Originally posted Jul 19, 2020 | 12 mins | Minor Spoilers?

Before I begin gushing about this divine video game (so far!), I feel the need to point out two things before I get into it:

1) This is the only NeiR game I have played so far. I know it is a spin-off from the Drakengrad games, and that there is a PS3 predecessor to this game, just called NeiR, which I would very much like to play, but they’re a bit harder to come by and I also didn’t know that when I picked this game up from CEX. However it seems to me that playing them is not essentially crucial to your enjoyment of this game, so I don’t feel too beat up about it. Also this one appears to be the most iconic as well as clearly the easiest (and cheapest) to come by. It was also specifically this game that I’ve wanted to play for ages because I’ve seen a number of cosplays, fanart and the like going about for it that has made me increasingly curious about it. The design of the characters alone have piqued my interest for ages.

2) I am going on record to actively not label myself as a “gamer girl”, as it is a term so vigorously gatekept (by both genders alike) that I am just not going to open up that can of worms. I don’t care for a conversation on it here, just leave your gender stereotypes at the door and move on.

I have enjoyed playing video games a lot – fuelled a lot by my brother who is an avid gamer and I has therefore had my interest piqued through his collection of games and wishlists – but I can honestly say that I am not well versed in all the video game-specific criteria’s such as controls and production companies etc. I also haven’t played nearly as many games as I have, say, read books, so I’m not going to pretend that I am some sort of experienced connoisseur. I’m just here to talk about the stories they tell and how amazing they are at doing them through their unique to them additions such as music, graphics and interactivity. In short: I won’t be judging them as a technicality, but as a story and an entertaining, aesthetic experience.

Great, now that that’s over with, oH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS GAME!

This is one of the first video games that I have actively bought for myself (and not for my brother which I can then benefit from because we’re both interested in it) so in a weird way it means a lot to me just because of that (Younger siblings out there can probably relate more to that hopefully). Like I said, I’ve seen the characters of 2B and 9S floating about a lot on the covers of nightcore videos or seasoned cosplayers and I’ve always been so interested in their unique and edgy design so when I saw the original game in the store and read the description for it, I was so excited to be able to finally sink my teeth into it.

Currently I have just finished Ending A. For familiars to the game, this will make the most sense to you, but if you’re just a reader curious about playing, what that means is so far I have only completed the first linear storyline for 2B. I have scooped up a few accidental endings along the way (such as eating a mackerel and oh my goodness that got me. I hadn’t saved for crying out loud – I was a spastic saver after that, lemme tell you) but nothing past Flowers for Androids (the title of that ending).

I wasn’t expecting it since I had seen my trophy bar progress on the PS4 and saw it was only about 20-25% full so I assumed I still had a long way to go before finishing the game, but then those credits came up and I thought “What?? That’s it!”. But a quick reboot of the save file shows that I still have more story to go, now with my favourite scanner sidekick 9S so I ‘m super happy about that.

And that wasn’t the only thing that caught me off guard!

Narrative and Story:

Going in, I had just the impression of a fight-and-progress type game, similar to the first Tomb Raider game etc. So I was happily surprised how open world this game actually is! There’s side-quests and free roaming available alongside the main story line with so much detail, thought and creativity breathed into every corner of the map and every NPC. Even though the “enemy” are the machines, from the very first quest I found them oddly charming as well as engaging just through design and mannerisms alone. It has an epic opening quest that serves as a brilliant prologue and tone-setter for the rest of the game. It’s action-packed and quest-y and provides small hints that this game is not just a 2-dimensional story either.

Which brings me to my second pleasant surprise: themes. I loved the underlying themes of humanity and “us and the other” that is laced into the interaction between the android and the machines. It adds a whole level of depth to the conquest at hand: are the machines good or bad? Are we, the androids, good or bad? The real clicking point for me was the desert main quest in which you essentially walk into your first robot cult that then births… an android somehow? (still a touch confused there, not gonna lie). It really caught me off guard and while at first I didn’t understand the need, I gradually understood the games intentions. It’s actually a concept that I myself explored during part of my A-Level art course before I had even bought this game so its an idea that has always been interesting and engaging to me. It’s the concept of exploring humanity through something non-human. As of yet, while we know there are humans still living and thriving on the moon, we never see or interact with them, which is interesting in itself because our whole purpose in the game and our characters existence is to serve them so humanity can thrive. It’s the whole slogan for the androids: Glory to mankind. In a way its very eerie when they do their salute – they show undying allegiance to humans who clearly do not care for them in the same way and view them only as a means to an end by having such a large separation from them. But despite there being no humans present, there are clear themes of humanity being explored. Almost everything that we discover throughout are quests (side and main) is a mimicry of human behaviour. From family bonds and love to cult worship and obsession, every action or strange behaviour that 2B and 9S encounter on their explorations between their “other” – that being the machines, both good and bad, and the rebellious androids that have been demonized by YoRHa as deserters by developing too much own thought and notions of self-identity and desire – are examples of real human behaviour. I won’t go into too much detail in case there are people who want to play this game for themselves (which I highly suggest) and I think the journey and experience is more engaging when you realize “this is something humans have actually done. But it is really interesting to see this game put the history of humanity and anthropology into perspective when we jarringly come to understand that our own race is mirrored in this “other” that we were taught right off the bat was the so-called enemy.

