Let's start with a question. Why are you reading this review? You are just wasting your time. Why am I writing it? In fact, why either of us playing video games at all? None of it means anything. In fact, forget video games. Nothing means anything. Nothing at all. Why bother with life, you may as well just...yeah, I think I need to stop there. Saying that would get me in trouble and besides, who decides what means what anyway?
I am going to keep the modern game train running, because I finally got a chance to play yet another one of the internet's favorite games. I have read a lot, like, a lot, about how amazing Nier: Automata was, how it was on a different level in terms of storytelling from just about every game that's ever existed. I've heard it called "the most profound video game ever" and "a truly classic humanist fable." There are countless articles, videos, podcasts, whatever covering just how deep and philosophical the game is. Stop me if you've heard that one before. However, this time I think there is something to that. I don't know if it was done on purpose or as a way to troll players, the game's writer Yoko Taro is a noted crazy person, but I definitely think there was some level of intention here. Because this game gets deep. So deep in fact that I don't know if I am actually going to be able to truly do it justice without getting into various schools of postmodern thought and famous philosophers. I am not a philosophy junkie by any means, though I have some familiarity with it. Not going to lie, it's not my favorite subject. But this is a game review and I will try not to get too far into it unless it's relevant to what we are talking about. Believe me, it's going to be very relevant. If you truly want to understand some of the themes that are covered in here and what message the game is trying to convey you might want to look into a few different philosophical topics before you play. At the very least, you want to have a rudimentary understanding of Roland Barthe's "The Death of an Author," as well as some understanding of the beliefs of every wannabe intellectual's favorite philosopher, Nietzsche. I'm going to be honest; I only have basic knowledge of the former and slightly more than basic knowledge of the latter. But above all else, you need to understand, at least as a core concept, the favorite belief system of every internet edgelord ever: Nihilism.
Nihilism is itself an iceberg, with many different views and subsets. However, its most commonly understood position, and the position that is relevant to the game at hand, is that of Existential Nihilism. Essentially, Existential Nihilism posits that life has no intrinsic value or meaning. A single person, or even the human race as a whole, is insignificant in the context of the universe and their existence largely futile. It ties in closely with existentialism, philosophical inquiry that explores issues of humanity and human existence. That's a huge simplification, but it's all you really need to know. Nier: Automata is not the first game to delve into these topics. In fact, it seems like just about every modern video game is nihlistic in some way, shape and form. I'm frankly tired of every single game starring some edgy anti-hero or trying to make some grand, sweeping statement about the how nothing matters or means anything. It was novel in the 90's and 00's, but it's hackneyed now. It's become, for lack of a better word, "cool" to be a nihlist in the gaming sphere of influence, not just for writers and developers but for reviewers and fans as well. So I was a little hesitant to get into this game, fearing it would espouse more of the same faux-philosophical dreck I see so much of lately. While it did feel like that at times, I do think Nier: Automata explored these themes more thoroughly and acurately than any video game I have ever seen. A big part of why comes back to that commonly accepted definition of Nihlism and its writer's actually understanding it. Because there is a word in there that most internet nihlisist seem to always forget about, and it's probably the most important one, intrinsic. I may not agree entirely with Nier: Automata's philosophy (I disagree almost entirely with anything espoused in "The Death of an Author), but I don't think I've ever seen a game make such a poignant statement about creating one's own value or meaning from absolutely nothing. It may not be the first game to tackle this topic, but it's one of the first ones to do it well. This is going to be a tough game to review because it didn't really hit me like a lot of other games. I didn't feel immediately impressed by it, yet I can't get it out of my head. So I guess I will start breaking it down and see where I land.
We will start with the story, which sees you in control of Android 2B, a combat unit and member of YoRHa, an elite fighting force designed to protect the last remnants of mankind. The year is 11,395 and the world is in the throes of the 14th machine war. Humanity is hanging on by a thread and has been for a very long time, an alien invasion thousands of years ago brought and endless swarm of machines that wiped out most life on Earth. The remaining humans have established a colony on the Moon, awaiting the day the machines are defeated. To accomplish this mission, the humans have created androids, who's sole goal is to defeat the machines and restore glory to mankind. Essentially, the humans and aliens are fighting a proxy war with each other via the androids and machines respectively. 2B is on the frontline of that war, and the game starts with her flying to earth to battle a goliath class machine. Her squad is completely eliminated, leaving her to battle the massive beast on foot. Fortunately, she's not alone, as she is supported by 9S, a recon android designed to provide combat units with information while occasionally jumping into battle. The duo heavily damages the goliath and ceases its attack, but it comes at a price. 9S has been damaged beyond repair and he isn't going to survive. As the machine starts to stir, the two androids decide to make the ultimate sacrifice. They touch their lifegiving black boxes together, activating their self destruct mechanisms and killing them both. Game over, right? Remember, these are androids, their conscience can be uploaded to YoRHa's bunker and re-installed into their brand new bodies. This isn't without impact, parts of 9S's memories are wiped in the process, but it means the androids can continue fighting. And continue they will, as the commander has given the duo yet another task: return to Earth to support the android resistance as they battle against increasingly aggressive machines. As they resume battling the machines, the duo starts to realize that their newfound aggression is also combined with what seem like more human emotions. They begin to flee from battles and express fear. Before the game is over, you will learn about the true nature of the machines and their alien overlords while also discovering that not everything about 2B and 9S's mission is as it seems.
