StarTopic NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition |ST| Kant, Nietzsche and Auguste, with a slice of katanas

[curl-6]

Okay I had my first crash, losing about 15 minutes when a loading screen became indefinite, which was kind of annoying, but on the plus side the adding story bits add some cool context to route B, and focusing more on the plug-in chips is paying off; I have a really good build now where I haven't had to use a recovery item in hours.

I'm up to the Forest Kingdom now, and while I still wish there wasn't quite as much repetition of route A's first several hours, at least its not entirely recycled.
Really itching to get to the new stuff though, hope it's worth the wait.

 

[Imitatio]

It would be interesting to read people's take on recycled content in Automata once they've played Replicant! :P ;)
Not saying it ain't an issue here, just that it seems rather minimal/tolerable in comparison, haha.

 

[chocolate_supra]

It would be interesting to read people's take on recycled content in Automata once they've played Replicant! :P ;)
Not saying it ain't an issue here, just that it seems rather minimal/tolerable in comparison, haha.

Yeah Replicant made me appreciate the Route system in Automata waaaaaaaay more.

Matter of fact, if Automata hadn't gotten me obsessed with the lore, I doubt I woulda made it all the way through Replicant.

 

[Imitatio]

Yeah Replicant made me appreciate the Route system in Automata waaaaaaaay more.

Matter of fact, if Automata hadn't gotten me obsessed with the lore, I doubt I woulda made it all the way through Replicant.

Route A and B were okay in Replicant; B with its additional insight had me hooked from a world building/story telling and characterisation standpoint all the way. But sheeeeesh, C (and by extension, D) were brutally mundane, then. I'd go as far as saying that it's borderline bad game design in that respect. You shouldn't be forced to do route C the way you have to. Never.
Automata's repetition is almost fun in comparison, lol. It certainly offers more than parts of Replicant ever could.

Well, I still love Replicant, so enough rambling. ^^

 

[MSnap]

Route A and B were okay in Replicant; B with its additional insight had me hooked from a world building/story telling and characterisation standpoint all the way. But sheeeeesh, C (and by extension, D) were brutally mundane, then. I'd go as far as saying that it's borderline bad game design in that respect. You shouldn't be forced to do route C the way you have to. Never.
Automata's repetition is almost fun in comparison, lol. It certainly offers more than parts of Replicant ever could.

Well, I still love Replicant, so enough rambling. ^^

At least the Little Mermaid story, one that wasn’t even in the original version, had a difference between B and C.

 

[Christo750]

Okay, I finally finished Ending E. I didn't get endings V and Y, but tbh I don't care.

The padding in this game is fucking ridiculous. I'm almost sorry that one of my first alternate endings was the self-destruct in the bunker one, because that one was actually interesting and used the medium very well. I'd say a quarter of the endings amount to "you didn't do what you were supposed to and everyone died". There's a lot of heart in this story and a lot of interesting lore, and I truthfully did enjoy my time with the game overall, but I'm afraid that I don't see what about it was GOTY material back in 2017.

Spoiler: some padding examples

-The number of times you have to wander around with 2B after she gets infected with the virus to get different endings was horrific. The section in general is not fun because it relies on platforming during a time when your platforming abilities are taken away from you at certain intervals, leaving you to wander around and get your shit rocked while you wait for the ability to jump to come back. How control of the characters is actually interwoven with the character design and plot itself is very cool but at a certain point I don't care about intention; this is a horrible gameplay idea.
-The fucking cutting back and forth between A2 and 9S during that robot spider boss in the Tower. Why did it do that??? I was so close to killing this thing multiple times and it just needlessly cuts back and forth. I understand the sequence is meant to portray the juxtaposition between A2 and 9S' similar goals with different motives, but like, the point was made the first time. Please just let me beat this boss.
-I will go so far as to say Route B altogether. There was just not nearly enough difference between A and B to justify doing that whole thing again. This is a TLOU2 problem; the game insists on us seeing this whole sequence again to gain a new perspective but it's not nearly as deep or complex as it thinks it is. We could've had an hour or two with the bigger revelations (the human race isn't on the moon and actually went instinct years ago and the server was only there to motivate the androids to keep fighting)

Yeah idk. Cool game with nuggets of meaningful statements buried in a sea of droning nonsense. Not subtle enough to be revelatory, not brief enough to be impactful.

