Alright, the NieR Automata run is over!  I’m not sure if this game is ever going to be added to the regular rotation of games I play, but it definitely holds up as a great game.

After my initial playthrough I was over the moon with NA, citing its cleverness, varied gameplay, and fantastic set pieces as all stellar.  This is still true, but the flaws were more apparent this time around.  While the set pieces are mindblowingly cool and fun, the mortar between the bricks is pretty boring.  Running around the ruined city/forest/desert areas gets pretty repetitive as the locales feel very copy-paste-y.  I get that the city is destroyed and all, but every building looks like they were made of the same materials.

New York doesn’t look like that, nor does Boston, London, or basically any city I’ve ever seen.

While the running around and sidequests toe the line between engaging content and mindless filler, I’m not sure what a better solution would be.  Having the game be a straight linear experience would assist with the pacing, but I’m not sure that NA would have a net benefit from losing the traditional RPG style progression.

I dunno…

…well I started playing Hitman: Absolution on Sunday, so there’s that.  My version of Agent 47 is a “quick to pull the trigger” type, so if you wanna see someone play a stealth puzzle game as an action shooter, catch the silliness on Twitch!