I get the feeling I have only scratched the surface for this narrative however. So far, I have noticed how rich this world has been made through its explorations of anthropology but I have yet to uncover it’s “true message”. In a weird way, it reminds me of Margret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Now I know that’s a strange jump, but bear with me. You see, I studied The Handmaid’s Tale for A-Level English and one big thing for Atwood’s world-building in this book was she made a big deal out of making nothing up. Every single horrible thing that happens in the world of Gilead has a level of historical precedence somewhere. It all actually happened once. That’s the same feel the narrative world-building of NeiR Automata has: all the behaviours that we see in our machine counterparts is a reflection of the darkest parts of human societies. That’s a big part of why the games world feels so full, rich and engaging: despite its truly fantastical and fictional concept, its not ridiculous because nothing is actually far-fetched. It’s actually a really good world-building device that creators of all kinds can build upon and utilize.

But while I’ve noticed this, I have yet to grasp the overall intended message as of yet. Again, similar to the handmaid’s tale, what is the intention? Atwood’s novel ends not with a massive outcry of self-declaration and independence, but a quiet, non-defined escape that is up to interpretation. Was there meant to be a message, or just a warning? If we keep being horrible people and putting horrible people in power, this is what we could become. A message that has been amplified in America with recent elections. Similarly, I am still discovering what the game wants to tell me. Alongside the worst of human behaviour being showcased, there is also the best of it. Androids slowly becoming self aware and yearning for more, which I think is ,of course, the trajectory for 2B as she goes from stone-cold warrior to an increased understanding of emotion and empathy. So would the message be then pro-human or anti-human? Is there meant to be a message or just Square Enix just want to highlight the complexity of human society and behaviour? I’m looking forward to finding out.

Since there are still lots of questions that have yet to be answered in my journey, my opinions and satisfaction could change – although I find it unlikely. I still have lots to unpack reguarding the mysterious A2 (another key character who I have barely scratched the surface with), deserter androids, the rise of the machines and hopefully more about how YorHa agents became more emotional and attached, disobeying strong programming and see what direction 2B goes in.

Thoughts about the characters:

My make or break. If your story doesn’t have interesting characters, then why do I want to know about it?

Well, this is where things get a little bit surprising for me.

As I just made clear, character building is one of my biggest suctions for stories and their media so I care a lot about it. And yet, while I have so far had nothing but praise for NeiR Automata, its the characters where things start to get a little nit-picky for me.

Lets get the elephant out of the room: 2B as a sexualised character.

Females in video games have always been held under a massive microscope as for a very long time video games were obviously viewed as a male media and therefore so were all its characters. There are hundreds of articles and YouTube essays dissecting this topic (one of the interesting ones I’ve seen is obviously on the one and only Lara Croft by The Take (Watch it here) which talks about what Tomb Raider does for feminist video game design), so I’m not getting into that here. But it is present in 2B and I’m not the only one who’s picked up on it. However what I’ve noticed is that the video game only goes half-way – 2B (and A2’s) design is definitely on the male gaze side of things and the game includes another rather unnecessary feature to make it more evident, however I have yet to see it take it any further in terms of stretching the narrative to accommodate it more. It seems to be mainly in art and reception of the character this has been amped up. For me, it’s relatively easy to ignore it. There’s so much else wonderful about the game and 2B (because unfortunately it could be so much worse and the outfit is actually kinda pretty if I’m being 100%) that it was kinda just one of those *sigh* things that I could brush off. It doesn’t stain my overall enjoyment of the game.

