Sqaure Enix’s NieR: Automata emerged as something of a surprise success for the company. The strange world of NieR accompanied with the unique structure of the game where beating it was simply the beginning of the story caught on with people. However, it was not the first game in the series, and that game will return with a remake in NieR Replicant. The game is set to come out later this year, and the ESRB rating promises all that you would expect.
NeiR was an interesting title as it released in essentially two forms, one aimed at Japanese audiences and one at Western audiences. While the overall story stayed the same, one version saw the main protagonist being a young man looking to protect his sister, with the other being a father instead. The remake (which is technically called ver. 1.22474487139) will only use the brother story and seems to reinvent the combat to something closer to Automata. The ESRB rating promises a lot of excitement including blood, explosions and impalements, as well as the goofy T&A aspect that you either love or hate, I suppose.
“This is an action role-playing game in which players help Nier save his terminally ill sister from an infectious disease. Players explore a futuristic fantasy world, interact with characters, engage in various quests, and battle both humans and creatures (e.g., robots, mutant skeletons, organic shadows) in melee-style combat. Players use swords, spears, and lances to hack/slash at enemies, and a floating book to fire lasers from a distance. Battles are frenetic, often accompanied by explosions, screen-shaking effects, and large blood splatters that stain the ground. Bloodstains are also seen around several corpses. Some sequences depict additional acts of violence: a woman impaled through the chest by a giant spear; a giant shadow creature impaled by a wood column. The game contains some suggestive material: female characters wearing lingerie during battle; a character with partially exposed buttocks and breasts; close-up camera angles of characters’ cleavage. The words “f**k,” “a*shole,” and “sh*t” are heard in the game.”
Much like Automata, Replicant will require multiple playthroughs to get the full story, and the original game was known for having quite the final metafictional twist ending. With this series, who even knows what this will end up being, but either way it will release on April 23rd.
