NieR: Automata is about to become one of the greatest detective cases in video history – and I’m a puzzler
Is NieR: Automata really fully narrated?
Who would have thought that NieR: Automata would be two years after that supposedly final mystery of the game was aired, hit the headlines again? Hundreds of thousands of interested people are currently pouncing on short clips that show a previously unknown area of the game. The crux of the matter: Only one person has so far managed to enter the area and capture it on video.
So what the hidden section is has not yet been verified by a second source. Easter egg? Deleted content? Or a mod that, according to experts, shouldn’t even be possible? Even if we are now approaching the solution, there is still no clear favorite.
Where does the church come from?
When the Reddit user “sadfutago” on June 18th with a question to the NieR community, it was not yet clear what significance his find would have. He posted two poorly photographed images of a church he didn’t understand the meaning of. But no one could explain what it was all about – this area was completely unknown to the fans until now.
At first, Sadfutago received little attention because he rarely responded to queries.
After that, it became quiet about the topic until, more than a month later, sadfutago was able to bring itself to share a video that reveals the exact location of the church. And here, too, the fans were surprised: A door that opens sadfutago to get to the secret area does not exist in any previously known version of the game.
Here the video:
link to Reddit content
Even modders are clueless
So how do you check if sadfutago is telling the truth? Of course, the modding community was looked at first, after all, they are very familiar with the technical characteristics of the game. However, the professionals immediately made it clear that they could not find the area in the data of all previously documented game versions. Furthermore, they added that no tools exist to make such a modification to the game.
The programmer Lance McDonald, known for his numerous Dark Souls mods, writes that it would even be impossible for a single person to make such adjustments. The mod community is not able to expand the levels of NieR: Automata at will with the current means.
It’s not yet possible to mod Nier Automata in this way, if anyone is curious if this is fake.
— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) July 25, 2022
Even if it really is a mod, it would be an absolute breakthrough for the NieR enthusiasts. In the video clips you can see numerous elements that react interactively to the character as well as a secret door that is seamlessly hidden in the level environment. These aspects go beyond the current possibilities of mod developers.
There are also numerous references placed in the church that are related to the predecessor Nier: Replicant. However, since these are only exchanged models or objects already contained in Automata, many fans suspect that the sadfutago account is actually the mod community, which allows itself a sophisticated, media-effective joke.
This chalice is copied 1:1 from NieR: Replicant, it even serves the same function, which raises doubts about its authenticity.
That speaks for an Easter Egg
Since the hidden area is in the “copied city,” it would make sense from a NieR story perspective that that’s where allusions to the Automata predecessor could be found. The area was created to show people’s lives in earlier times.
Deleted content? Upon request, sadfutago provided some hints regarding his copy of NieR: Automata. This is how the person played the role-playing game on an unpatched Canadian disc version. However, it is unlikely that the version contains remnants of an earlier version, since faulty or incorrectly recorded data carriers are quickly recognized and sorted out in production.
Modders are already making fun of the find
It didn’t take long for the first hobbyists to be inspired to poke fun at the hidden room hype. For example, here’s a “surprisingly” similar door in Super Mario 64 that I am having a lot of fun with:
link to Twitter content
Of course, the developers of NieR: Automata say nothing about it
Yoko Taro, creator of the NieR series, is one of the most secretive developers in the entire industry. Even to a degree where not even his fans trust him anymore. One commenting person wrote for example that she would even (double) check if the sky is blue should Taro claim so.
In keeping with his reputation, Taro kept a low profile when asked. Please have yours Twitter bio read, there you will find the answer. What is recorded in it? Of course, the statement that if you have any questions about games, you should contact the publisher and not him. There are no other voices from the developers of Platinum Games so far.
An intentional marketing stunt cannot be ruled out: If the game has actually been adapted, the question naturally arises as to whether the author could also be a game developer who either wants to fool the NieR community or is promoting the series – for example to prepare for the release of the Switch version of Nier: Automata.
Here is the trailer for the Switch version of NieR: Automata, which will be released on October 6th:
1:21
Nier Automata is coming to the Switch – Trailer reveals The End of YoRHa Edition
For example, how sparsely sadfutago deals with information speaks in favor of the theory that a developer is behind it. In his recent clip he triggers a question puzzle known from NieR: Replicant on a huge goblet, which he naturally answered incorrectly three times, which once again stirred up the community.
Still, it seems more logical to me that we’re going to be taken massively by Moddern Hops. Too many clues lead me to believe that this is a really polished way of showcasing cutting edge NieR modding in the most effective way possible. Maybe sadfutago also has a surprise in store for us, nothing would surprise me anymore at this point.
Have you heard about the NieR: Automata mystery?
Reference-www.gamepro.de