Here's the problem with reviewing Nier: Automata. I really want to actively avoid spoilers. But that's going to make it tough to dig too far into the game's deeper meaning. That plot synopsis I just gave? Yeah, by the end of the game you are so far away from any of that it almost doesn't matter. Yet that's what makes this game different. It weaves its philosophical positions into its progression, most games tell you while Nier: Automata shows you. You complete all of these big, grandiose missions for this high and mighty cause yet every time you do, your actions seem to matter less and less. There are several huge, world altering plot twists that turn the whole narrative on its head and make you really stop and think about why you are doing what you are doing and whether your enemies are the soulless monsters they have been made out to be. Throughout your first playthrough (yes, multiple playthroughs are required to get the whole story) you are constantly reminded that any human-like behaviour the machines exhibit is just a misunderstanding of human data and that it's totally okay to keep killing them because they are just machines at the end of the day. Doing that is easy on your first playthrough, it's not so easy on your second. If I'm being honest, the story on it's face is merely good, it's the way the story is told that is all-time great. Yet another thing that makes this game so hard to review. There are so many symbolic names, locations and actions in Nier: Automata, things that other games would throw in your face and scream "LOOK HOW EDGY AND PHILOSOPHICAL I AM!" That does happen here occasionally (you have two giant walking factories named Engels and Marx, that's about as blunt as it gets). But for the most part, you kind of have to dig deeper and find these things on your own, to think about what you just heard or saw and realize what the greater message was. If you are following, that means a game about searching for and creating your own meaning...is forcing you to search for and create your own meaning.
I really, really don't like that multiple playthroughs are required, though I understand why it was done this way. You will play through the primary game twice, once as 2B and again as 9S. I have some problems with this from a gameplay standpoint, but it makes a lot of sense in terms of presentation. Knowing what you do from the first playthrough, as well as the shifted perspective, make the game hit different even if you are doing a lot of the same missions. Your third playthrough will see you take control of a new character, A2, as you play what is essentially the second half of the story. This is where things start to go off the deep end in the best way possible and where all of the knowledge you have gained throughout the game begins to make things clear. There are 26 endings here, most of which are jokes, with five of them kind of being "cannon." The first two endings are interesting, the second two are massively depressing, but the fifth ending is where the writers truly demonstrate their understanding of the whole "no intrinsic value" versus "no value" thing that we talked about earlier. I'm not going to call it happy, but it's definitely hopeful and it really makes Nier: Automata stand out from other Nihlistic narritives that tend to wallow in their own misery from beginning to end. It's also one of the single biggest fourth wall breaks I've ever seen in a video game, maybe the biggest. This game isn't afraid to break the fourth wall throughout, something that I find works really well given what the story is trying to make players think and feel. It also has no problem altering the gameplay or presentation to make a point or present a new idea, whether that means taking control of the camera or changing the color pallette. I am not going to get into all the ways as to why, as it would spoil the narrative, but a lot of these things will be lost on the player the first time around. Yet every time I learned something new, there would be that "a ha!" moment where you realize why something is the way it is. Even after playing the game I'm still starting to realize some of the little bits of symbolism presented. It actually just dawned on me now why some of the androids, 2B and 9S included, wear blindfolds while others wear veils over their mouths. Some games try a little too hard to shoehorn these little things in that they come off as borderline ridiculous, but not here.
There are so many things to unpack here and there's absolutely no way I could ever discuss all of the themes and topics covered. Beyond the overarching theme of meaning in life, you have commentary about never-ending cycles of war and the construction and destruction of societies. There's a major focus on what happens to societies once their purpose is removed, hence the whole Nietzsche vibe. Of course, that means there's plenty of religious symbolism. N:A doesn't critique religion per se, but there is a lot of symbolism here. Honestly, I thin a lot of this symbolism is used more to explain character's motives than it is to make a statement. I kind of think a lot of it is Yoko Taro trying to subvert expectations and misdirect the player a little bit. Christ-like figures are fairly common in literature, but I felt like the character that was being set up in that role never ended up filling it. Maybe that was on purpose? In most other games I wouldn't think so, but I would believe it here. Either way, the religious symbolism is actually well done and sensical here, it's not tacky or completely devoid of nuance like you would see in most games. That's kind of the way all of the symbolism is in N:A, it feels like someone actually took the time to understand what all of this stuff meant on a deeper level before just shoving it into their game. I really want to delve deeper on this stuff, but doing so is absolutely going to require spoilers. It's also going to make this post go entirely too long, because you could go really deep into all of these topics. You could start bringing some stuff into your analysis like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs or Pascal's Wager or any number of different philosophical theories. But at the end of the day, I think the most important thing is to just know what you are getting into when you play for the first time. It's important to understand that what really makes N:A stand out isn't so much the story or the philosophical references, but how the story is told and those references are implemented. I feel like I have been all over the place here, but I hope that I drove home the point that N:A is masterfully written and is the new standard for storytelling in gaming. I wanted to be as spoiler free as possible, because I think anyone with a passing interest in gaming should give this title a shot.
Again, there is so much to unpack here that I could go on forever. But that would require me giving massive spoilers that would completely derail the game, while also making this post impossibly long. Oh, there's also the matter of us actually having to review the gameplay, because this is a video game after all. I've already established Nier: Automata is an outstanding piece of gaming storytelling. So that's a great start. But what about the gameplay? Is it as mind bending and revolutionary as the storytelling? Well...
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