Nier Automata,beat the game, but how much more should I play to see the "good stuff" and understand why people like it so much?

I wasn't flashing back to the psychedelic years of my 20s the way it seemed a lot of critics and the game's biggest fans were, but I will say that one of the saving graces of having to "complete" Nier multiple times is that each cycle is much faster than the last, and what changes is far from predictable with the art design to match.

The A side, or whatever they call it, is definitively the least interesting section, with each subsequent interpretation of that game having a lot to say about what game design even is, let alone the world of the game itself. I'd say if you have any interest in finding out if its thing can land for you, experiencing it second hand won't help. Sort of like watching the Last of Us TV show and thinking you understand why players would have a sudden and intense emotional reaction to something as benign as Ellie's behavior negotiating a ladder.

Even if the weight of great expectations disallows Nier from colliding with your imagination in the way it did those who were going in fully blind (as, again, kind of happened to me) I still find it impossible to ignore what an incredible example of using the specific hang ups of video game design to tell a story it is. And the art does get truly wild.

Edit: Just for the sake of statistics, I got ending A in just three days. I know I dipped into other games between then and ending B, plus disliked some of the repetition of ending B, so that took a much longer 7 days. And then on March 25th from 2:30AM to 8:51 AM I earned every other major story-related achievement in the game. Which is to say, when the game gets going it gets going and it'll keep ya up at night if you're the sort to find yourself in the blue haze as the sun rises.

Contrary to popular belief, you aren't actually playing through the entire thing many times. The 9S (second) run is most of the story but from his perspective and with different gameplay elements. After that, the third "playthrough" is relatively short. And D & E are just ending choices. F-Z are just weird one-off ways to end the game that aren't necessary.

Long story short, play 9S. Play the third thing. Pick an ending. Maybe pick the other (D or E) ending.

If you stopped at the start of the second route, purely because the robot moves slowly, you should probably continue for at least another 10 hrs. The game changes significantly in the section you're about to start. If you aren't into it after a bit, just put it down. Moving as the robot is supposed to instill a few thematic and emotional impulses in the player, but the main thing to understand is that you won't be controlling the bot for very long. You certainly don't play the second route as it.

By the end of the 2B section, if you aren't totally digging what the game is putting to you (philosophical questions about existence, trust, duty), you might not get much from the actual themes and story. There is a lot of clever intersection of these themes and the actual gameplay. If you enjoy the action, 9S is quite different, but the third route will probably be more your thing, if you choose to go that far.

I'll be honest, I wasn't totally into the gameplay by the end of 2B's route. I enjoyed what the second route put forward much, much more. I played through the third because it felt right to try to answer some of the questions put forward by the first two.

All this aside, I'm sorry to say it, but you haven't beaten the game if all you've done is complete 2B's story. The game gives you "endings" like a child is given report cards - just because you've gotten one now doesn't mean you've completed your tenure.

i played through it in 2020 and saw it through all the main endings (i forget the letter designations, but there's a set that's considered the 'golden path' or overall gist of the work).

if i'm being brutally honest- the game didn't really work for me. IMHO the repetition was more tiresome than profound, the gameplay was fine but felt like a chore to be completed, and the melodrama of the characters was so pedal-to-the-metal that their plight didn't find any purchase in me. some clever components and artistry for sure, but overall i don't share in the critical praise.

i'm glad i saw it through so i feel qualified to have an informed opinion- but if we're just talking about enjoying video games here- i'd probably go back in time and tell my past self 'you're not gonna get any more blood from this stone' after 2ish endings.

From what people said, i will play it all the way through. Thanks. I will also watch the anime. This will be fun.

@broshmosh: Yeah, I agree. I was just exhausted from beating it in about a week. I think hype makes us fold our hands and scream...ok impress me, and we don't give things a fair shot. I still loved the part I played, and think the game is great. I just started the robot part and was like....I kept failing because I was rushing...and I got the thematic value but was like ok something is off. I'm bored, this works for a movie and this in context is beautiful, but I just stopped. I will go through it again and post how i feel when i finish hopefully in this forum so others who feel like me might try it. I love the story telling you describe and think people constantly ask for deep and complex stories then get them or have them available but scoff at them and go watch fast and furious and say it's stupid...like buddy that movie was made to just be fun...why, what, are you doing. Looking at you current marvel/dc fans looking for the breakdown on what love means when they go see shazam...to be fair the movies could be more than a punch fest since the cartoons still said something, but big wig execs are dumb and im happy enough they finally take things seriously (for the most part) and wear costumes that look good. Tangent.

@topcyclist: I beat it in 2019 I think, maybe 2020, and I distinctly remember asking the exact same question in GBi chat that you're asking here. The first chunk of the game is weirdly paced and kinda just teeters on the edge of being meaningful.

In the end, I rated it in my top 10 GotY list that year, but that might've been because I didn't play many different games in 2019.

I'll keep an eye out for your follow-up. I think you'll get something from the story, but I'm interested to see if it's what you expect.

(I still feel like some of the game's hype was down to certain character designs, but I've been encouraged away from this mindset by plenty of fans.)

As has been stated, you didn't beat the game, you beat the first chapter of arguably 3(with some more just ending stuff to do at the end of the 3rd chapter).

You're going to continue which I think is the right choice but just be aware, you played what I think is the longest chapter but that's it, 1 of 3.

Random unsolicited advice: remap your controls to put dash and jump on a trigger/bumper. I used LB for jump and LT for dash. This lets you move around freely while maintaining constant camera control and it feels so much better!

As someone still like the game, I say if you don't like it you can of course stop.

I will say that if you like the game, then its worth seeing everything it has to offer, because I believe it is worth experiencing. But if you're already not enjoying it or ready to move on to another game, then continuing to play it will likely not change your mind. You pretty much already have to be into the type of game that Nier Automata is from the gate.

@mellotronrules: I can't speak to the larger importance that many hold for this game, as this perfectly describes my take. I wouldn't say I regret playing it, but I definitely was more happy to be finished than happy to have experienced it when it was all said and done.

Where's the "you've already played enough to make the decision on your own" option?

If you completed the 2B route and wasn't interested in the gameplay loop, you can safely put it down.

If you were somewhat intrigued in the story and the setting, my advice is to play it again and again. 2B ending is just when things start getting interesting. It is not that the 9S playthrough is as long, it is about half the length of 2B' and any subsequent run can be completed in a few hours. Also, thankfully, every sidequest completed so far counts as completed in following runs, so you don't have to repeat them.

It is not just New Game+ with extra stuff, either... the story and framing can have drastic changes, even in sections that you "replay", and each run has a ton of new content.

Yeah, "new game+" is kinda a misnomer in the case of Nier. As many above have said, the subsequent playthroughs take a Rashomon quality to them of showing events from different viewpoints. And there are some change ups to the available combat abilities.