 

[Imitatio]

At least the Little Mermaid story, one that wasn’t even in the original version, had a difference between B and C.

True, true. That and some additional dialogue snippets here and there were nice, but didn't do much to convince me of route C's worth overall, especially compared to B. Or compared to Automata's structure.

 

[em]

Okay, I finally finished Ending E. I didn't get endings V and Y, but tbh I don't care.

The padding in this game is fucking ridiculous. I'm almost sorry that one of my first alternate endings was the self-destruct in the bunker one, because that one was actually interesting and used the medium very well. I'd say a quarter of the endings amount to "you didn't do what you were supposed to and everyone died". There's a lot of heart in this story and a lot of interesting lore, and I truthfully did enjoy my time with the game overall, but I'm afraid that I don't see what about it was GOTY material back in 2017.

Spoiler: some padding examples

-The number of times you have to wander around with 2B after she gets infected with the virus to get different endings was horrific. The section in general is not fun because it relies on platforming during a time when your platforming abilities are taken away from you at certain intervals, leaving you to wander around and get your shit rocked while you wait for the ability to jump to come back. How control of the characters is actually interwoven with the character design and plot itself is very cool but at a certain point I don't care about intention; this is a horrible gameplay idea.
-The fucking cutting back and forth between A2 and 9S during that robot spider boss in the Tower. Why did it do that??? I was so close to killing this thing multiple times and it just needlessly cuts back and forth. I understand the sequence is meant to portray the juxtaposition between A2 and 9S' similar goals with different motives, but like, the point was made the first time. Please just let me beat this boss.
-I will go so far as to say Route B altogether. There was just not nearly enough difference between A and B to justify doing that whole thing again. This is a TLOU2 problem; the game insists on us seeing this whole sequence again to gain a new perspective but it's not nearly as deep or complex as it thinks it is. We could've had an hour or two with the bigger revelations (the human race isn't on the moon and actually went instinct years ago and the server was only there to motivate the androids to keep fighting)

Yeah idk. Cool game with nuggets of meaningful statements buried in a sea of droning nonsense. Not subtle enough to be revelatory, not brief enough to be impactful.

I agree that Route B recycles a bit too much material from Route A, but you don't have to get all the joke/bonus endings, y'know. The whole game is ~20 hours for A-E for non-completionists.

 

[Rooster]

BOOM!

To do this and then not get the Plat must feel much less satisfying.

 

[Gartooth]

I just got the "true ending" for this. Damn what a wild ride. Glad this came to Switch so I could finally experience it. Definitely a game story that's gonna stay on my mind.

 

[Aether]

Just wanted to say:
Lvl 99, all weapons max.

Emil doesnt spawn anymore. At all.

I had so fing bad luck with the rng that i was at 99 way before i finished even the quests or the material grinding, and now i cant finish the last quest. 65h. Oh well.
(Tried every usual tip you see, but after 2-3 hours of just trying to get him to spawn at all (after already losing 3 to get him to spawn with the right shop) ...
I get having rng during game, but every jrpg that does not give you late game tools to force it or circumvent bad rng is just fucked.

Honestly, the game is great, but its NOT worth compleeting how obscure some quest item locations are, and how you have to fuck around to know what quest is when with whom, and how sometimes it feels like youve done just to realize later that you did not talk to that specific person or opened that mail.

 

[slide's]

i'm early (i think?) in the C route, will it be possible later on to go back and do sidequests I skipped from the A/B section? i'm not too worried about trying to get every ending but the structure of this later part is a bit different than I'd assumed and I'm getting the sense there isn't a chance to backtrack much after this point lol

loving this game a great deal; i'd had what I assumed to be the "big twist" spoiled for me a few years ago but I was relieved to find that that was a much more casual and early reveal than I'd expected, so I really have no clue about what's to come

 

[V_ac]

i'm early (i think?) in the C route, will it be possible later on to go back and do sidequests I skipped from the A/B section? i'm not too worried about trying to get every ending but the structure of this later part is a bit different than I'd assumed and I'm getting the sense there isn't a chance to backtrack much after this point lol

loving this game a great deal; i'd had what I assumed to be the "big twist" spoiled for me a few years ago but I was relieved to find that that was a much more casual and early reveal than I'd expected, so I really have no clue about what's to come

Yeah, eventually a chapter select opens up that'll let you go back and get stuff you missed.

