<p>As Super Bunnyhop put it, <em>Nier: Automata</em> is the &#8220;weeb trash&#8221; version of<em> Waiting for Godot</em>. In exploring its existentialist concepts, it tells a story only possible due to gaming&#8217;s uniquely interactive space. It was one of 2017&#8217;s most captivating games when it launched early last year on PlayStation 4 and PC. Disclaimer: Click on the images below for links to higher resolution captures.</p>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30181537/6-30-2018_5-46-08_PM1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-140040" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30181537/6-30-2018_5-46-08_PM1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" /></a></p>
<h3>&#8220;Fear Destroyed Them&#8221;</h3>
<p>I played it at launch on a PS4 Pro and while it hit me in the feels, its technical makeup never wowed me. For starters, a last-gen looking game running at only 900p on the base ps4 with a mere bump to 1080p on PS4 Pro? Add the fact that neither iteration locks to its 60 fps target along with a PC release that still requires a mod to run at higher resolutions and you&#8217;ve got a game that&#8217;s held back by Platinum&#8217;s lack of technical know-how. They can craft fluid and exciting combat, but properly optimizing visuals and performance is a foreign concept to them.</p>
<p>Thankfully, this is where the Xbox One X version swoops in to offer the best out-of-the-box experience (the PC version with the FAR mod supersedes any console version), though it&#8217;s still not perfect. <em>Automata</em>&#8216;s greatest sin lies with its last gen assets and rendering features. Hair rendering looks no better than last gen games. Draw distances are laughably poor for a game with such a constrained mini-open world. Additionally, <em>Nier: Automata</em> features some of the most inconsistent texture work of any game all generation.</p>
<p>While there are a fair amount of high-quality textures that hold up at high resolutions, most don&#8217;t look so hot when you take a step back to linger.</p>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30181933/6-30-2018_5-45-54_PM1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-140042" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30181933/6-30-2018_5-45-54_PM1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" /></a></p>
<h3>&#8220;To Think We Have The Same Face, Yet Such Different Smiles&#8221;</h3>
<p>Therein lies the issue. <em>Nier: Automata</em> revels in its emotional center. It wants players to put the controller on their lap and become absorbed by its thematic weight:</p>
<ul>
<li>Existentialism</li>
<li>Loss</li>
<li>Love</li>
<li>Compassion</li>
<li>Nihilism</li>
<li>Community</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Automata</em>&#8216;s narrative wants to disrupt players&#8217; emotions; Get them to sit in perceived silence as its emotionally arresting soundtrack envelopes the soundscape. With a game so deeply entrenched in thematic weightiness, things like art design and visuals become more important than something like a <em>Doom</em>. You play <em>Doom</em> to kill shit and have fun doing it. You play<em> Nier: Automata</em> to soak in its emotional splendor as it encapsulates the medium&#8217;s narrative potency. The fun comes as a byproduct of Platinum Games&#8217; spectacle-action chops. It&#8217;s not the point. Letting thoughts and emotions resonate is.</p>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30182355/6-30-2018_5-46-01_PM1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-140044" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30182355/6-30-2018_5-46-01_PM1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" /></a></p>
<h3>&#8220;It Always Ends Like This&#8221;</h3>
<p>My initial playthrough last year on PlayStation 4 Pro was one I won&#8217;t forget. It was my first time experiencing this game and that first time is the most special. As 2B puts it herself in a busywork side-quest that involves finding locations based on photographs, &#8220;<em>Everyone has memories that are precious to them for one reason or another</em>&#8220;. My memory of that first proper playthrough will stick with me forever, but that doesn&#8217;t change how much more effective it is on Xbox One X by comparison.</p>
<p><em>Nier: Automata</em>&#8216;s destroyed world captivates because of how expertly it blends death with life. The destroyed remnants of a shopping mall with a shattered skylight is visually striking. The light filtering through the skylight, illuminating the shopping center&#8217;s foliage in broad daylight is what the kids would call &#8220;an aesthetic&#8221;. By the same notion, the city&#8217;s amusement park is one of those sights you want to sit and stare in awe at for minutes at a time.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that beautiful art design has felt somewhat constrained by lower resolutions. I couldn&#8217;t imagine playing <em>Nier: Automata</em> on a base PlayStation 4 at 900p, but even at 1080p on a Pro, it looked somewhat noisy with aliasing, shimmer, and a residual softness that&#8217;s difficult to shake once the high-quality textures decide to show up.</p>
<p><a href="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30182856/6-30-2018_5-45-49_PM1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-140046" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/30182856/6-30-2018_5-45-49_PM1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" /></a></p>
<h3> &#8220;I Never Quite Realized&#8230;How Beautiful This World Is&#8221;</h3>
<p>Areas I&#8217;m intimately familiar with were given a breath of fresh air thanks to the Xbox One X&#8217;s higher native rendering resolution. It was enough of a difference from the outset to make me proud of spending that money again just to support the title&#8217;s ambition. The effect of seeing <em>Nier: Automata</em>&#8216;s world through a higher resolution lens is equivalent to the time you moved from a DVD to a Blu-ray copy of your favorite movie.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s still the same great experience, but that extra resolution gives it a new lease on life. I was initially curious just to see how it looked on a One X and ended up becoming so enthralled and shocked at the visual upgrade that I ended up completing endings A-E in a span of four days. It doesn&#8217;t hurt that, without framerate tests to back this up, the game feels smoother on average than Pro. While re-buying the game at $50 is a tough sell for all but the most devoted fans, any Xbox One X owner that has never played <em>Nier: Automata</em> absolutely needs to check it out now.</p>
<p>It is the definitive no-frills way to play that doesn&#8217;t require messing with mods and tinkering with settings. All gushing aside, the FAR mod&#8217;s creator recently released a high-resolution texture pack. Acting as a wholesale re-texturing of all low-quality assets, the difference in fidelity is staggering. Seeing those comparisons made me long for a Platinum Games with a little more technical knowledge. After all, this is the same studio that ported <em>Bayonetta 2</em> to the Switch with no extra resolution or visual settings and yet it still can&#8217;t lock to 60fps 100% of the time???</p>

Nier: Automata Shines on Xbox One X
- Categories: Opinion
- Tags: ActionJRPGNierPlatinum GamesRPGSquare EnixTop StoriesXbox
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