A bleak, depressing and utterly, utterly wonderful game, Taro Yoko’s Nier is a modern masterpiece, effortlessly blending a variety of game styles and ways to present a narrative to create a chaotic but coherent whole.

Developer: Cavia
Publisher: Square Enix
Available on: Xbox 360, PS3 (retail only)

Articles about Nier

From the Archives: Drawing the Line - Any dedicated JRPG fan will know what an uphill struggle it is to get people who have found themselves drifting away from the genre to actually play one of your favorite games. All too often, people are keen to dismiss the whole genre as “Japanese bullshit” at best, depraved disgusting sexist paedophilic misogynist nonsense at worst. Ever-determined … Continue reading From the Archives: Drawing the Line →

Nier Automata: A Game Better With — And Because Of — Its Narrative - Writing for The Atlantic, academic and media commentator Ian Bogost put forth the rather bold claim that “video games are better without stories” and asked “film, television and literature all tell them better, so why are games still obsessed with narrative?” This is an interesting question to ponder in light of any discussion of video … Continue reading Nier Automata: A Game Better With — And Because Of — Its Narrative →

Nier Automata: Narrative, Themes and Characterisation - Nier creator Taro Yoko is particularly fascinated with death: not only the concept itself, but also how different people respond to it. Yoko’s interest in the subject, as we’ve previously discussed, stems from a traumatic experience in his youth when he witnessed the accidental, easily avoidable death of a friend and discovered, to his surprise, … Continue reading Nier Automata: Narrative, Themes and Characterisation →

Nier Automata: Introduction and History - Nier: Automata is a fascinating game in its own right, but it becomes even more of an interesting story when you take it in context of everything that led to its creation. In order to understand Nier: Automata and its predecessors, it is particularly important to understand creator Taro Yoko, one of the most distinctive “auteurs” in … Continue reading Nier Automata: Introduction and History →

From the Archives: Birds Suddenly Appear Every Time You Are Nier - Nier is possibly one of Square Enix’s most misunderstood games. Released to a rather lukewarm critical response back in 2010, this Cavia-developed PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 action RPG, directed by Taro Yoko, is actually a fascinating game that is well worth your time and attention — so long as you have a bit of … Continue reading From the Archives: Birds Suddenly Appear Every Time You Are Nier →

The MoeGamer GameCast: Episode 6 – ZAWAZAWAZAWA - In this episode of the GameCast, we talk about the prevalence of “auteurs” in Japanese game development, NepNep in VR and one of the bleakest anime series I’ve ever seen. Music, as ever, is the work of MusMus, and the awesome retro font is by Style64. Other music in this episode remains the copyright of … Continue reading The MoeGamer GameCast: Episode 6 – ZAWAZAWAZAWA →

Ten Great RPGs That Came Out After Final Fantasy VII - As we saw recently, there are those among us who believe that the Japanese role-playing game has been in consistent decline since Final Fantasy VII, and that only now are we starting to see a “comeback”. We’ve already talked about how this is a load of old nonsense, and that in fact the role-playing game … Continue reading Ten Great RPGs That Came Out After Final Fantasy VII →

Are JRPGs Primed for a Comeback? No; They Never Went Away - If IGN’s Colin Moriarty is to be believed, then Japanese role-playing games have been in a “steep decline” since Final Fantasy VII. You and I, as fellow enthusiasts of Japanese gaming, both know that this is perhaps a somewhat questionable claim to make, but it’s also worth examining, particularly in light of the fact that Moriarty … Continue reading Are JRPGs Primed for a Comeback? No; They Never Went Away →

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