Community MetaSteam | April 2020 - A Disaster Report From Raccoon City

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Gevin

Watch Madoka
Nov 16, 2018
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You do and it takes a long time because of the persona-esque systems that are required to recruit and level chars in a Campaign, which is why i never did the other two

And unfortunately, which route you will take is among the first decisions you make in the game, so you can't just have a savegame halfway through and reload that for another route either (except for one route that branches midway from another route)
Oh that sucks, sounds like the way to go is to play one (or 2 if you really liked the game) and look up a YT playthrough of the rest
 
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kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
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Finished Nier: Automata and I'm really glad I was able to experience this game and I now understand why so many hold it in such high regard. The way towards ending E is a landmark in storytelling and metacomentary on the whole "human condition" thing.

The game isn't however flawless especially in the technical and mechanical side of things. The combat is too repetitive and simple and the map is too large for the amount of content it contains or the variety of things you can do. The side quests are mostly pointless and boil down to fetch quests and provide no extra story or information, which makes no sense when the whole game experience is based on story beats and personal stories within and over arching narrative.

Also
  • Adam & Eve existence makes no sense and they have no real purpose. They are only there because you need bosses to end the game.
  • Adam's disconnect from the network is suicidal and clashes with his manipulating and controlling personality (as evidenced by his interaction with 9S).
  • Route B has no reason to exist and is a pace killer. It's beyond stupid it even exists as the extra info you get is minuscule and could easily be integrated within route A. But I guess they needed to stretch the playtime...
  • Introducing plot vital characters in the middle of the plot is bad and lazy writing (for instance, Devola and Popola - I know they were there since the beginning but they were nothing more than named NPCs that had 1 interaction with the player). It just show you've written yourself into a dead-end.
  • Emil's story is heartfelt but is undermined by the way he is presented (although I believe this might be a throwback to Nier 1 which I didn't play).

Overall the best thing I think you can say about the game and the people behind it is that it took balls to tell a story like this using this medium.
 
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lashman

lashman

Dead & Forgotten
Sep 5, 2018
31,985
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I have like 3 games on gamepass that completely refuse to uninstall. Probably evens out in the end. C'mon Microsoft even Epic has worked out downloading and patching, most of the time.
yeah ... it's just absolutely mindblowing just how BAD winstore is at this
 
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Kandrick

Junior Member
Jun 10, 2019
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Finished Nier: Automata and I'm really glad I was able to experience this game and I now understand why so many hold it in such high regard. The way towards ending E is a landmark in storytelling and metacomentary on the whole "human condition" thing.

The game isn't however flawless especially in the technical and mechanical side of things. The combat is too repetitive and simple and the map is too large for the amount of content it contains or the variety of things you can do. The side quests are mostly pointless and boil down to fetch quests and provide no extra story or information, which makes no sense when the whole game experience is based on story beats and personal stories within and over arching narrative.

Also
  • Adam & Eve existence makes no sense and they have no real purpose. They are only there because you need bosses to end the game.
  • Adam's disconnect from the network is suicidal and clashes with his manipulating and controlling personality (as evidenced by his interaction with 9S).
  • Route B has no reason to exist and is a pace killer. It's beyond stupid it even exists as the extra info you get is minuscule and could easily be integrated within route A. But I guess they needed to stretch the playtime...
  • Introducing plot vital characters in the middle of the plot is bad and lazy writing (for instance, Devola and Popola - I know they were there since the beginning but they were nothing more than named NPCs that had 1 interaction with the player). It just show you've written yourself into a dead-end.
  • Emil's story is heartfelt but is undermined by the way he is presented (although I believe this might be a throwback to Nier 1 which I didn't play).

Overall the best thing I think you can say about the game and the people behind it is that it took balls to tell a story like this using this medium.
Yes your last 2 points make much more sense if you played the first Nier.


Emil, Devola and Popola are MAJOR characters in the first Nier, Especially for Emil's story and background if you unlock all the secret stuff in Automata related to Emil. I imagine experiencing it without playing the first game would have you scratching your head. Same for Devola/Popola, most people i know that played only Automata had the same "who are they, why do they matter" sentiment
 
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Hektor

Autobahnraser
Nov 1, 2018
5,959
16,526
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Finished Nier: Automata and I'm really glad I was able to experience this game and I now understand why so many hold it in such high regard. The way towards ending E is a landmark in storytelling and metacomentary on the whole "human condition" thing.

The game isn't however flawless especially in the technical and mechanical side of things. The combat is too repetitive and simple and the map is too large for the amount of content it contains or the variety of things you can do. The side quests are mostly pointless and boil down to fetch quests and provide no extra story or information, which makes no sense when the whole game experience is based on story beats and personal stories within and over arching narrative.

