this video!

[@PixelaDay]

Glad you enjoyed the vid (and that you had a better experience with NieR!) :)

[@jellosapiens7261]

I feel like Fire Emblem: Three Houses did the "three playthroughs" thing infinitely better but got zero credit for it because it wasn't constantly trying to remind you how deep it was for doing it

[@Taco_Thief]

Nier automata never did that what are you talking about

[@notarealspy4090]

@@Taco_Thief repetition is a bitch sometimes

[@Taco_Thief]

@@notarealspy4090 it's not like the game is forcing you to play more and it's not reminding you how deep it is for doing it this commenter is delusional

[@frogglen6350]

FE 3 House's literally has 12 chapters ve the exact same story line

[@AJayZy]

@@Taco_ThiefIt does always hits you over the head with its teenage philosophies. I mean the video already addressed all this.

[@AmariR_28]

This has to be the most accurate review of this game. I was constantly questioning myself if I was playing this properly because according to everyone else, this game is a masterpiece. Imagine my confusion 33+ hours in. I still haven’t finished the game but at least now I know there’s nothing to look forward to.

[@EvanOfTheDarkness]

Well, not all games have, or need universal appeal. If the game didn't grab you by the end of the opening mission, then it's just not your cup of tea. Yoko Taro's games are usually very niche, honestly the bigger surprise was that Automata resonated with so many people. I, for one loved both it, and the original NieR.

[@AndrejZzzz]

​@EvanOfTheDarkness I also feel like automata itself is almost it's own separate niche entirely. Because I also loved nier replicant but didn't really enjoy automata

[@t_e_i]

Great video! Gotta say, it helped me with structuring my own thoughts about this game. Personally, I'm more interested in gameplay as opposed to story. So I could describe why I didn't like the game mechanics. All that constant switching between genres ended up making it a"Jack of all trades, master of none". But the story part kinda left me puzzled. Because everyone around me was praising this "ultimate humanist tale", "a profound moment in gaming history" and I was just looking at an obviously fan-service character doing banal things. It just felt empty. Kinda made me doubt my own perception, as if I was missing something. One thing that irks me a lot in conversations about this game is that people ignore that references =/= deep exploration of the subject matter. Just because an NPC is named Pascal, it does not make it a thesis about the conflict of God and free will. It's just a reference. It seems to me that a lot of perceived depth of this game is just surface-level nods to greater topics, that are never explored in full. Instead, the narrative constantly switches to something else, to some new cool thing, to a different spectacle.

[@myusername3689]

Please, for the love of god, stop watching review videos. 99% of automata review videos are made by fake fans who don’t know jack shit about the story and what you actually need to do to fully understand it. (You probably won’t like the tasks required to completely piece the story and characters together because a lot of it is hidden in side material unlike Replicant. I prefer replicant for this reason.)

[@myusername3689]

Heck, I can use the religion part as an example of how the game isn’t what fake fans are trying to push. The whole point of machines with religion is to show that they have a very shallow understanding of religion but are going to recreate it regardless despite the obvious problems that it’ll pose. It’s showing that thousands of years after humanity is extinct, the remaining living entities know nothing about those humans and because of that, they’ll repeat many of the mistakes that a primitive humanity would’ve done ages ago. It doesn’t say anything about religion itself because it isn’t even supposed to.

[@SomeOtherTroper]

"It's corny, it's childish, and it doesn't reflect the human experience of trying to find a purpose in life." ...And that's the point. Nobody here is human (except Emil, but that doesn't matter for the purposes of this discussion). Neither the YorHa androids nor the machines have any of the human background, via nature and nurture, to "struggle to find the meaning in life like the rest of us do every day", because they're not humans. They imitate humans in form, or in actions, or in both as part of their search for meaning in life and emotions, but none of them have the framework that most humans have simply by being humans and growing up in a human world. That's why they're so inclined to just awkwardly state their emotions and feelings straight out, and their expressions of those feelings are so robotic, imitative, or the most hackneyed statements and screaming reactions prompted by emotions that they don't have a framework to properly express. You mentioned that the 9S hack of the amusement park boss was actually moving, and I'd argue that it's moving because it's a raw, unfiltered, and recognizable slew of emotions that's understandable on a human level - but that boss becomes something monstrous due to those emotions, like other characters who scream about there being no meaning, or about other emotions, because they simply don't have the benefit of an upbringing in a human society that understands those emotions and either accepts them or has its own set of ideas about how they should be expressed that are taught both explicitly and implicitly from the youngest of ages. You're entirely correct about it being "like an angsty teen wrote a story about life and death", because that's exactly what's happening for most of the characters: the ones who've broken out with emotions, feelings, and desires that they don't understand how to control or really even what they mean ("You want to ____ 2B, don't you?" ...And "kill", "fuck", "love", and "hate" all fit neatly in that four letter blank spot), much like human puberty inundates immature humans with a maelstrom of hair-trigger feelings and impulses they don't necessarily have the internal knowledge and resources to identify and deal with. Unlike human teenagers, though, these machines and androids have very little (or absolutely nothing) in the way or prior exposure or training to identify, understand, and control what they're feeling, and even less knowledge about how to try to go about satisfying these new emotions and desires or any sort of framework to fit them into than a normal human teenager would have. Part of the reason Pascal sticks out, and is such a good character, is that Pascal is trying to learn and find a framework to fit this into. Not doing the best of jobs, but trying. What makes things very interesting is when the androids and machines aren't simply being imitative, but just accidentally stumbling into expressions of emotion, like the little robot in 9S' prologue carrying buckets of oil to his dead brother in the hope that he can make his brother start moving again, and all the other moments where these androids and machines aren't thinking about expressing emotion or about what the 'meaning' is to their actions - they just do it, displaying something that may be clumsy and ineffective, but entirely genuine. As you said about Dear Esther, "When we say something is pretentious, then, what we’re actually saying is “I don’t find meaning in this, and therefore, there is none”". There is meaning to Nier Automata from other perspectives. "Automata" itself originated as a term for clockwork contraptions that had a 1-to-1 reaction to certain inputs (when they weren't just a midget in a cabinet sliding the chess pieces around from under the table), and the story and 'vibe' of the artistic piece here is about how clockwork (or silicon, or whatever these machines and androids' cognition is made from) tries to become human via imitation or other methods, and often ends up succeeding only in the most unplanned ways and moments - and they have no idea how to deal with it. Shout out for referencing Ex Machina, which is a movie that flew under the radar and I'd be very interested in your total take on the piece. It does have a strong connection: how much would change if the androids (technically mostly gynoids) in it were people brainwashed into thinking they were robots? "Robot" itself derived from "rab", the Czech word for "slave" and "robota", the word used for forced labor serfs were compelled to carry out for their masters, in Rossum's Universal Robots, a play by Karel Čapek, in which the robots are biological but assembled and programmed/conditioned. And you left a massive chunk of the story on the table, never even mentioning 2E and what her mission truly is, which is what I consider to be the major turning point in the story, and why 9S' route has to be so similar yet so violently different after a certain point. Hell, that even ties into A2 deliberately isolating herself in one of the endgame zones for such a long time that she began to at least manage her anger, and possibly understand it, instead of trying to lock it away or reset herself. It's always interesting to hear someone else's opinion about a piece of art, and I think some of your critiques are merited, but some of them seem to be backlash from the immense amount of hype this game got going, and others - I said it before, and I'll say it again: we're watching a bunch of robots/androids/gynoids/machines/etc. trying to come to terms with simply LIVING, with practically nothing to guide them but dogmatic ideas and decrees from one place or another, and fucking it up because they don't have a real community to guide them, they don't have the wisdom of the ages, they don't have parental figures, they don't have anyone but zealots and shysters and Pascal trying to guide them about how to channels their emotions and existential crises. That's the point, and nowhere is it exemplified more explicitly than in the credits, where the only way to succeed and reach the final ending comes from other players who've sacrificed their entire save file to give you another chance. The kind of community none of the Androids/gynoids or machines ever had.

