I read a ton of fantasy and fiction, and would say this game is a really unique story. You haven't even gotten a taste of it, you should really not judge the players who've enjoyed it.
How long of a time?
> the story doesn't even get very interesting until the second play through
I couldn't trudge through even once, how can I get to a second play through? :)
> You haven't even gotten a taste of it
So, to "get a taste of it" I need to a) play an unspecified long time and b) preferably two times
> this game is a really unique story
Robots have feelings and souls? Nothing is what it seems? Humans are the bad guys? With a few twists telegraphed two hours before they happen?
The main theme of the game is one only a game could have and it's nothing boring like "robots have feelings".
>Robots have feelings and souls? Nothing is what it seems? Humans are the bad guys? With a few twists telegraphed two hours before they happen?
These aren't even the twists in Nier Automata, these are surface-level readings of the story from the first few hours of the game. Although, humans are the bad guys isn't even in the game at all, the humans are long dead. Which I thought was one of the more obvious story twists.
Which chapter is robot village and Beuvoir?
> These aren't even the twists in Nier Automata, these are surface-level readings of the story from the first few hours of the game.
So, again, how many hours do I have to sink into the game before it becomes anything but a boring and predictable?
Chapter 1. Roughly 1 hour into the game, if you play it for the story.
Quitting at that point is like quitting The Fellowship of the Ring because you "predicted" that the Hobbits would leave the Shire.
Xbox profile tells me I've got 20 hours played, 20% achievements obtained, 7 endings acquired.
- Creation and Insurrection. Complete the alien ship. 23,21% players have this achievement
- We Await Your Next Visit. Complete the amusement park ruins. 28,60% players have this achievement
- It's a Healthy Baby Boy! Complete the desert area. 32,26% players have this achievement
- Ruler of the Deep. Complete the flooded city. 18,33% players have this achievement
For a game where "every action and beyond has its meaning", "unique storytelling", "the deepest game in its decade" etc. only perhaps a third of all players achieve even the most basic of objectives and probably give up soon after.
I can't even imagine an actual storytelling game that would fail to present any semblance of an engaging story 20 hours in.
The stats you cite are not as compelling an argument as you think. They're pretty much in line with what you see for most games. On PSN, Automata has a 30% completion rate, meaning seeing ending E specifically, which is about what you'd expect.
The fact that you weren't engaged by the story might simply have been because you spent the majority of your game time not engaging with it in any way whatsoever. The side quests you must've been doing are there largely to pad game time. Yoko Taro has a tendency to be thrifty in his game design, leading to both at times tedious side quests, and the several endings approach.
And at the same time somehow "because you spent the majority of your game time not engaging with it in any way whatsoever."
> The side quests you must've been doing are there largely to pad game time.
Funny that. Elsewhere in this conversation people claim that "side quests, meanwhile, are almost always tied into the main story or its themes - even if you don't realize it at the time you're doing the quest" and "Every action from the first boss and beyond has meaning, and it gets more dramatic onward"
Or perhaps, just perhaps, and hear me out on this: the game is really shit at presenting this "unique storytelling not seen elsewhere"? Perhaps, just perhaps, twenty hours, three (or more?) bosses, and four locations is more than enough to give the player a sense and a feel for this amazing story beyond the absolute boring and predictable?
It's also immensely funny to me that my repeated questions of "when does the actual story start" are met with absolute silence and people either deferring or questioning my abilities.
So? When does this amazing story start? 40 hours in? 60? Ever?
In regards to the side quests, I've never looked at them in much detail. The gameplay they put your through is largely the worst you'll find in the game, which is why I said they're there to pad time. Automata is a very short game if you just go from set piece to set piece. Nier: Gestalt/Replicant was the same way.
The question isn't about "most other games". The question is about "this unique game with an amazing story where every action is meaningful" etc.
Most other games don't have a starry-eyed following which can't explain how 20 hours in you can't see even a shred of this story.
> Not because they're particularly deep, or evocative, but because of how they tie into the themes, story, and gameplay of the game.
Not deep or evocative but ties into the themes and story of the game is Game Making 101. Every single game with a semblance of a story line has that.
I don't expect you to watch this or change your mind. I do hope though that others who might be reading along will give the video a look. For myself, it made the game into an experience.
For you, OP, I recommend you don't play this game. You are definitely not it's audience. Maybe you'd like another call of duty instead. I heard those have good stories.
This is funnier than you realize. First off, the game pushes those assumptions in your face to serve the greater narrative. Secondly, exactly those points, alongside "the game isn't deep just because it namedrops famous philosophers," are the most common critiques of those who didn't engage with the plot beyond the absolute surface.
Automata demands a lot from the player if they want to get to its core. You can turn off your brain and enjoy the spectacle, but you'll miss what makes it great that way.