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"You know...when I was young I hated my eyes, and now that I'm older I don't like what my body has become."
Approaching the work of Taro Yoko is always an experience that will leave no one indifferent. His universe is brilliant, reflective, philosophical and tragic.
I must confess that I am one of the percentage of players who discovered it directly in Nier Automata, so, for me, living Nier Replicant has been 100% a new adventure. After that, I realized that the order in which you play them does not matter too much and it's even fun to play Automata first, as I've scoured the world looking for continuous references to the sequel.
Have I found them? You will have to find out for yourself.
The story focuses on Nier, a young man who seeks to save his little sister from a disease that is ravaging the world runic necrosis. To do this, you will need to find the Sealed Verses with the help of a peculiar battle companion that will provide us with magic and other no less important characters that will join the adventure.
These characters acquire a richness of plot, which provokes an instant connection with their world and their story. One of the aspects to highlight is the introduction of LGTBI characters into the story, although it does so in a very timid way through very specific and not very explicit dialogues, for the most attentive player it will be a pleasant surprise that will end up making you smile with an accomplice after having understood the context and its meaning.
If there is one thing I would like to highlight about the game, it is its sound. Its OST is as powerful as in Automata, elevating the action at key moments and lending a delicate intimacy to many others. It is simply perfect. It accompanies us on the journey at all times and the walks that we will have to do throughout the game are made less heavy.
Gameplay is one of the key aspects, it's not perfect, but it feels fluid and fast-paced in most confrontations. Perhaps we have missed the Automata that allowed chaining combos and made combat a very varied experience.
The game in its normal mode is extremely easy, for players coming from Automata, we recommend increasing the difficulty. Be prepared for very long fights with gigantic final bosses.
Regarding its system of weapon and skill upgrades, at first it was a little difficult to decipher the meaning, but it is certainly much simpler than in Automata. You can improve skills and statistics of your weapons thanks to the combination of words that you will find throughout the game, either by killing enemies or in specific missions. The variety of skills is also its strong point, although we have missed a simpler keyboard shortcut to select them, at the end of the game.
The map is also one of its weak points, mainly you have to get all the maps, buying or finding them, and at the beginning it can be somewhat chaotic, especially in some very labyrinthine scenarios. Finally, you will end up learning it by heart, as the game will make you return again and again to many points. Many times, in a very unorganic way.
As usual in this type of games, secondary missions are a point to improve. We have found few side missions that are really interesting, most of them are errand boys.
I would also like to highlight moments of puzzles, we have been pleasantly surprised, as they provide variety and are a moment of rest between so much combat.
The development of the game is very well balanced in most of the time, although it is true that its first 10 hours are somewhat slow, but they are very satisfying. The final boss fights, as well as their design, are very epic and varied. Some of the stories that are linked to them are are really touching. You will shed some tears sooner or later. At a certain point in the story, you will find it hard to stop playing.
Although the design of the scenery is not very detailed, the main characters and the enemies are very well cared for artistically.
And as it already happens in Automata, you will have to replay the game several times to know its true ending and discover more details about the characters and the story in general. Personally I think this idea is better implemented in Automata, as each replay gave you more variety along the way. In Replicant most of the changes are in final bosses, lines of dialogue and cinematics, everything else remains the same. Even so, don't just stick with the first ending.
Nier Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... is one of the games that has earned its place on the "video games you have to play before you die" list.
The bestIts story, the richness of its characters, its reflections, a soundtrack of 10 and the fights with the final bosses.
The WorstThe game has a lot of secondary missions and a combat system that is less (but not worse) than that of Nier Automata.
This review was made possible thanks to a digital key for Xbox Series S provided by Koch Media.
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