[@ghostshark680]

Played nier: automata a while ago with no prior experience with the nier franchise, and thought it was pretty good. I then played the nier: replicant remake and was blown away at how much more enjoyable the universe, characters, and plot was as opposed to automata, and then I got disappointed knowing how much greater automata could have been as a sequel.

[@matthewlugo2417]

Nier automata is a sequel tho lol

[@ghostshark680]

@@matthewlugo2417 that’s what I’m saying. As a sequel, it couldn’t hold up to replicant/gestalt

[@matthewlugo2417]

@@ghostshark680 heres the thing tho, i think both games are masterpieces, cause they both tackle the same story but in different times and different context, and i think the way automata ends handles it better then replicant cause its makes you the player decide to end the cycle of violence, help someone you might not even know or like. The game lets you be the hero by sacrificing a part of yourself to do so, its selfless act of love and compassion that is all humans. Nier has a strong message but i think automata message is much louder and much stronger, through the ups and downs, the war, the hate, the prejudice etc, we are all human and are capable of love and understanding. We dont have to kill eachother, were the same even if our skin is different

[@myusername3689]

I prefer replicants game story structure due to the side quests not having as big of, if any impact on the interpretation of the story. You just play the game and progress normally and it shows you everything you need to know in order to get it, basically avoiding Automata’s problem of a lot of people not understanding the story because they were never advised to carefully analyze side quests.

[@mammutbrot9230]

I wholeheartedly agree with this video. Found myself just being bored with the game and waiting for anything deep or meaningful to happen.

[@therpgloverreviews7399]

just finished the game, yeah i pretty much agree with you, the story is fine but not the masterpiece i wwas promised, i just felt it shallow

[@Cannotbetamed1]

This video was so cathartic to watch. Every time someone talks about how meaningful and unique and great the game is, I just can’t wrap my head around it. When I played I couldn’t even really analyze the story and characters because I found the gameplay design so infuriating I was usually too distracted to notice anything else. The multiple repetitive playthroughs needed, fast travel never wanting to open up soon enough, no save points where they should be, not even being able to read the options menu to invert the y axis before the first boss, the boring combat. It all just seemed designed to waste my time. I got to the beginning of playthrough C, where I fell into a hole I couldn’t get out of because all my abilities were gone and the last checkpoint was the the start of the chapter, and called it quits. Loved the video.

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks, I'm glad I was able to bring some catharsis :)

[@HusseinBash77]

Exceptional work! At first I was slightly intimidated by the 53 minutes this video had to offer but 5 minutes into the video made me grab some drinks and snacks to watch the rest of it and before I knew it , the video was over! Honestly just brilliant.

[@PixelaDay]

That’s so nice to hear! Glad you enjoyed the show 😊

[@azzy3618]

Even after finishing the game up to Ending E, i still prefer Iron Giant and how it explores its own themes of existence and humanity better than Nier automata. Iron giant just had something Nier Automata didnt have.... Heart.

[@ruggedtrash2765]

Quite stupidly on my part, I finished the entire intended playthrough so I could be entitled to an opinion on the game. I kept seeing comments that It was a masterpiece, and theres no way one could form a proper opinion if they hadnt finished the 3 playthroughs. So I wobbled on, just to arrive to the same conclusion (Although a more informed one. Praise my dumb self-inflicted tedium!) Of course nobody directly told me so, but I felt off by the sheer volume of opposite opinion. Watching this is a breath of fresh air.

[@althing7]

This pretty much summarizes my feelings about the game (though I wasn't patient enough to play through all 30 hours).

[@mtwhdtdtic]

Your channel is the coolest game channel I've stumbled across in a very long time, currently binging all your videos! Automata blew me away when I first played it, I cried so much, still one of my favorite games ever. But I loved your video, very thoughtful and I actually agree with a lot! Especially the lack of backstory about A2. The first flashback she had was cool, but her campaign was more about Pascal than her, she spent most of the time being a jerk, which felt very unsatisfying. In the end, I think I'm very into the game mostly because I actually like "on-the-nose" storytelling. I'm very bad at picking up subtlety and nuance in a story, so I prefer having everything "spelled out".

[@PixelaDay]

Glad you liked the vid! Be sure to spread the word if you’re enjoying the channel 😊

[@alloounou6900]

It's weird to me that people latch on to a theme of consciousness within machines and if it's possible. I never got that feeling from this game. That was very upfront and center. You play as androids with emotions and thought. Faulting the game for writing there seems unfair. Rather, the androids behavior to the machines could be viewed as the effects of brainwashing and unlearning what you're told with the evidence of your eyes.

[@HanmaHeiro]

Having liked this game. I love this review. Thanks for calling it out on some of its bull

[@PixelaDay]

My pleasure :) This is a nice comment to receive, thanks!

[@SpaceJamzzz]

I'll be honest - and at the risk of making massive assumptions and saying something extremely reductive towards this game - I think Yoko Taro is a fan of games and anime, and I think his writing suffers from being framed by a lifetime of influence from Japanese games and anime. I think Automata fails to deliver interesting things to say about the human condition because Yoko Taro doesn't really have much to say about the human condition. I'm reminded of Hayao Miyazaki's critique of the modern anime industry, where he noted that so much anime is created basically by otaku who are so immersed in the medium that they don't really have any interest in or meaningful things to say about real life. They create things which pander to people like themselves. Like, I could never show this game to my fucking dad and I know that seems like a silly statement but I think it actually is pretty telling. You have to take so much anime bullshit for granted before you can even begin to grapple with this thing

[@PixelaDay]

I was a huge anime fan for 10 years but as I got older I found it more and more difficult to uncritically accept the BS, the dumb tropes, the fan service etc. Nier Automata felt very empty of substance to me too, similar to a lot of anime as you say. Which is fine if you’re an otaku who just wants to be pandered to, but the way people put this game on a pedestal is weird to me.

[@cosmicprison9819]

Two things I learned last year: 1) NieR: Automata is not nearly as ingenious as everyone claims it is, 2) Yu-Gi-Oh! was not nearly as bad as I remembered it from having watched it as a kid. 😂

[@luisapaza317]

@@cosmicprison9819 interesting

[@pimscrypt]

I’m not gonna lie, at first I thought I was going to disagree more than I eventually ended up doing. It’s gonna be hard to go back to this game and look at it the same way I did back in 2017, that’s for sure!

[@CapraDaAlbaRegia]

I was the exact opposite way. I was really looking forward to someone picking apart the problems the game has in executing it's vision because it does fail in a lot of ways in what it's trying to be, but this critique or atleast most of it's points seems to come from a fundamemtal misunderstanding of both the game and Taro. Especially at the end. It's understandable as it is written and made in an unusual waybut still deflates the critique. A lot of things couldn't even get to the point of agreement or disagreement because the premise of the complaint was nonsensical.

[@sam-bj2hp]

@@CapraDaAlbaRegia care to elaborate? How is she misunderstanding?

[@myusername3689]

@@sam-bj2hp It’s less misunderstanding but rather people watching the wrong reviews giving them too high of an expectation for this game. If you want to watch a review, forget it. Watch analysis videos instead. Clemp’s analysis videos are perfect for this since he doesn’t overhype the game and actually goes into fucking detail about the plot and the story so that you can go into the game with proper expectations. He also talks about the side quests that you’re gonna need to do before things start making sense. If his videos were more popular, I guaranteed you this video would’ve never needed to be made.

[@myusername3689]

@@sam-bj2hp Basically, don’t listen to normies who overhype the game, listen to actually experienced people to get a proper view of the game before playing it.