Other than that, I love 2B and 9S. I adore their dynamic and their interactions. I think 9S is my overall favourite character, hands down. I love his subtle sarcasm and charisma despite being an android with a duty and how he engages with the stoic 2B. He helps show a more lighter side to the androids that highlights how they still have programming’s of personality in some way that grows and develops. His boyish, professional curiosity is cute and the little repiture’s he has with 2B and sometimes the side-quest machines can make for such a great break in between epic fights and themes that just help make this game the whole package. I will say that they are definitely my platonic OTP. I absolutely adore their friendship and partnership but I hope the game doesn’t turn it romantic. I just don’t think it needs this sub-plot – much like a book that feels the need to sandwich the two main characters together because that’s just “the thing to do” – and I don’t see that type of chemistry in them. I think their friendship is still very impactful and emotional considering their situation and development of learning about these non-sanctioned emotions that they discover. There are still other NPC androids who display the theme of “romantic love between machines” that adds layers to the themes without tainting the already good dynamic 2B and 9S have as friends and partners. Not everything has to have a love match. Friendships can be just as strong and emotional as romantic partnerships and I would like to see more of that in media sometimes.

And finally, Adam and Eve. In all honesty, these were the weakest characters for me. So far. Where the story stands now, I just wasn’t feeling the strong connection between them that was the catalyst for the Ending A climax. The idea that the final battle was induced because you got rid of one brother and the other went into a rage because of it didn’t feel concrete to me. There just wasn’t enough screentime between the two of them that sold this strong connection between them well enough, especially when they’re playing the villains that also display a lack of empathy and compassion as they were still almost like newborn children who’s only ambition was to take over the world. Maybe a bit more time with them in future play of the game will fix this for me and they’re feel more developed as characters and antagonists, but I’m not feeling it right now. In a game that already has a strong opposing group of machines – a lots of mini bosses and creative forces working against you as you discover new places and branches of the machines – they felt a little arbitrary. If they didn’t exist, I think I still could have been satisfied with the story I had with just these machines that had become so big and independent that they overwhelmed their alien creators just in sheer force and numbers. I think I would have still liked this narrative without Adam and Eve there to take the role of the “big boss” that headed the revolution.

Although I can say that that fabricated, white world area with all those android corpses? Yeah, I didn’t care for that one bloody bit. I was ready to fight a bish to get 9S back. That’s my boy you’re being a weirdo about there, hand him over bread slice.

Video game aesthetic:

Probably my favourite thing about this game overall. It’s stunning.

The two main things that really make this game go from “pretty cool” to “favourites list” for me is visual art and music.

The settings, the map, the views – all of it is absolutely breath-taking. It’s one of those things that feels like its been taken directly out of its concept art and translated perfectly into 3D visual graphics. The way the map blends all the environments together so seamlessly is amazing – since when could a desert, an amusement park and a lush green forest all co-exist right next to each other? Somehow, this game knits them altogether so believably and beautifully. It’s also so dynamic. There’s ups and downs and lefts and rights so you can truly explore. In fact, the only issue with this is I keep jumping , thinking I can go places, only to repeatedly hit invisible walls. The map was a little hard and confusing the navigate at first, but after a few quests I started to get the hang of it. Marking your destination is really helpful here as you can think you’re going in the right direction to find that you’re a little off-kilter.

The camera angles also change sometimes depending on location. In some places – mainly key quest locations – the camera will jump around from the standard third person POV you normally get in RPG’s to overhead or widescale far-away and it can sometimes be pretty jarring. I kinda get what they were going for, cinematically, but it catches you off guard a lot and ruins your flow, especially if you’re currently ploughing your way through attackers.

The music though is immaculate. It’s incredibly cinematic and really ties together the whole aesthetic and epic nature of the game. It’s one of those beautiful, captivating soundtracks that stand so well on their own too. I actually look it up on YouTube and listen to it when I’m writing because it’s so epic and non-distracting while still being encapsulating. It feels very unique and fantastical and suits each setting in this game perfectly while still being different each time.

If you couldn’t tell I absolutely adore it.

Super cinematic cut-scenes. They’re made like a film and often smoothly lead you straight into the gameplay action. Literally from the very first one and 2B bursts through the wall and draws her sword, I had sparkles in my eyes and was like “This. Is. Epic!”

I’ve obviously still got a lot of gameplay and story to go through, which is why this is like a mini series: a join-me while I play sort of thing, but with words instead of a YouTube lets-play.

So keep an eye out for the “Status updates” for this game and please remember: everything is just my opinion (unless I looked it up!).

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