Recent reviews by traykey

TLDR: NieR:Automata is my favorite game. Ever. Beyond games, it is one of my favorite stories. Yoko Taro and the team of Square Enix have delivered a masterpiece with this one. If you're really unsure about it, buy the game and try the tutorial. You'll have it beat within the time for steam refunds, and it'll tell you all you need to know about whether or not you'll like it.

For starters, what is Nier:Automata?

The plot revolves around Android 2B, sent to Earth to fight Robots and Aliens in the name of mankind. As you discover more about the history of this fictitious future, you'll find many of the situations applicable to modern life. Topics of racism, religion, the meaning of life are brought up in a way that beautifully enriches the story while immersing the player. The story is a continuation of NieR Replicant, but it's not necessary to play that first. As for myself, I played Automata first before being so engrossed in the story I felt it necessary to continue on with Replicant.

The gameplay is a mix of sorts. It's an open world hack'n'slash with the occasional bullet hell. The combat is so fluid and diverse...I found myself figuring out new things on subsequent playthroughs. Being able to double jump and attack in the air makes the combat so exciting. Every attack chains into another. While you might initially mash your light attacks in the beginning, eventually the fights get so hectic you're just pressing every button until you finish a fight thinking, "Huh, that worked?"

From then on you'll start with two light attacks, maybe follow up with a heavy, then jump immediately as they go airborne, until you finally hit them with whichever button feels right.

The combat can be varied by changing weapons (some are short range, long range, stronger but slower, weaker but faster, etc.) or by changing your chips (these are stat upgrades you can equip, capped out at a value that increases over time). Some chips make you level up faster if you don't want to grind as long, while others upgrade the combat by bringing in new mechanics.

The bullet hell isn't as large a portion of the total combat, but if you're a fan of manning a plane and shooting anything in front of you (Hint: I am), you'll enjoy these parts greatly. While the bullet hell doesn't 'feel' demanding-in the sense that a game like Ikaruga will have you dying over and over-it sure as hell feels satisfying. It's easy and forgiving, but that's okay. It's fun.

The music is...insane. This soundtrack is arguably one of the best video game sound tracks of all time. The music perfectly encapsulates the mood of the world. Listening to it will make you...well, sad. This isn't to say that the music is constantly depressing. There are several versions of all the songs in the soundtrack, blended together during gameplay so they match the mood. Walking around in the overworld will play the base song, but entering a fight will now make the song more upbeat and battle oriented. Entering a bullet hell hacking sequence turns the music into an 8-bit remix. All of these song swaps are done perfectly: the songs overlap one another rather than turning one off and switching one on.

On top of this, NieR has it's own 'Chaos language', an artificial language that sends like a blend of Japanese, German, French, and English. Intended to sound as a language of the future, it helps immerse the player into this world. Immersion is a big thing in this game. The menu sequence, the HUDs, everything makes you feel like you're playing an android. Taking a lot of damage changes the screen to grayscale, fitted with crackling sound effects. It feels like you're on 'Low Battery Mode'.

I wont dwell on character design too much. Some might call it too 'Anime', but it's a Japanese game so them's the breaks. The blindfolds and all black outfits are beautiful, and definitely a winning ticket in my eyes.

I beat the game, but I'm still not done with it. I find myself listening to the soundtrack as study music, occasionally launching it to replay missions or play the fishing minigame. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

There's not much else I have to say after this. I mean, sure the graphics are nice. The quotes are memorable. There are, yes, potential screencaps. I'd rather leave most of that to the imagination though. I hope if you've made it this far you feel compelled to at least try out the tutorial, I'm sure you wont regret it.

Since buying this game three days ago, I've already sunk a full days worth of hours into it.

Looking at the game as a vacuum, it holds up nicely. It's stunning and immersive visuals are complimented with an emotive soundtrack that kept me interested throughout the main story. The combat is versatile, and weapon choices lend themselves to a plethora of configurations that keep the game fresh. The boss fights prove themselves to be difficult time and time again, simultaneously keeping you in a state of improvement while giving you a challenge.

Comparing it to other roguelike games, it stands tall. It promotes synergistic choices by telling you what each upgrade does, unlike games like Enter the Gungeon or Binding of Isaac where I have to download mods or google every item before I pick them up. There is a surprising amount of dialogue in this game. I found myself surprised at how much the characters used unique voice lines. Hell, I'm still not through with them. While a game like Dead Cells might build a world by giving you a little bit at a time, Hades is constantly throwing information at you. The plot points and casual conversations string you along your fate as you can't help but start over again as soon as you've finished.

That isn't to say that everything's perfect. As a personal gripe, I felt that the abundance of color between enemies, projectiles, and terrain cluttered my vision. There were moments where I just felt annoyed by the cluster, not because it was difficult but because it felt artificially hard. While I felt this way for the first 12 hours, I can't say it bothers me as much by the 24th.

On my laptop with no graphics card, the game runs decently well. A usual range from 30-40 fps, but I'm always able to admire the world and play without lag interfering to much.

I really hope that the devs will come back and update the game with some more bosses and extend the plot to continue, but the game is sufficiently good without it.

All in all, I'd say this game is a worthy purchase. It runs well for low end specs, and I can only imagine it looks great for those who are rigged out. It brings unique ideas to the genre while also feeling fresh every run. Each character beckons interest, and the endgame grind is hefty.

solid game to play with friends. it works like smash in that if you have 3+ people over you're able to have a fun game to play as a group

dead by daylight is definitely an entertaining game that offers both single player enjoyment as well as multiplayer fulfillment. it's a game I can play by myself or with friends, and, manages to captivate my entirely while playing either survivor or killer.

major fps issues

extremely fun game for kids of a ages

fun game.
not pay 2 win.