[@donb6897]

@@myusername3689 "don't listen to normies that overhype the game, instead go watch a spoiler loaded analysis of the game before you go into it so nothing that happens during it has any emotional impact on you" shit... this is one interesting comment section

[@DavetheTurnip]

Wow Kat, I'm researching my own Nier: Automata video, and I've just finished part 1 of this critique. I wanted to say how much I appreciate how blunt you are regarding how the story and characters had no emotional effect on you. I have similar feelings, and it was nice to see them put out there without any sugar coating. Great stuff. I shall now continue watching. 😁

[@friendlight6992]

Automata to me was a game of low lows and high highs. The soundtrack, visuals and scenes produce memorable moments to me, and I completely understand that if there are no moments that really hit home the grating elements of the game overwhelm the player. I think some people brush over the pretty glaring problems of the game due to the fact that they got something good out of it, when in fact any recommendation of this game should come with massive caveats.

[@PixelaDay]

I agree, thanks for your comments!

[@cybernet343]

"if there are no moments that really hit home the grating elements of the game overwhelm the player" I am sorry, is not that every game experience ever under the lens of subjectivity? I mean, you can say this about every game recommendation. Depending on what irks the person you recommend it to, there is always a chance for the outcome you describe, even if the game is otherwise excellent in other aspects that matter more to different players. This is the inherent nature of opinions and consequently of recommendations derived from these opinions. This is not specific to Nier. Every recommendation is inherently riddled with such caveats.

[@ranzteeezy9716]

"This game is very emotional" Yes that's true, i felt a lot of cringe emotions while playing it.

[@PixelaDay]

The basic emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, cringe

[@mrorlov2706]

Hahah well said.

[@TrouvatkiDePercusion]

I felt exactly two emotions while playing this game: 90% boredom 10% frustration Absolute waste of money.

[@luisapaza317]

@@TrouvatkiDePercusion x2

[@JamieZero7]

Mine was a disappointment I loved first Nier and Drakengard 3. I was so excited to get this I pre-ordered it months and spent about 4 hours tops with it before boredom and lack of story. And I didn't find the over-the-top combat better either. I think combat was fine in nier. And that's the problem.

[@bananasean5145]

In regards to the your enjoyment of the combat you reminded me of my brother. We would play the same game side by side and I noticed he would ever use one move over and over. I asked him "why don't you try using all the other moves that look much cooler?". He said "it doesn't matter cus this gets the job done." However in my game play I found enjoyment in making the attacks look as flashy cinematic and seamless as possible. Some people just play differently but I wouldn't say combat is bad.

[@luisapaza317]

I believe it depends on the sofistication of the gameplay.

[@emptyorchestra]

It is the designers job to make the player use other moves so tricking yourself to use other moves for the sake of it doesn't change the fact that this game's combat is not good.

[@Skiad-OpsGash]

I just recently found your channel and I thoroughly enjoy your sharp and original analyses. I also played Nier: Automata based on its positive reviews but it just didn't quite work for me (except for the music and the ending credits sequence). I always thought I missed something and I have to go back but the thought of going through route a and b again really didn't appeal to me. So I just wanted to say: Thank you! I'm really grateful because you took the time to put words to my unsorted intuitions - so I learned a lot and you saved me (also a person above thirty with a full time job) a lot of time.

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks for your lovely comment, glad you appreciated the vid :)

[@kalorathekau]

Surprised to see this video only has 6349 views; it's well-written, and so much effort went into the editing. I haven't listened to the conversation with Socratetris yet, so maybe I'm jumping the gun here; but one thing I want to say is that I don't feel that simply referencing philosophies is deep or meaningful. "Wide as an ocean, but an inch deep" is the vibe I get, and I have that same critique with the latest FF14 expansion, the story of which was also acclaimed by fans and critics. A story doesn't get points just for namedropping or referencing a million philosophies; stories get points for actually exploring it in its text.

[@myusername3689]

Oh boy your comment sure aged well. Socratetris pretty much debunks all the points you made in this comment besides the opinion ones(you can’t debunk an opinion). He has made a ton of videos besides his conversation with Pixels video that goes more in depth about what Nier Automata actually does with Philosophy. But I’m gonna be honest, it’s not your fault you didn’t get it the first time. Yoko Taro is an infamous troll especially with automata so he does pretty much everything in his power to make sure newbies don’t find all the pieces the first time. To me it kind of sounds like gatekeeping to make sure only the most dedicated people can get access to the whole view.

[@John-qf9nr]

@@myusername3689this comment did not age well, a mile wide and an inch deep is the perfect way to describe it; everyone mentions how he basically wasn’t even trying on this game and he didn’t put much real deep thought into it and that is right, it’s TikTok 14 year old, want to sound smart, philosophy. No real substance here, Very disappointing.

[@pimsbury5155]

I could not put my finger on why I hated this game so much, but you really laid it out so well here. It just seems like every part of the game is lacking and the story itself was so shallow. I just couldn't understand why anybody thought the story was so "deep".

[@aagh8714]

yeah, what makes dead cultures/post apocalyptic settings fun to play through is seeing scraps and hints of the former world. adverts and billboards in fallout and enslaved, old prothean technology in mass effect, in automata it's just grey buildings. the desert mask culture with the 1,000,000,000s of rules from the original nier is pretty interesting, i think the city ruins would be more forgivable if the desert carried the weight, but except for a few references it's not really present

[@mouse5976]

Hearing so many of my own criticisms in this video beat for beat made me feel so seen.

[@PixelaDay]

Ha ha, I'm glad!

[@swedensy]

And she saved me 60 USD

[@FirstPlace97]

26:00 Persona 5 does existentialism so much better than Nier: Automata. I've always said that Persona, which may not seem like it on the surface, is far deeper than people think and Nier is not as deep. There are some philosophical underpinnings in Automata, but with poor characterization, it doesn't get the point across very effectively compared to other humanist works. Nier: Automata also relies heavily on the pathetic fallacy in its depiction of humanoid creatures rather than humans. This is normally not a problem when there is relatable character development, but there is very little of that here.

[@xNeoGenesis]

What a great video. I just finished the game for the first time earlier this week an I shared the exact same thoughts you developed all throughout my playthrough. I was very disappointed after all the praise but after many similar instances I've come to the conclusion that most people are easily impressed when there are mature and uncommon themes touched in a videogame but can't discern when it's not done in a thoughtful and developed way. On the topic of grief and as someone who has experienced it (and is still deeply affected by) I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the way this game approached the subject. On a separate note, I found many issues in Nier Automata are shared in Persona 5, where it has criticism towards problems in current society, including capitalism but it's done in such a naive, bland, superficial and childish way that is not meaningful in any way, yet all you see online is praises over and over and don't get me started on its one dimensional characters that are a huge step down from what was seen in Persona 4. Why is good writing in videogames so hard to find? It gets even more difficult when the masses sell some games as well written only to find it wasn't the case when you play them. Anyway, I'm happy to see there are people out there making great essays like this with a critical capacity, I have to thank the KZbin algorithm for recommending me this channel. It's easy to sing praises like the masses do but I'll always appreciate more when someone can see the negatives that sometimes are more clouded.

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks for your lovely comment! I haven't played Persona 5 but heard about how it tackles some of its issues and it doesn't seem great! Glad you vibed with this video.

[@JIX9ISLER1986]

@@PixelaDay We share basically identical thoughts about Nier Automata Stellar Blade is inspired by Nier and imo a better and more enjoyable game - Yoko Taro even said its the better game Nier Automata seems to have a blind cult following overlooking everything you pointed out in this video

[@orange19c]

I'm glad there are people who don't like this game instead of blindly calling it "one of the most incredible and philosophical games of all time" without examining its content beyond a surface level. I initially only disliked this game because of its portrayal of women and mediocre gameplay, but your video helped me realize that the writing and themes also lack real depth or meaning. It's sad to see that videos praising the game and talking about its supposedly profound nature get so many more views than in-depth, honest, and meaningful essays on the game's numerous flaws.

