NieR: Automata – Test, RPG

Heroine, companion, combat drones, strange deer, weak ground textures - it's all there.

Nierly perfect

Anyone who, for some reason, has not touched NieR: Automata – although there is a basic interest in so-called character action games, or in typical Japanese video games, or in good stories, or in games that our entire hobby through that one clever trick to the next level – who now has one less reason for this black spot in his own game biography.

Heroine, companion, battle drones, grazing moose, weak ground textures – it’s all there.

If you would like a long, meticulous review that breaks down the basics of NieR: Automata’s many idiosyncrasies and features, I recommend reading our 2017 review of the action game. If you’re only here because of the technical questions about the Switch version, then I hope my comments on graphics, resolution, frame rate, etc. below will satisfy you. However, I can’t help but lose a few basic words about why NieR: Automata – despite all the action content in terms of content – is not just a kind of Bayonetta or Devil May Cry with a different game world and its own character cast…

NieR: Automata, like its initially scorned but now acclaimed predecessor NieR, is an authored game through and through. It is the child of the mind of Yoko Taro, a Japanese game maker who may also be known to some as the creator of the Drakengard series – with which there is even a small thematic connection. Accompanied by an emotional soundtrack, which underscores emotional cinema that moves one to tears as well as pulsating bullet hell ballet with giant combat robots, Taro’s protagonists become the tragic heroes in a dance of death. Big and small, the very thick boards are drilled – it’s about what constitutes being human, about social utopias and, of course, about war and peace. It is not for nothing that the heroine listens to the meaningful 2B…

But even apart from these (heavy) important topics that enrich the story of the game world in main and side quests – sometimes told very conservatively through text boxes – there are insanely clever ideas that you won’t find in any other game – and the comparison with legendary fourth-wall-breakers like Metal Gear Solid or Eternal Darkness. NieR: Automata lets me z. B. already in the context of an early story dialogue, surprisingly set the voice output volume or screen brightness and then, when playing through it again, confronts me with scenes like I did menu settings umpteen hours ago!

Emil says hello: There are links to the content of the first NieR - but previous knowledge is not required.

Emil says hello: There are links to the content of the first NieR – but previous knowledge is not required.

Speaking of playing through: NieR: Automata wants to be “completed” several times, but not in the way you are used to, maybe with a higher level of difficulty or in New Game Plus mode. Rather, you won’t see characters, levels, tasks, storylines or endings at all if you only play until the end credits. After that, the game really gets going again: you start the same game again, but not the same game. There are repetitions, but also completely new passages, plus changes in perspective and story twists – and just the right amount of shortcuts and fresh stuff, so that run three, four, five, etc. feel downright enlightening and always surprising. It sure sounds strange if you haven’t experienced it first hand and is difficult to convey in text form – but this uniqueness is a big part of what makes NieR: Automata such a special game.

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Robo-Blood, Sweat & Tears


It’s also a strong third-person action game along the lines of Dante’s Adventures or a Metal Gear Rising. The playful depth of Bayonetta 2 or Devil May Cry 3 & 4 is not quite reached, but there is a smorgasbord of cool melee specials, aerial acrobatics and perfectly timed dodge rolls. There is also a combat drone, which you can attack from afar, and many creative perspective tricks that suddenly transform the game into an isometric shooting game or jump-and-shoot. And by the way, Taro-san pays homage to his personal preference for bullet-hell shoot’em-ups in many scenes: diving into a sea of ​​deep red pulsating bullets with your character in 3D feels like the long overdue polygonization of a cave shooter – namely grandiose.

Shooting and fighting in the side view?  Sure, there

Shooting and fighting in the side view? Sure, there’s also in NieR: Automata.

As in 2017, the lack of auto saves annoyed me again in the first hour, but you have to be prepared for that, especially since the memory terminals later become practical fast travel portals. In addition, NieR: Automata has an almost perfect role-playing part for me: There are chats and side quests, shops and mini-games – and of course I can improve my characters with computer chips. This makes life easier for a hero (because, for example, medipacks are then automatically thrown in when a certain energy limit is reached) and is also a really clever solution – if you want to have one more chip slot available, you can e.g. B. Decide that the life bar of enemies is not displayed. So you can adapt the gaming experience quite well to your own needs – if the action is too strenuous or boss fights too hard, you can even install parts for car dodging or hitting.

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And that runs on the switch?

The Switch version clearly looks weaker than the PS4 and Xbox One versions.  Nevertheless, the overall picture is coherent - and many moments are really chic.

The Switch version clearly looks weaker than the PS4 and Xbox One versions. Nevertheless, the overall picture is coherent – and many moments are really chic.

Yes, it does. And that’s not bad at all. On PS4 and Xbox One, NieR: Automata wasn’t an immensely pretty game, nor did it always run flawlessly. Graphics fanboys complained about the 900p resolution, the lack of anti-aliasing and a frame rate that sometimes fell well short of the targeted 60 frames per second. A few things are different on Switch: the general graphics quality is okay and NieR: Automata is still clearly recognizable as NieR: Automata. Only with sometimes much more washed-out textures, missing transparency, fewer particle effects and simpler lighting. This is really noticeable in some scenes, in other places the overall impression remains very similar. The Switch version runs at 30 fps, but unfortunately not without drops – especially in large areas with many enemies, the 30 frames are sometimes torn – but the action title remains well playable. Meanwhile, the new anti-aliasing ensures that some scenes even look more coherent and at the latest in handheld mode (preferably on the OLED switch) the game looks a lot nicer than on the 65-inch telly because of the smaller screen. Despite only having a 720p resolution as opposed to the 1080p look when docked.


Square Enix emphasizes that the full game – which, by the way, “
NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition” means – including the “3C3C1D119440927” DLC (which offers three house requirements and additional outfits) on the switch cartridge. Only the new free DLC “6C2P4A118680823” has to be downloaded from the Nintendo Store – it gives you fresh clothes, accessories and pod skins; and a reversible cover with alternative artwork is also available.

Reference-www.4players.de