Recent reviews by Marked One【ネコ】

Finished the game in 52 hours - not a sightseeing run but I did do the interresting side stuff.

The Bad:
Literal entire game systems - they are bugged and do not work, at all (A-Life, Faction wars, Lairs...).
ITS BUGGY - unless you're ready to quick save every 5 minutes steer clear and wait for patching.
It runs comically poorly - hitches everywhere, you can watch your fps dip when stuff gets spawned in, etc.
Endgame enemies - they are just comically overtuned as of writing (stalker difficulty).

The Good:
Larger side content - worth doing and generally rewards well (after patch).
Well laid out map - long treks are long but don't feel boring with points of interrest and anomalies around.
Branching storyline - seems to genuinely impact your world and playthrough.
Worth doing multiple run throughs - you can't get *all* the answers from one playthrough.

The Cinema:
Evironments - they cooked, this game made me stop and stare at many occasions.
The story - actually some incredibly well paced and placed thrilling segments, caught me by surprise.
Exploration - you don't hunt for tools but instead for blueprints and it feels rewarding to find them.
Untracked quests - while reading through stuff you find, you can stumble upon blackmail information, etc.

All in all I can say that I loved my time in the new Zone. However, I am definitely waiting for extensive patching before I do further runs. On my playthrough an entire story subquest simply did not work for example. I don't blame anyone who refunded based off of the performance issues or bugs, but it is a game made with genuine love and care. And if the developers or modders fix all the bugs - this is a future classic.

Biggest throw since Overwatch.

A good remaster, game is still a 2010 JRPG with an amazing OST - but now it doesn't look like your screen broke as you play.
You may say it was a mistake to not change the mindless grind side-quests, but it was part of the experience back then and remains so, now.

It's peak.

Do be one of those games that elevates the genre to the next level, a must play.

The essence of what we lost with the arrival of modern AAA games.

What this game has is a metric ton of SOVL, the opening segment is absolutely stunning and just about perfect for what you'd imagine in your head while reading a soviet era sci-fi book. The environments are easily the centre focus of the dev here and they deliver. The combat is serviceable and after you get some upgrades it becomes pretty fun.

It could use some more polish on the technical side but it doesn't crash or perform so badly that it harms the experience. The main character, while bland, doesn't perform so badly that it would annoy me and in general all the negatives are there but simply don't outweigh the incredible other parts of the game.

This game in my opinion is a genuine must-play for anyone who loves old sci-fi works.

E - DLC was good just short, hopefully second one delivers more.

It has some bugs and can crash out on some PC's here and there (mine was remarkably stable). The story is very well made with some feels and it's also paced well. The gameplay is less clunky than most souls type games which makes it easier but also more fun. Probably my favorite souls-type game. Definitely recommend to pick it up.

Used to be a shining beacon in the gaming industry, somewhere along the road something went wrong, and we're here now.

Never thought I'd see GGG act like Blizzard - telling you what you enjoy.

Update: We are so back.

Where to even begin.
I guess with a fair warning?
- Do not buy this game if you expect to beat it in 12 hours and move on with your gaming habits.

The game at 12 hours feels incomplete, at 18 hours feels like it's getting somewhere and finally at 40 hours is complete.
This isn't one of the games you can play "a bit of" - mainly because you won't understand anything. The plot is spread out very evenly, to the very ending of multiple endings it's still droping more chunks of lore that fit into the grand design. This is what I think tipped off a lot of people that didn't enjoy it, we're used to games dropping the main story points in the first 6-12 hours and then at most you'll find out why MC likes the color blue (or something equally vague).

That brings us to the game. It's unique, it's one of a kind, you've never played anything like this and at 40 hours once you've figured out everything you'll be roaming and reading the excellent side-media. Re-listening to the fantastic OST. Hunting for explanations of this or that minor plot line that was never clearly explained. You won't be able to part with the characters much like you feel after you read a good book or finish a great series. You'll look back at the comedic moments and appreciate the breaks in tension, while also remarking the world building thats for all intents and purposes almost peerless in the gaming industry.

If you've never played a NieR game (like me 'cause they're all on console only) I urge you to watch one of the recap videos on youtube that explain the plotlines of the older games. A great deal of plot will go over your head without doing this.

If you've got the time it's a must-play title.