[@notarealspy4090]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who had second thoughts about the game, especially since I already had pre-estabilished expectations going into the game from the hype surrounding it, and jeeeeeez... The game was a let down for me, alot of the game felt like it had all style but no substance, no spice in the pie if you get the point, and as a bullet hell enjoyer... The bullet hell sections of Nier are so incredibly easy that I had to intentionally act stupid to even take damage The ability to delete enemy bullets is seldom thought of in bullet hells because compensating for it is alot more complicated than it seems, Nier doesn't compensate for the players ability to destroy most bullets Alot of the video fits my thoughts to the Nail too, I had some "oh that's neat" moments in the game, but yeah, the combat system is deceptively shallow, and the story implying it's going somewhere and probably getting you to think about things is good for speculation and theory, but if all these interesting thoughts I have about the story aren't being Met, Subverted, or Denied, then that potential I see in the story is wasted Overall... 4.5/10... The game was that big of a let down for me

[@lucassanchez9033]

I really do love Nier automata I really but I just found it surprising that I found basically no one really criticizing the game. I still do like the story and even though I agree that the gameplay is repetitive I really didn’t mind besides I know hack and slash aren’t exactly for everyone anyway. I really have to commend you for actually doing this criticism is important for improvement I hope next time Taro makes a game that won’t disappoint you

[@PixelaDay]

Thank you so much for your thoughts and open-mindedness :) I've also seen precious little criticism, I think that's why I went in with such high expectations!

[@Matt2D2Music]

I'm so glad that I've finally found someone who has been able to put my feelings into words! I feel like I should've loved this game but I just didn't, the music was the only part of the game that stuck with me. Thanks for an amazing and in depth video!

[@twooty2148]

This is the first video essay I've seen where the aesthetic is critiqued, that's new

[@seb1273]

Hi Kat, this is by far the best sum-up of the game and my thoughts on it I've encountered so far - absolutely spot-on, and incredibly great to put this all into a video in an age of (sadly) so much internet hate. Having played the entire "series" (the Dragkengard games + NieR) I have rarely been so disappointed by a game as I was by NieR:Automata, and I've spend a whole lot of time trying to pinpoint what my actual issues with it were. Admittedly you're used to a lot of positive and negative surprises when playing Yoko Taro games as they all have their quirks, especially on the gameplay side, but with Automata I was really universally baffled by pretty much all of the reasons you mentioned. Being made by Platinum Games you would expect a big boost on gameplay, sadly as you described that fell completely flat and I also switched the auto-combat on at some point as I just couldn't bear with it anymore. Then on top of that the comment from Yoko Taro really seems true, it's all such a weird mess of stereotypes, clichés and not really thought-out ideas. It just feels like name-dropping the philosophical ideas you've mentioned in your comment to make it sound ambitious, which is a trend of many Square Enix games over the last 2 decades. Like another commenter mentioned that might also be the effect Hayao Miyazaki criticized in regards to modern anime creators. That hits escpecially hard when compared to his previous works, specifically NieR and its extended remastered version, which at least seems like it's exploring ideas more thoroughly with some more thought behind it. In hindsight maybe he had the same approach, in that case it was a lucky shot that didn't feel too much like it - there's surely a big gap in storytelling quality between both games. What makes me a bit bitter about this is that in the end Automata received so much hype by many players and press people who haven't played the rather obscure and not-that-easy-to-play previous games and thus don't have any comparison to the (well, partially) more fleshed-out entries in the series, elevating both the game and Yoko Taro for all the wrong reasons. Now that really makes me sound like a bitter fan-boy, sorry for that :D Watching the newest Star Wars movies (some of which are universally panned) and calling them the best thing ever without ever having watched the original trilogy feels like a good comparison if you get my drift. Well, on the plus side it made room for the NieR remaster, which interestingly isn't really well-regarded among Automata fans or at least the ones I've exchanged thoughts with (take this with a grain of salt here, I'm not sure if that's the common opinion). Again, thanks so much for this great essay. I rarely comment on anything online, in this case I just wanted to leave this here :) Great work.

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks for your awesome comment! It blows me away when even NieR fanboys and girls share some of my opinions on Automata :)

[@aboorsa]

well done, it was an entertaining eloquent and thoughtful critique, The emperor's new clothes was also on my mind while playing the game, it also made me think of the Stockholm syndrome and sunk cost fallacy, as people that spend so much time playing the game and it's various playthroughs just don't want to admit to themselves that it was partly a waste of time, it's ironical as by wasting you're time it makes you in a way face you're own search for meaning (though i don't think it's intentional) I already broke in the 2nd playthrough as it was just mainly padding, so I looked up the rest online and was relieved of the time that was saved, and this video has helped close some other corners while I was also trying to understand why the game is so highly regarded It's also kind of interesting to see the similarities of the faults in this game and final fantasy 15 where to get the lore you need to first see a movie and several anime like shorts and play the DLC's and and so on so it's world wont feel so superficial and shallow and that stuff just makes no sense

[@3xtan327]

I’m glad someone else has a slightly more critical view of this game, I feel like I was one of the few people who didn’t think it was some kind of subversive masterpiece in all aspects.

[@mrporcupine4140]

So glad to see I wasn't alone in my disappointment! Finished the game a couple of days ago and found myself perplexed at how many people claimed it was touching to the deepest level and left them thinking about some profound existential stuff. For someone who has barely ever pondered over nihilistic and existentials matters such as the existence of free will, the meaning of life, the souce of consciousness, or the grim reality that one day, pretty soon on cosmic scales, you will cease to exist, this game might be a catalyst to fire up your neurons on such thoughts. But by the time I played it I had already weathered through my fair share of existential crises on many of those topics, so NieR: Automata (which in the best case only touches on them at a surface level) failed to move me on that regard. I've also read about several somehwat opposing philosohical theories being present in the characters of the game, mainly A2 and 9S towards the end of the game, but I never cared about their characters since they were so poorly fleshed out, so I never paid much attention to whatever their actions were supposed to represent. Ultimately, the lore behind the game is a million times more interesting than the game itself. After finishing it I spent hours reading about all of the events that happen prior to the start of the game. The White Chlorination Syndrome, Project Gestalt, Replicants, how humanity was doomed by a man trying to save what was dear to him, how Emil had to fight the aliens alone when they invaded, why and how project YoRHa was created, and many, many more. One that stuck with me was "A Much Too Silent Sea", which narrates the story about a lone healer type supposedly stationed in a facility deep in the ocean, who accidentally discovers she'd been living in a lie (won't spoil it here in case anyone who sees this wants to read it). We can only hope the anime that's been announced will have a more compelling story with properly developed characters, though I've had the misfortune of watching plenty of animes that had the same problem of wasted potential that plagued this game. Oh, and it's being made by A-1 Pictures so don't get your hopes too high. One can only wish a story like this could be brought to life by the likes of Bones, Sunrise or Shaft, but hey, at least we didn't get Toei Animation!

[@PixelaDay]

At least you got some stuff out of the supplemental material! 😅 I liked Small Flowers myself. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@razzy9172]

My problem is with the story especially Pascal story I thought children killing themselves after learning what fear was didn't make sense it came out of nowhere. Think about it, Pascal and his village lived as pacifists and since the machine village got infected and got destroyed and pascal wanting to protect thr children resorts to violence. I personally think it would've been better If rather than the children killing themselves Pascal in his anger destroys the machines and because of the debris it befall and the children killing them. pascal would have a revelation about how he turned into the very thing he hated a killing machine and asks to get his memories deleted by a2. Just as a2 is about to delete the memories, out of all the debris one machine child comes out and pascal finds a spec of hope through the surviving child. I think it would've made more for a powerful message about not forgetting your mistakes and learning from them to make a better future and hope.