Also
  • Adam & Eve existence makes no sense and they have no real purpose. They are only there because you need bosses to end the game.
  • Adam's disconnect from the network is suicidal and clashes with his manipulating and controlling personality (as evidenced by his interaction with 9S).
  • Route B has no reason to exist and is a pace killer. It's beyond stupid it even exists as the extra info you get is minuscule and could easily be integrated within route A. But I guess they needed to stretch the playtime...
  • Introducing plot vital characters in the middle of the plot is bad and lazy writing (for instance, Devola and Popola - I know they were there since the beginning but they were nothing more than named NPCs that had 1 interaction with the player). It just show you've written yourself into a dead-end.
  • Emil's story is heartfelt but is undermined by the way he is presented (although I believe this might be a throwback to Nier 1 which I didn't play).

Overall the best thing I think you can say about the game and the people behind it is that it took balls to tell a story like this using this medium.
Kandrick already pointed that out but i wanna elaborate a bit on that last part.
Their story is a fantastic sequel to their plot of #1, their appearance makes a lot of sense, as well as what they do if you have the full context.

When i started playing Automata and saw the two standing behind the fence early in the game it was an absolute OH SHIT Moment and you just knew there is going to be something up with them.
 

Durante

I <3 Pixels
Oct 21, 2018
4,041
19,492
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Finished Nier: Automata and I'm really glad I was able to experience this game and I now understand why so many hold it in such high regard. The way towards ending E is a landmark in storytelling and metacomentary on the whole "human condition" thing.

The game isn't however flawless especially in the technical and mechanical side of things. The combat is too repetitive and simple and the map is too large for the amount of content it contains or the variety of things you can do. The side quests are mostly pointless and boil down to fetch quests and provide no extra story or information, which makes no sense when the whole game experience is based on story beats and personal stories within and over arching narrative.

Also
  • Adam & Eve existence makes no sense and they have no real purpose. They are only there because you need bosses to end the game.
  • Adam's disconnect from the network is suicidal and clashes with his manipulating and controlling personality (as evidenced by his interaction with 9S).
  • Route B has no reason to exist and is a pace killer. It's beyond stupid it even exists as the extra info you get is minuscule and could easily be integrated within route A. But I guess they needed to stretch the playtime...
  • Introducing plot vital characters in the middle of the plot is bad and lazy writing (for instance, Devola and Popola - I know they were there since the beginning but they were nothing more than named NPCs that had 1 interaction with the player). It just show you've written yourself into a dead-end.
  • Emil's story is heartfelt but is undermined by the way he is presented (although I believe this might be a throwback to Nier 1 which I didn't play).

Overall the best thing I think you can say about the game and the people behind it is that it took balls to tell a story like this using this medium.
I really really love Nier:A, but I mostly agree with your points.

Regarding the mechanics and being repetitive, I think to me at least a huge mitigating factor was just how great the game feels in the moment to moment gameplay. I am usually extremely annoyed by repetitive games, but when it's combined with Nier:A's fun movement mechanics and audiovisual spectacle, it didn't bother me nearly as much. That said, Route B absolutely is the low point of the game.
 

kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
1,601
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Yes your last 2 points make much more sense if you played the first Nier.


Emil, Devola and Popola are MAJOR characters in the first Nier, Especially for Emil's story and background if you unlock all the secret stuff in Automata related to Emil. I imagine experiencing it without playing the first game would have you scratching your head. Same for Devola/Popola, most people i know that played only Automata had the same "who are they, why do they matter" sentiment
Kandrick already pointed that out but i wanna elaborate a bit on that last part.
Their story is a fantastic sequel to their plot of #1, their appearance makes a lot of sense, as well as what they do if you have the full context.

When i started playing Automata and saw the two standing behind the fence early in the game it was an absolute OH SHIT Moment and you just knew there is going to be something up with them.
Guess I need to get the original game remaster whenever it releases.
Cheers.
 
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fantomena

MetaMember
Dec 17, 2018
9,842
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I strongly disagree with this. Better no Xbox games on Steam, than €70 becoming the new norm for AAA games. There's a 99.99% chance that other publishers will follow if Microsoft gets away with this.
I disagree. Both that it's better to have no Xbox games on Steam than having the price at 70 euro and that other publishers will follow the pricing.
 

fantomena

MetaMember
Dec 17, 2018
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Another quality egsclusive.

Shame. Shame because its EGS exclusive, it reviewed bad and it's MP only.

What I would give for a top tier quality singleplayer predator game.

The Preator movies and Alien vs. Predator movies are some of my guilty pleasure movies.
 

Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
4,127
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Belgium
I disagree. Both that it's better to have no Xbox games on Steam than having the price at 70 euro and that other publishers will follow the pricing.
Other publishers followed EA and Activision when they changed the price of their games from €49.99 to €59.99. What makes you think they won't follow Microsoft now?

Also, history has proven many, many times how fast other publishers follow when some kind of price increase has been accepted by gamers. From paying for online gaming, to paid dlc, micro transactions, battle passes, time savers etc etc etc.