If you want to know specifically when,

Spoiler: No story spoilers

you get it after you first get ending C or D.

 

[curl-6]

Okay, I've finished route B.
I have managed to avoid spoilers so I don't know what to expect from route C and onwards, but I have to ask, does it get better?

Don't get me wrong, it's certainly not bad, I just... can't see what's so amazing about it? It's perfectly fine, I just can't help but feel underwhelmed overall.
Should I cut my losses, or is it worth seeing it through?

 

[MarcelRguez]

Okay, I've finished route B.
I have managed to avoid spoilers so I don't know what to expect from route C and onwards, but I have to ask, does it get better?

Don't get me wrong, it's certainly not bad, I just... can't see what's so amazing about it? It's perfectly fine, I just can't help but feel underwhelmed overall.
Should I cut my losses, or is it worth seeing it through?

It does get better (it's where the narrative actually progresses beyond what you've seen so far), but it also doesn't get substantially different in terms of mood, mechanics and gameplay loop. If you're not drawn in by now, it might be best to just drop it. I'd say give the start of route C a chance, see if what happens compels you to continue. Depending on your level/build, the start of C might be a wake-up call in terms of difficulty, so keep that in mind.

 

[Ojoloco]

Okay, I've finished route B.
I have managed to avoid spoilers so I don't know what to expect from route C and onwards, but I have to ask, does it get better?

Don't get me wrong, it's certainly not bad, I just... can't see what's so amazing about it? It's perfectly fine, I just can't help but feel underwhelmed overall.
Should I cut my losses, or is it worth seeing it through?

Route C its different to the other routes

 

[Linkstrikesback]

Okay, I've finished route B.
I have managed to avoid spoilers so I don't know what to expect from route C and onwards, but I have to ask, does it get better?

Don't get me wrong, it's certainly not bad, I just... can't see what's so amazing about it? It's perfectly fine, I just can't help but feel underwhelmed overall.
Should I cut my losses, or is it worth seeing it through?

There's no more repetition of content like route B was of route A, at the very least.

 

[curl-6]

Nah, fuck this shit, I'm out.

The story is finally going somewhere interesting in route C, but jesus christ that was the most miserable hour of gameplay I think I have ever experienced.

Non-stop waves of respawning enemies, with the utterly pointless leveling system making my attacks barely scratch them, constant horrible visual glitches making me want to throw up, then the part where you have to run away while every few seconds being forced into a walk, all the while getting attacked by enemies that you're unable to escape or fight back against.

I don't think I've ever seen so much wasted potential in a game before, what the hell were they thinking.
I had such hopes for this game, I feel crushed.

 

[ReyVGM]

Playing the game for the first time. I'm on the 3rd quest... WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED??

GAMES JUST DON'T DO SHIT LIKE THIS!

 

[ReyVGM]

Nah, fuck this shit, I'm out.

The story is finally going somewhere interesting in route C, but jesus christ that was the most miserable hour of gameplay I think I have ever experienced.

Non-stop waves of respawning enemies, with the utterly pointless leveling system making my attacks barely scratch them, constant horrible visual glitches making me want to throw up, then the part where you have to run away while every few seconds being forced into a walk, all the while getting attacked by enemies that you're unable to escape or fight back against.

I don't think I've ever seen so much wasted potential in a game before, what the hell were they thinking.
I had such hopes for this game, I feel crushed.

There is a predetermined path you can take where you're not forced to walk.

 

[curl-6]

There is a predetermined path you can take where you're not forced to walk.

I watched a bunch of walkthroughs but they all just end up at sections where you need to jump, and every time I try to, the games staggers me.

Honestly, I just don't have the heart to keep pushing on. I have given this game so many chances because it shows glimmers of brilliance, but it just keeps slapping me in the face over and over again with relentlessly frustrating design choices.