[@Eladelia]

@@razzy9172 They hadn't just learned what fear was; Pascal specifically laments having chosen to teach them about it in the past.

[@NunSuperior]

Great vid. I kept bouncing off of NeiR:A and never really got started. I kept hearing how great it was and thought I was missing out. Refreshing to know... eh... maybe I'm not missing out on too much. Epic Neil DeGrasse Explosion got a big laugh outta me. Love the editing. Happy to be one of your Patroons.

[@PixelaDay]

That's lovely, thank you so much! I enjoyed putting Neil in there.

[@JuJuTy-WintryWindow412]

I gotta say amazing video, but I gotta say not every game is for everyone. I do have to say that I think that NieR Automata is perfect for people who are into getting secrets and experimentation. A good analogy, I gotta say, could be that the game is an egg, but it’s just an egg. Playing it more and more will let it cook until it’s an omelette I gotta say, but it’s missing something still. Add in some “seasoning” from outside sources, and I gotta say, you got a full blown omelette with a burst of flavor! It does cost more time, but I’d say it’s worth it, if I do say so myself.

[@archandironic686]

You just vocalized everything in my head.

[@Celeritate7]

This is my first time donating to a creator online but I felt compelled, what an absolute banger of a critique. I haven't played the game (and now I won't, thank you), but I recently discovered your channel from your Horizon ZD video (which I did play). That video was also a banger, and in just one video I knew I could trust what you have to say about games because it matched my experience / thoughts so closely and I had a similar incomprehension at the stellar reviews that Horizon ZD received. I have very rarely stumbled upon such thoughtful, accurate, and well-argued discussions of video games on KZbin. Maybe Joseph Anderson is the only one I can think of. Maybe I am biased because I seem to value the same things as you. Looking forward to binge-watching your channel 🙃 Thank you for your work!

[@PixelaDay]

WOWWWW thank you so much!!! I'm really glad those videos resonated. I hope you enjoy the rest, I'm actually much more proud of my positive stuff than my spicy critiques. Thanks again, you've absolutely made my day.

[@EnterpriseFilms7]

Such an incredible articulation of how this game fails its own premise and falls victim to a strange, almost cult-like hyperbole. Its a shame you don't have more views. This channel certainly deserves them.

[@cosmicprison9819]

Props to you for putting in all the effort into producing this video, and into the research behind it (especially Yoko Taro admitting that he didn’t put a lot of deep thoughts into the game). As we all can tell from the comments, a lot of people seem to always have felt the same way about it. But precisely because the game is ultimately so shallow with its philosophical themes, and even contradictory at times, I guess to most people who could provide such an elaborate criticism of it as you did, the effort just didn’t seem worth it in the end. You took one for the team there. So rest assured your suffering through this game was definitely not meaningless! 😁

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks to wonderful comments like yours, the effort was 100% worth it 😊

[@cringyguy1302]

I tried playing the game and couldn't make it past 2B's story because it was just so unremarkable. The combat system is literally just MGR but without zandatsu or anything that made that game fun. It was just so unremarkable and I felt so uninvested in the story considering that each cutscene is literally a PowerPoint presentation. When I play an action game, I want to feel like a badass such as DMC5, Hi-Fi Rush, MGR, etc. But spamming the two buttons over and over again was just so boring that I couldn't stomach it anymore. The game was just too boring and I was only 5 hours into it. So naturally, I stopped playing. I did the same thing for MGR claiming that it was also bad but my points were terrible. I didn't know what would happen if I possibly shared my opinion but here you are doing it and now I know that I wasn't wrong. This game is the most unremarkable game that gets remarked way too much.

[@Waruchuu]

I have to say, watching this video did hurt somewhat because Nier Replicant and Automata meant so much to me. Seeing the story play out while I still wasn't fully sure of who I wanted to become or what is important to me, helped me find my interests of today and is also what originally pushed me into the direction of now studying philosophy. I don't agree with all of the criticism and believe some points are exaggerated but I to perceive some not bad aspects of a game I don't like as worse than they actually are because of my overall impression. But as a whole, I do now see a lot of what the game lacks and how I imagined there being more nuance to the characters and themes than there actually was. But what really made the disillusionment hit, was the quote by Yoko Taro, who I have previously looked up to as a role model. I still have to sort my thoughts about this a little and will replay the game some time with your criticism in mind to form a conclusion. But I want to thank you for this video and putting an opinion out there, which is conflicted with the general public, which is quick to hammer down on anything that doesn't conform to the general view. I have watched a couple of your videos now and many of them helped me gain a new perspective on aspects I had previously paid no mind to. I hope to see more like this in the future

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks for your comment! On the quote, Yoko Taro is known for "playing a character" so there's always a bit of plausible deniability there I guess. As always, make up your own mind... Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying my stuff :)

[@lilith3705]

What an incredible analysis, thank you! I really enjoyed this game after sinking ~50hrs into it upon its release, but the more time passed since then, the more I've re-evaluated it and found myself anxious in that "...wait, was I just caught up in the moment?" kind of sense. This video perfectly articulated my own feelings for me in a way I couldn't quite reach on my own. Thank you for that! ✨

[@PixelaDay]

Thank you for your wonderful comment! I'd be curious to hear what it was about "the moment" that swept up so many people when it came out.

[@austynwiles5414]

I just wish you heared more varied praise aside from just its a masterpiece with no reason. It's like saying demon slayer made me cry, ok that means nothing to me aside from it made you emotional.

[@big_sis_moon]

Wow, I found someone who is even more negative about this game than I am. Thank God, I thought I was the only one. Combat was especially rough, as I had simultaneously started playing my first Dark Souls game and it was thus hard not to compare them. The environment art was also painful, as I am literally a game artist. Edit: I literally said the exact same thing about the color palette to my best friend who is a nier megafan

[@PixelaDay]

Haha, glad we shared the same feelings!

[@Valor06]

I am so glad this video exists as I thought I was alone in my distain and thought that perhaps I missed something that everyone else was apparently getting and it was driving me nuts. I agree with every single point made here. To be clear, I never thought this game was irredeemably horrible and I did enjoy it at points... but my God do I think it is overrated.

[@PixelaDay]

Glad my video struck a chord :)

[@B.Love88]

I really agree with your statement about the auto save! The problem with no auto save, especially in this game, is the pacing. The game is constantly throwing you into the next big action sequence that you may forget that you have to save. I had this happen through my 9s play through! I lost an hour and 45 minutes because I took a wrong turn during an action sequence and all I got was a lousy message saying you died because you took a wrong turn! I was beyond furious to say the least. Lol

[@diogenes6002]

at l[E]ast the soundtrack was good

[@orlaithmcg]

I really enjoyed Nier: Automata but I can't disagree with any of your analysis. I had to rely on the wiki a lot more than I should have needed to and was also pretty uncomfortable with the character design. I asked myself several times why androids would wear high heels in combat, and why they would wear the skimpy outfits when they clearly have their armour. It was a thread that kept coming once I started pulling on it.

[@PixelaDay]

I'm sure you thought about it a ton more than Yoko Taro did 😆 I'm glad you're enjoying the channel!