So yes, I'd rather see Microsoft ignore Steam again than putting the warm milk in front of other publishers on Steam with their insane regional pricing.

Edit: the last sentence is a Dutch expression that has been terribly translated to English 😋
 
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ISee

Oh_no!
Mar 1, 2019
3,220
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Nier A is a game about existentialism and is repetitive for good reasons. A sense of ongoing disorientation and confusion is inevitable in a seemingly meaningless, and righteous absurd world. Route B was able to demonstrate this infamous existential dread in very convincing ways. ;)

I'm only half joking btw. I seriously believe that Nier:A is more Art than game. The whole thing is one big metaphor (with some interpretation) for existentialism.
 

Line

meh
Dec 21, 2018
1,699
2,933
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Nier Automata feels great to play, it's just so fast and fluid. But the combat certainly is limited and repetitive, but I'll blame that more on the RPG aspects: the gear progression is really bland and boring, as all weapons have roughly the same power level in every situation (and +crit is obviously way better than the rest in most cases), and the chips are just not meaningful once you get the good ones required for survival.

Route B definitely should have started near the ocean after a certain event when the two protagonists are separated. Nothing would be repeated then, and they could have shoved all the 9S background in flashbacks.

Devola, Popola and Emil are super relevant though. Even if the game doesn't tell you so until very late, it's not like it's hidden. There are hints about Emil being more than just a merchant.
Of course, it's still a follow up in a long franchise, so... hindsight and all that.

Adam&Eve are interesting... they are indeed suicidal. By themselves, because they do one thing that is not.
But you can't really understand without knowing the entire franchise since Drakengard: the robots, like everything else on Earth, has been infected by the Watchers. That's the symbol that appears on Eve's chest. The Watchers are kinda... gods? It's never really explained, but they don't like humans. Or life in general, as humanity died thousands of years ago due to Drakengard true ending (not gonna spoil that one)... and was replaced by another type of humanity in the original Nier. And those died too, but left the androids of Nier Automata... based on Devola and Popola, the original androids!
The Watchers are real bad news in the franchise, and they are apparently not bothered by time or race. It's funny that the real bad guys are not hidden at all and appear right in front of you in cut scenes, but you don't even know it if you haven't played the rest :blobnerd:

The robots don't need a push to destroy humanity as it is their original goal programmed by the dead aliens (maybe we'll learn about them one day, I definitely can see the Watchers helping in that matter considering that Eve is doing their work), but they need to do so fast:
Robotic life is dying. That's not said as such in the main story, but you can learn that from the lore, from desperate robot fish not being able to survive without the original biological ones to the lack of oil for little bot dudes.

By the end of Nier Automata, things are pretty bleak for the machines, there's some cannon that end up in a robot civil war, but I don't know what to think about non game stuff when so much retcon already happened. It already contradicts a lot of what happened in the game so...
The victory of "humanity" has quite some consequences as creating new life is severely compromised, they need robots parts to create black boxes for androids... and while it's going to take some time, every sapient is going to die in-universe.
... which means that Adam&Eve's spaceship tower is the only thing that will let sapience live in outer space after all the rest is dead. And infect more stuff with the Watchers, which goes back to Drakengard actually...
 

Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
4,127
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Belgium
I'd rather pay a high price for Forza Horizon 5 and Outer Worlds 2 on Steam than having to use the windows store or at worse, use game pass (I don't like renting games).
I respect your opinion, but I can't possibly understand this. If a company isn't able to create a working launcher, or sells games at ridiculous prices, I'll be happy to ignore them.

It doesn't make sense to me to reward such a company's behavior by giving them my money - let alone by giving them MORE money than I would pay for a similar product.

To be fair: I didn't care about any of this when I was your age 😁
 
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FunnyJay

Powered by the Cloud
Apr 6, 2019
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Not sure where to ask this, but has podcast addict suddenly added involuntary ads that they splice into podcasts?
Is that something specific to Podcast Addict though? I've definitely had Swedish ads in American podcasts while using Podcast Addict since more than a year ago. And I've got the premium version of the app...
 

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
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lepertti.com
Is that something specific to Podcast Addict though? I've definitely had Swedish ads in American podcasts while using Podcast Addict since more than a year ago. And I've got the premium version of the app...
Yeah after looking into it I think is dynamic ads that are spliced into it when you download, so it's probably not podcast addict itself but the podcast. Weird how I never had it before until now.
 
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low-G

old school cool
Nov 1, 2018
909
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Has anyone played Jupiter Hell? How is it?
Yeah I kick started it. I think it’s good. A little lighter than the average rogue like but that’s kind of the point. Still enough content and depth to have fun I’d say.

If you’ve ever delved into the *bands I’m sure you’ll have played games similar.

I recommend it if you like true rogue likes
 
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