
Nier: Automata Makes a Phenomenal First Impression
The game’s powerful opening moments blew me away
I wrote earlier this year about how I really liked the Nier: Automata demo. And I promised in that article to buy a copy before the day was out…but then I sucked and I didn’t do that.
I finally bought the game yesterday on PS4 (it was on sale yet again at Best Buy), and I’ve only played the first half hour or so…which is basically the demo plus an extended introduction sequence.
It’s really good.

Although the first chunk of the game only contains about ten minutes of content that isn’t featured in the demo, I was still shocked at how versatile, dynamic, and fun the gameplay is.
Its strength is its custom engine, a rarity these days, which allows the game to seamlessly switch perspectives and gameplay styles. In that first 30 minutes, it’s a character action game, a side-scrolling shooter, a 3D rail shooter, a top-down twin stick shooter, and a fun fast platformer.
The game switches between all these different modes on the fly, and uses the same basic control mechanics for all of them, and it’s brilliant and wonderful.
I’ve also loved what little I’ve seen of the story…and I know I have a long way to go.
I was aware going in that you can’t save at all during the first 30 minutes, something that’s been rather off-putting to some players.
A small message pops up when you first start the game telling you that there’s no autosave, and then eventually, when you complete this prologue, a little prompt says you can now save.
But you have to do it manually.
I thought this was cheeky and fun, but I could see why it might bother some people. Also, since I had already played the demo, I knew how to get through some of the tougher areas in the opening. I’m also playing on normal, and it’s not the hardest game in the world…but the combat still manages to be dynamic and fun.
Hey, I realize that it’s silly to be so excited about a game after one session, but it’s so rare these days for big/expansive games to put a great foot forward in their opening minutes. Nier: Automata does just that. It lays all its gameplay cards on the table right away, and it plays like a genre mashup of every action game I’ve ever loved.
I’ve always meant to play through one of Yoko Taro’s games. I even bought copies of the original Nier, and Drakengard 3. But life got in the way of me ever putting more than a few hours into either of them, as sometimes happens. It would be great if some of the older games in this franchise could come to modern systems someday. Hopefully the success of Nier: Automata helps speed that along.
I’m beyond thrilled that a large, weird, open action RPG thing awaits me when I return to the Nier: Automata, and if it lives up to even half of the hype that I’ve read/seen online from critics I trust, then it’s probably going to be my favorite game of the year.
Please click the heart if you liked this! Did you play Nier: Automata? Leave a reply and tell me if you enjoyed it!

This article was written by Super Jump contributor, Alex Rowe. Please check out his work and follow him on Medium.