[@mariaelisacruz]

I think if I played Nier Automata after knowing how much people praise it, I'd probably not have enjoyed it as much as I did when I went through it blindly. It's one of my favorite games but I totally understand everything you're saying and I agree with most of it, it's a weird game that's not for everyone. Guess I just went with the flow and enjoyed it overall

[@dorkmoonblade4315]

19:07 I have several disagreements with your video but I just wanted to quickly respond to one of them, namely your disappointment with the theme of religion in N:A. I think one thing you're kind of missing here is that Factory Death Cult is not the only group of religious robots in N:A, I think all of the robots in this game can be thought of as in some way religious. Most of the machines and androids worship humanity, think of them as Gods, and the war between machines and androids can be thought of as a religious war fought in the name of humanity. The Factory Death Cult is just one of many religious groups in N:A although it is the only made to be explicit, and it is also the most radical as they believe due to a twisted sort of logic, that since the humans they worship are dead, they must thus die too to also become gods(If I remember the lore correctly).

[@SeliasteTM]

Thank you so so much for this video, it helped me make peace with this game, and realize I wasn't being just oblivious to the game, but that there were other people who thought the same thing and you explained it so much better than I could ever have. Thank you so much

[@PixelaDay]

You're very welcome!

[@magatsuverison3835]

I haven't finished the video yet but when you reached the bit regarding religion, I wanted to state that I didn't come out of that section thinking the games director was trying to portray religion as a gathering of crazy people who just kill themselves, but rather the fact that the machines reached that conclusion actually showed thier lack of understanding of the fundamental benefits and reasons for religious connections humans sought. I'm from a religious background myself and while it's easy to look at the story as just poking fun at religion as merely insane people doing insane things for some magic flying man/person/thing , I thought the gross misunderstanding was part of the point that section of the game was trying to make. That they pick out what they believe to be the point of whatever concept they try to explore, without understanding what that means from a human perspective since those things are more abstract but perfectly understandable to us WHEN WE CAN RELATE (Im stating this as even some humans can't quite understand those abstract connotations, too negative leading to believing its mere fantasy and too positive leading to staunch fanatiscm, a potential God complex and possibly terroism). The machines looked at the concept as a whole, without actually understanding that religion was a means for connection as a community under the same moral compass and belief system, missing the point, and picked up (at least in Christianitys case) the bit regarding we humans being created in God's image, and made that thier goal as they weren't created by (our) "God". How would they then "become as Gods"? People who would give thier lives for thier faith would be considered from a purely mechanically logical point of view to be the perfect example as one following that religion with diligence and fervour, thus making them "closer to God" . In the act of fanaticism, they "become as God". The machines then ran with that logic after Kirkegaard took his own life, leading to that whole insane bit. That was the story showing us that they are trying very hard to understand what they believe to be the reasons we had, based of the information they can gather and what they can actually compute, sometimes coming close to the understanding but missing the mark at the end, like when they were trying to bump uglies in the desert despite not having the organs and birthing Adam anyway. Or when the kids, after learning about fear, reached the conclusion that ending thier lives was preferable to dying to the threat before them. It's a twisted way of looking at the "logical" conclusion to an action which has benefits beyond whats tangible and beyond what's easily understood. That's my take, I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself adequately but I hope you at least read it for another, less cynical take, on this section.

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks for your take, I did consider this as an interpretation! I ultimately think it leads to the same conclusion though which is that the game doesn't satisfy as a commentary on religion. If the machines aren't doing things for any deep reason, then I don't think their behaviour elucidates any deep insights about human behaviour, motivations or search for meaning in life. That's my opinion anyway!

[@magatsuverison3835]

@@PixelaDay yeah, and I'm saying that wasn't the goal from the start. It wasn't a comment on religion, but rather a portrayal of the misunderstanding of its fundamental values based off what is assumed to be the human perspective. The only thing drawn from this in relativity to human behavior would just be that human sensibilities are "irrationally rational". We know things, feel things and understand things and those things hold value to us despite not having a clear cut logical reason that can be quantified. Trying to explain belonging or love to an organism that can't even compute it (or some humans for that matter) just leads to alot of uncertainty since there isn't a definitive way to explain it physically without sounding like a hopeless romantic or making its intrinsic benefits less apparent, which would then return the listener to the question: "why does it matter then?". This is thier attempt and failure to understand the value beyond what would be the purely logical conclusion. The target commentary (which I think is kind of a stretch to even be considered so, in my opinion the game was just using another example to show how much the machines seem to really want to become like humans) and how to understand it isn't the subject,rather the flawed understanding of that subject by beings who really want to make sense of it but can't figure out what about it actually matters, leading to imitation and bastardization or a random action thats done then followed with "what now?". For the latter example, again, they were basically in an orgy in the desert before "birthing" Adam rather than simply skipping all randomness that and just birthing Adam. Humans did it as a "ritual" for reproduction, but many also held value to it that made the act of bearing child much more meaningful than mere propagation. We aren't happy when a kid is born just cus "yay more human beings on the planet!". We are happy for something more complex yet sensible and simple to us. They don't quite understand it, but want to, so they did the whole, or rather what they could of the process, the same way "humans would". That's doesn't make that scene a deep commentary on Sex besides showing its not as simple as what's merely seen, it just adds to the examples of machine lifeforms trying to understand something complex and sensible from a human perspective without being able to actually get what makes it so special since it's merely imitation, turning it into mechanical routine rather than a meaningful action as far as we are concerned. But to them, it's the best they can do. It means something to them. Some machines did succeed in imitating, though missing the mark in some instances, hit the bullseye in others. Such as Pascals village building a primitive economy and trade with the resistance and the pacifist community they formed. The perspective that the machines don't do anything for a reason is one the games characters try to push throughout the story, but all that was them looking at the actions of the machines attempting to make sense of human sensibilities and deciding "yeah that's stupid. They are stupid" because a large amount of the YoRHa androids don't see the point in bothering to try. They are androids made to fight. The resistance members having spent more time on earth developed thier own sensibilities that were like ours but different in thier own ways. But regarding the view of machines engaging in "human behaviors" the perception came from a place of prejudice toward them, (its a war, and they are comically machine whereas the androids blur the lines abit more) since "if we don't entirely get it, how could they?" (this is getting long, I'm so sorry but I realized some stuff as I typed this.) But in the instance of the YoRHa androids, there some that were also inquisitive to these sensibilities we humans had, but had better luck than the machines in some instances. Some of these were even on a subconscious level. Like how some side missions had characters who would abandon post altogether due to fear of dying despite leaving a lover behind, 9S' operator 210 and her fascination with family before in the later half she started to treat 9S like a weird overbearing mum (the dialogue changes in the main story after you complete certain side quests), there was even a message at one point from command complaining about how the servers are full of random shit like music, pictures and movies, asking the androids to move them to thier personal data banks. Both sides sort of idolized humanity, not as a species, but as a concept akin to how we look at fairy tales and mythological creatures. Some within succeeded, others missed the point completely. It's not a mass exodus and not everyone in the story gains "consciousness" by saying "I am now gaining consciousness". Finally in regards to A2 and lack of information on her, you don't necessarily need supplementary material from other sources (though they help, it's basically like DLC. Evangelion does a similar thing with some of its games, the manga and even art books holding details unique to them that enrich the world and characters in the show) . In route C before heading out to return the book to Pascal, if you talked to anemone again, she directs you to the glowing database thing behind her. It holds records of what Happened during the pearl habour attack and a little after that. Also gave some insight into anemone and some other YoRHa androids as well as the logic virus. Sorry this got so long. Please Have a lovely day 9 you

[@matthewlugo2417]

I agree with you, whether people want to admit or not religion makes people do stupid or fucked up things

[@LightningStrike1212]

@@magatsuverison3835 I wonder why the robots and androids wanted to imitate humans so badly? And I'm also not sure what significance there is in their attempts to do so and failing.

