You need to play Nier Automata. I can’t say it any more plainly than that. You need to play, enjoy &, moreover, experience this game. I’ve played hundreds of games in my lifetime and none that made me experience the feeling of what it means for me to play video games.

Some may play games to show everyone how good you are at certain skill-based activities (eg: tasks that require intensive hand-eye coordination[first person shooters], or tasks that require you to remember/memorize very specific strings of inputs to always get your desired outcome[fighting games]). Some may that play games to get that feeling of accomplishment you may/or may not lack in your day-to-day life. Some may play games just for the hell of it, cause why not they’re fun right?

For me, it was a combination of all of the above. Was.

Playing Nier Automata made me realize something, that I play video games for the experience. I don’t play it to escape some problems that I may have, I don’t play it to show off to my friends & I certainly don’t play it to brag online about how many stupid achievements I have.

I play for the experience gaming provides over all other mediums of entertainment. Well, for the sake of not sounding too pretentious right now, lemme dial it back.

Gaming encompasses all mediums of entertainment in my opinion: A beautiful story [books] that is bolstered by hand-crafted visuals [art] and choreographed together [movies] all while being interactive.

Problem is though…none of this would have resonated with me if I’d just played the game through once. None of this realization happened until I made it to the true end of this game, which comes after about 4 different “endings”. Up until this point, they did a fantastic job of relaying the philosophical groundwork for “What Might Happen if Robots Rule a Post-Human World”. But the real moment where this game stands out is in that ending. I will not spoil it for you but wow…Yoko Taro…bravo. Let’s just say, I hope one of you out there is happy about the “sacrifice” I made on your behalf.

Come to think of it, I feel like I’m not doing this game justice by spouting philosophical nonsense about why I love gaming so much…so you may just need to experience this one on your own. If you’re looking for a solid action RPG with incredibly responsive controls, fluid motions & tons of customization options, then this game is worth your time, I promise you that.