Nier: Automata

Complex combat will stretch more than your fingers.

- Matt Clapham

Like the after-effects of an earthquake in a genetics lab, it can be hard to tell what DNA Nier: Automata can call its own. By which I mean that while nominally it’s an open-world RPG about androids reclaiming Earth from the robot forces of invading aliens, that’s only when it’s not finding time to be a scrolling shooter, a platformer, or an arcade game. Heck, there are even sokoban puzzles and fishing, if you want them.

Automata’s not even content to lay these influences end to end. Take the 3D combat, which splices the bullet-curtain avoidance of cabinet shooters with Platinum Games’ renowned Balletic Dodge Combat™. Then layer on some simple third-person shooting, a little Z-targeting, a dash of cooldown supers and the intricacies of light-heavy weapon sets. It could easily be a mess (and naturally, at first, getting your fingers to dance across the pad to deal with all that is like trying to wrestle an octopus in zero-G) but it soon coalesces into a beautifully taxing fusion of familiar bits.

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