[@EvanOfTheDarkness]

@@LightningStrike1212 It is somewhat explained in the game. The machine network (the red girls) - after killing off their creators, the aliens - wants to evolve, by observing and imitating humans, who could evolve. Sadly the humans have gone extinct long ago, and now only books and stories remain. But by creating machines that imitate human's behavior, even if the motives remain unknown, they hope to learn something. As for why those attempts fail, it's usually just a direct result of ignoring the differences between humans and machines. Like the forest machines expect their king to grow up, because that's how the story goes. But machines don't grow. Or marry. Or procreate.

[@Darlos9D]

"I'm starting to think the only way Yoko Taro knows how to convey hardship is to make his characters literally go crazy and murder everything." You took the words straight out of my mouth, I've said damn near this exact thing to a few different people. Love him or hate him, Taro is a bit of a one-trick pony, and I always felt like I was going a little crazy being the only person I knew pointing this out. I think the only time I thought this critique was a little harsh was towards the start, saying the acting is kinda bad. I think the actors did a good job, they were just channeling kinda bog standard Japanese material.

[@LinusKarlssonMusic]

Just something i want to point out as a super fan of the series: A2's backstory was already established before NieR Automata came out. There is a summary accessable in the resistance camp computer, but the game kind of just assumes you know the series and therefore know A2's story. The summary is missable if you don't pay attention but the camera pans towards the computer and they tell you that you can look at it whenever. I really do think Automata is elevated if you have knowledge of the rest of the series, especially Nier Replicant, but it was my first NieR game as well, and the one that made me interested in the series to begin with. Your criticisms are all very thought out and i agree with a lot of them despite connecting so much with this game personally. Regarding the side materials not being in the game. Sure i can agree that i would prefer if it wasn't in side materials, but the dialogue makes a lot of what they explore pretty obvious, and the revelation that 2B is actually 2E should be enough for the player to put some thought into their interactions and put all the pieces together. NieR Automata is no masterpiece, even though I and many other fans often treat it as one, but it's quirky delivery of its narrative makes it stand out among a lot of samey games, especially in the jrpg genre. Side note: I'm glad you mentioned ending E. It was my favorite moment in the game and it struck a chord with me with how it contrasted the meaningless conflict depicted in the main story.

[@LinusKarlssonMusic]

(wonderful video essay btw. Listened to the entire thing despite going in not expecting to :))

[@PixelaDay]

Sadly by the time the revelations came I’d already stopped caring 😅 Thanks for confirming my growing suspicion that the game is less accessible if you’re unfamiliar with the series, that explains some of my gripes. And thanks for your thoughtful comments 😊

[@LinusKarlssonMusic]

@@PixelaDay it does stand on it's own, but i think replicant is a better entry point, as automata references a lot of replicant. What's interesting in automata to me is the layers of hidden truths in the main cast. The main conflict is not particularly interesting at all actually. What's interesting about the lore of the series is more so connected to replicant and drakengard. Just my personal opinion. Sorry you didn't enjoy it! Glad you still found the music pretty though 😌

[@myusername3689]

@@PixelaDay I have a problem: If you want more newbies to be able to more easily access automata, then Socratetris and maybe Clemps could be recommended more to properly prepare those unfamiliar ones to the series. I mean unless you hate the series and don’t bother trying to accurately explain it to a newbie.

[@myusername3689]

@@LinusKarlssonMusic I’m gonna be honest, I also prefer Replicant. Mostly because Replicant’s side quests do little more than provide boosts and upgrades to gameplay elements rather than being required in order to fully piece together the story and characters. Speaking of the characters, I prefer Kaine, Nier, Emil, and Grimoire Weiss over the characters in Automata due to them just being much more entertaining to watch for me. That doesn’t make Automatas characters bad though especially if you can find the context behind why they are how they are which is something very few newbies to the nier series are able to find and I can’t blame them with how hidden the context to these characters are because Yoko Taro does what Yoko Taro wants and for this entry, he decided to have a little fun by chopping the story and character elements up and hiding pieces away in side content within the game.

[@unrighteous8745]

Just rewatched this and it's still an amazing video, happy holidays!

[@PixelaDay]

Whoa, this is really generous thank you so much!!

[@duhmzdaih]

Very good video! I really liked your take. I enjoyed the game more than you (played for almost 65 hours) and maybe it helped that I had very low expectations and from certain point I could only see the plot as an unintentional comedy. You mentioned the lore, well, even with the information from the lore and side quests (I did most of them, and that's how I found out about A2's backstory, to be fair it's in the game) the plot still doesn't work for me. For instance, SPOILER ALERT: The relationship between 2B and 9S is interesting, being doomed to that cycle is good material for drama yes, but when I think about the whole context I just can't help but wonder: why did that need to happen in the first place? why does this highly advanced futuristic android society need to follow such an impractical plan to keep the truth from being revealed? is having 2B kill 9S every time he's getting close to the truth the only way this highly advanced futuristic android society could keep him in check? why does he even need to be so "advanced" in the first place if the goal isn't winning any war after all? why does this "advanced" unit have the aspect and mentality of a prepubescent little boy? Yes, the reason is probably that this is a JRPG with an anime plot, but I need an in-world reason for it, I didn't find any, and this happend with a thousand other questions that came to my mind. Geez haha

[@doc8125]

I think the why is that the 9s units being programmed to be inquisitive to the point of eventually finding the truth makes them exeptionally good at their job of analysing the enemy, to the point that having someone kill them when they go to far is still more efficent than tuning that aspect down. Though that's just my reading of it, I think it could've been reflected in the actions of the characters and the plot a lot better

[@doc8125]

and about his personallity, I think it's just a way to reflect the fact that he's never truly allowed to grow and evolve out of said "age", he's just constantly killed and set back, though I think it's more a thematic thing than a logical in universe explination

[@duhmzdaih]

@@doc8125 Well, about his personality, I think it's simpler than that, this very important unit is a teenager because this game is a JRPG, so the main characters have to be/look like children and teens even if that doesn't make sense in universe. Needing to eventually get rid of these units instead of tuning them down from the beginning makes sense, but having an android with feelings "kill" them every time isn't an efficient way of dealing with them I think. They have the technology to come up with way better ways to neutralize these units before they become a threat.

[@doc8125]

​@@duhmzdaihthat being the logical reason why they picked his personality I agree with, but I think it makes thematic sense as well. Having an android without feeling would also probably limit their ability to make decisions effectively, just like with 9s I think it's a necessary fault to have them be effective and assess situations in the best possible way. Though I don't think it's fully water tight logic, it's enough to have my suspension of disbelief stay intact and it does go to serve the story. Though I guess that's all a matter of perspective, maybe even a more "half full or half empty" kind of debate where I might be more willing to find excuses to try to have it make sense, but for you it still kills suspension of disbelief

[@pimacs]

I really loved the game and it's nice to hear a "negative" opinion about it for once. I understand most of your critics, I have my own on some others points like, it seems you ended the game, so you should know that 2B real mission is to kill 9S over and over and her real "name" is 2E for Elimination (you need a book to know that B is for Battlers, S for Scanners and A for Attackers though) and it's in the last cutscene, told by A2 to 9S. Also I'd say the game is pretty meta about other games but I think NieR Gestalt/Replicant does it better. You know the message that players usually kills everything they cross in a game because the game tell them to do so and they think they're right to do it then. Players are kinda androids in their own way. So the 1st ending is kinda "usual ARPG story", 2nd one is "actually, you only had one side of the story". But as you said, 2B and 9S ARE androids and are hard to relate to at the beginning so yeah I understand your point and as I said, NieR Replicant characters are more humans so easier to understand this message. This message changes through Yoko Taro's work. Like his first game is Drakengard were he uses the MUSO (Dynasty Warriors) fighting style to tell a story about a mad men because at this time he though that only mad people could do those genocides. Then 2001 September 11th happened and he understood that people do those things when they think they're doing it for the good reasons. Also as you said in your pinned comment, yeah, most of the lore is in the side quests that you mostly have to do once per playthrough, like if you did one with 2B, this one is cleared for 9S (except some quests). Then you realize that the main story is pretty quick to end if you rush through it when you already finished side quests. But maybe the lore given through main story and sidequests isn't balanced enough to give people the need to investigate more. PS: Even if I talk about Drakengard and NieR Replicant. Drakengard is very painfull to play today, NieR Replicant ver 1.5 is a better way to get through the game than the original but there's still all those side quests and conditions to have the "true ending" that I don't think you'll like doing 3 times the story to have the true ending :p

[@robertvolek8360]

You earned yourself a subscriber, best take on this game Ive ever heard. Have you played NieR Replicant by any chance? I would love to hear your opinion on it.