I think it's time to call it quits. I wanted so badly to love this game, but it's just too infuriating. The tragedy is, it was so close to greatness.

 

[Kenka]

Nah, fuck this shit, I'm out.

The story is finally going somewhere interesting in route C, but jesus christ that was the most miserable hour of gameplay I think I have ever experienced.

Non-stop waves of respawning enemies, with the utterly pointless leveling system making my attacks barely scratch them, constant horrible visual glitches making me want to throw up, then the part where you have to run away while every few seconds being forced into a walk, all the while getting attacked by enemies that you're unable to escape or fight back against.

I don't think I've ever seen so much wasted potential in a game before, what the hell were they thinking.
I had such hopes for this game, I feel crushed.

I haven't reached the section you are describing but I understand your feelings. I got killed during the prologue of Route B one hour of gameply in with no possibility to save. As far as I understand it, it was the very last enemy which was able to inflict damage that killed me.

It was very frustrating. I took the cartridge and put it back in its sleeve. My experience of Nier Automata was over after that.

 

[Imitatio]

I watched a bunch of walkthroughs but they all just end up at sections where you need to jump, and every time I try to, the games staggers me.

Honestly, I just don't have the heart to keep pushing on. I have given this game so many chances because it shows glimmers of brilliance, but it just keeps slapping me in the face over and over again with relentlessly frustrating design choices.

I think it's time to call it quits. I wanted so badly to love this game, but it's just too infuriating. The tragedy is, it was so close to greatness, but it somehow manages to shoot itself in the foot constantly.

I completely get where you're coming from here. Even though I did push through on my first playthrough of all routes back on PS4, I still feel similarly about Automata overall. I can totally see its strengths and where it gets close to being great, but it's being brought down by so many annoyances and weird decisions that don't enhance the experience one bit in my eyes, that I simply can't call it a masterpiece like so many do.

But I also get why some love it so much, because I love Nier Replicant to a similar extent despite its own really weird decisions. There's something to these games in terms of narrative and world building, and if that part manages to resonate with you, then it's a potentially very special experience. But that's if it manages to reach you in this way, which isn't guaranteed and I totally understand when people aren't fine with putting up with all the other bullshit that's in the game. And I think that even fans shouldn't and generally don't deny the bad parts of these games.

 

[curl-6]

I completely get where you're coming from here. Even though I did push through on my first playthrough of all routes back on PS4, I still feel similarly about Automata overall. I can totally see its strengths and where it gets close to being great, but it's being brought down by so many annoyances and weird decisions that don't enhance the experience one bit in my eyes, that I simply can't call it a masterpiece like so many do.

But I also get why some love it so much, because I love Nier Replicant to a similar extent despite its own really weird decisions. There's something to these games in terms of narrative and world building, and if that part manages to resonate with you, then it's a potentially very special experience. But that's if it manages to reach you in this way, which isn't guaranteed and I totally understand when people aren't fine with putting up with all the other bullshit that's in the game. And I think that even fans shouldn't and generally don't deny the bad parts of these games.

Yeah, I have had time to calm down a bit now, and I was overreacting a bit earlier. I hope I didn't come across as too annoying or hostile.
I don't cope well with frustration due to my autism, and the deliberate visual glitches that simulate you getting hacked were causing me some visual discomfort too which didn't help, plus I'm operating on not enough sleep.
I took a breather, then went back and managed to progress. I can see what they were going for now, in that you're supposed to feel overwhelmed and outmatched just like the characters, I just wish they made it a little less punishing.

Thank you everyone for the patient and helpful responses, I appreciate it.

As much as the game drives me up the wall sometimes, it really does have aspects of brilliance that keep drawing me back.

I really need to find a way to level up though before I go much further, I'm currently 42 I think and I feel my katana is a wet noodle for all the damage it does. Any advice? I just got to where you take control of A2.

 

[ReyVGM]

Levels don't mean that much. Upgrade your weapons, fuse chips, equip chips that increase attack and healing.
Abuse the taunt and critical chips.

If you do the sidequests and explore the maps, you should have enough materials to upgrade weapons and pods.