NieR Replicant Review

NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... is a remake of the game NieR based on the Japanese version of the game, meaning the young protagonist with his sister rather than a middle aged protagonist with his daughter.

I will start this review by saying that I was not familiar with Yoko Taro's work. I have played and enjoyed NieR Automata but was not aware of a so called prequel until recently. I didn't even realise that NieR Replicant was a remake of an older game because the graphics, story, gameplay mechanics are very well polished that I didn't notice it is an older game.

Spoiler free review

In case you are curious about this game, you don't have to worry because this review will be spoiler free, even though is an older game, considering the fact that this game is a Yoko Taro production, trying to explain the story will take me an unusual amount of time to properly explain everything and if I do that, your enjoyment while playing this game will drastically decrease.

Speaking of story, what I can say is that although it can appear simplistic in the first half of the game, as you progress you will find out that things are not that they seem and your life in the paradise is slowly crashing down. The game explores themes like existentialism, life and death, the will to live and moral ambiguities that makes it an absolute gem if you manage to stay focused during the entire game.

You might picked up that last part and wonder, why would you have trouble staying focused during the entire game? Well, to get the full story from all the featured characters you will have to finish the game 5 times. Yes you read that correctly, with each ending you will see more and more lore and the game will unravel in ways that I never expected making this a unique experience. However, this is also one of my complaints because while the concept is cool and the game doesn't force you to redo all the completed side quests, you still have to go though all the bosses and story elements even though more information is revealed every time you go through said story events.

You have a lot to do

And yes, the feeling of being burnt out while playing the same game 5 times can be a bit tiring. However, the final ending is absolutely worth it and will tie the game beautifully with NieR Automata giving the players much needed backstory how the post apocalyptic world of Automata came to be.

Luckily the party members are filled with personality and are so unique that this journey is pleasant to repeat. You start alone but as the game progresses you will find trusty comrades that will aid you in your quest to save your sister. And of course as you finish the endings you will also find more and more backstory to your loved party members that will make everything more cohesive and fun.

Gameplay is standard action melee and once you have the magic book you can have variations like shooting orbs or other powers as you beat bosses and progress throughout the story.

You have 3 weapon types to choose from: one handed sword, two handed sword and spears. You can change the weapons seamlessly as well as the magic spells giving you a lot of versatility in combat which I loved. You will unlock a variety of weapons in these 3 archetypes as you progress though the story so you can upgrade for even better damage output.

Now to be honest the materials needed for the upgrades range from common to pain in the ass rare, even with augments like a 20% item drop increase, so I still found it annoying farming for materials. Due to this I unfortunately didn't manage to upgrade all the weapons to get the achievement for that. The fishing minigame especially, if I can call it that, is just a rage fest that I tried and tried and ultimately had to abandon because it's just not fun.

The only clue that gave away that NieR Replicant is a remake are the many invisible barriers in the town and you cannot swim. Your trusty companions actually comment when you "drown" and it's quite funny, I actually appreciated the small touch of banter that ensued every time I failed to swim, it provided immersion even though there is a black screen then you get teleported to the nearest shore.

Diversity in style

And last but not least, the graphical fidelity is very good. I enjoyed the art style and the biome variety that each primary town has. The Seafront town with the white buildings, sea and ships that adorn the landscape provides a mediterranean feeling when you visit it. Compared to the Facade, a desert themed town that uses sand as means of transportation and has a very middle eastern aesthetic. The village you live has a very middle ages aesthetic with fortifications and chained houses while The Aerie is a town that was build on the walls of a huge canyon where the buildings are connected using suspended walkways giving a very inverse Venice vibe.

I am glad to report that I had no performance issues on the Xbox One X, it ran at a smooth 60 fps, no stuttering, no visible pop in enemies or textures, no sudden game crashes

Also the soundtrack is very good that ties everything with a pretty bow!

NieR Replicant is a very unique experience

Overall, if you are tired of the same game structure, the big open world with a lot of useless collectibles to find and just want a story that will make you go though an exciting rollercoaster ride, NieR Replicant is a game for you!

And since you read this whole review, here are the scores for the elements that make any game shine:

Graphics & Art style 8,

Performance 9,

Gameplay 7,

Fun 6.

Overall the score for NieR Replicant is 74/100. The final score is not an average of the separate reviewed elements but the game as a whole package. A gift wrapped nicely by the developers for us, gamers.

Thanks for reading this review, let me know your thoughts about this, did you play this game? Are you curious about it now?