[@PixelaDay]

That's so nice to hear, thank you! This was my first (and probably last) foray into anything NieR.

[@robertvolek8360]

@Pixel a Day Yeah I cant blame you for that... Anyway, you mentioned Eva, which happens to be my favourite show as well... Is there any Eva-inspired game you could reccomend? There are some but I havent found a good one yet. (It would make for a good review if you are looking for topics for your channel)

[@PixelaDay]

You probably know more than me! It’s been a while since I was in the anime scene

[@cosmo7314]

@@robertvolek8360 Xenogears

[@robertvolek8360]

@@cosmo7314 thanks, ill check it out

[@kaiyaweird-pegeensc3679]

I loved hearing your analysis of this game. I don't have a PS so I was never planning to play it (and games are expensive) so I watched a let's play like I usually do. And I really struggled to connect with it and didn't see what so many others love about it. Especially the philosophical stuff which I thought was just ignorance on my part. And maybe it still is but I did feel like it was lacking depth. In any case, I really appreciate hearing a different viewpoint on this game and I always love your analyses since I found your channel. Thank you for making another amazing essay. 😊

[@PixelaDay]

Thank you so much, so glad you’re enjoying the channel!

[@mellowords]

Cool distinction between plot and story! Ill remember that.

[@HaguDeGozaru]

Oof. I had my suspicions, utterly confirmed in this video. Indeed, the soundtrack was good.

[@TrouvatkiDePercusion]

6 seconds in, and I'm already sold. I feel recognized. NieR: Automata is fucking boring. Never at any time did I ever care about what was going to happen next. Never. Not once.

[@myusername3689]

Hey, why don’t you go watch socratetris who is literally on the pinned comment of this fucking video. Keep jumping to conclusions and you’ll leap off a cliff.

[@mebdeb6346]

What an incredible video. I had high expectations for Nier: Automata because of its overwhelmingly positive critical reception and how it was universally praised for its deep themes and exploration of humanity. After going through all the endings, I was left feeling hollow and with a weird sense of alienation - "What am I missing? How come I didn't pick up on anything those other people, some of whom I really respect, were talking about?" But I couldn't find anybody critiquing the game in any way apart from the fanservicey character designs, which are a problem but certainly not the only or even the most serious one. Recently, I even tried the mobile game Nier: Reincarnation, which has been similarly lauded for its storytelling, but found it just as unsatisfying and lacking in nuance. So after all of this, I really am glad to find someone who was able to articulate precisely what was bothering me (and in such an elegant and well-presented way!). Maybe it's strange to have felt so strongly about this, but it does feel like a small burden has been finally lifted. Thank you for the great video essay, I will definitely be checking out your channel after this! (Plus, I would love to hear about any works that explore religion in a meaningful way - it sounds like a fascinating topic!)

[@PixelaDay]

Glad to have helped lift the burden! And hey the feeling is mutual - every time I get a lovely appreciative comment like this, it makes me feel like the struggle was worth it 😂 Hope you’ll stick around on the channel!

[@zandatsudragon8860]

Thank you for the comments about the combat, i keep telling my friends it's shallow but they don't believe me. It's really disappointing especially since platinum made MGR and bayonetta which have amazing combat

[@PixelaDay]

Haha show em this video!

[@myusername3689]

@@PixelaDay And then show them Socratetris’s videos

[@TheKazuma410P]

MGR isn't exactly that much better, it has a big ol' combo list but the same issue as Automata of not having much reason to use it was present. The only utility for the pole was combo for ranking and while scissors and sai had more utility, you could do just fine spamming square (or doing that one double slash heavy combo finisher with sword), parrying and dodging.

[@DNBalger]

I recently finished my first playthrough of this game, 3 years after your video and 7 years after its original release. I too am now more of a elder gamer, closer to 40 than 30, with a job and family and everything, so i also want a good story when i have time to play games and i too loved easy mode lol. i definitely fell in love with this game and just dove into the lore and have been listening to tons of video essays about it. This is also my first Nier game experience so i've been learning about all the connections to the first nier and drakkengard and all that. I love the gameplay and the theming and everything, and i also got totally fixated with how fun and refreshing i thought this game was, but i really really appreciate your actual critical perspective. i've been watching automata videos like mad because i've been enjoying the commentary and thoughts on the lore, but your video has been the best by far. thanks for bringing me back down to earth and taking a step back to actually look at this game through a critical lens. Great video. Thank you so much.

[@PixelaDay]

Thanks, that's an awesome comment to receive! I'm glad you enjoyed the vid and the game :)

[@cazador9397]

This is a great vid, and put into words what I felt about the game for the most part. I'm always surprised by how well this game was received, and felt like I was just an idiot for not understanding it or something. I don't really dislike a lot of things, but I'd actively say I dislike automata, and I think a big part of that is because of how much praised it received and it plummeting below my expectations. I wasn't even aware of all the lore outside of the game, which seems like a terrible way to hide important info. I will say that the music and some of the short stories were really good though.

[@myusername3689]

Yeah the hiding of a ton of story and character elements in side material causes a lot of things to not have meaning upon first glance until you carefully analyze the side quests. This is why I prefer Replicants structure since it’s much more direct and side quests are little more than boosts for gameplay rather than doing anything for the plot.

[@luxeadawnlight]

18:35 As a LIVING nihilist who isn't an emo angsty mess but quite happy biologically speaking, THANK YOU.

[@gholmes5560]

NieR: Automata is one of my favourite games, yet this is my favourite video about it. Wonderful, insightful and funny. Duly subscribed!

[@PixelaDay]

Gosh this is an amazing compliment. Thank you ☺️

[@bonfireseeker]

I was looking for a video critique from someone that actually didn't like the game, and didn't find it but suddenly yt recommends this masterpiece. I really liked your analysis honestly i cant disagree with much here, i really liked the game, most of it comes from the ending E i got really touched by it i honestly wanna play it again now with the things you said on my mind. When i was watching good reviews about the game on youtube they ALWAYS talk about the side things that aren't even in the game and i was like oh wow i must've missed but no, it's actually not in the game and the ones that are is like you said, either really hard to find or barely explored, that's kinda sad and think it could've been so much better now that i think about it... One thing that always got me weird it out was how the girls were depicted in the game, you can argue the boys are shirtless and 9s has a little shorts but like... it really is not the same, the fact 2b is always showing her butt when in a ladder or the self-destruct function doing well... that shit, i hated it feels so out of place in a game that tries to be serious and talk about philosophy. And it's not just in the game, they do official artwork/STATUES with 2B in her thong i hate that, i really like her design but that part is just ugh why? Guess just Yoko Taro being a weirdo, honestly it saddens me a little. Now i wanna be your friend ToT i loved the video i was watching thinking it was from someone with millions subs but you have just 10k life is so unfair, hope to see more videos like this from you

[@PixelaDay]

What do you mean, we are definitely friends :) Glad you liked the video and hope you stick around on the channel

[@bonfireseeker]

@@PixelaDay I will!! I watched 10 vids just yesterday while i was drawing i hope you grow fasterr