From the ashes of the defunct studio Cavia, Yoko Taro, Yosuke Saito and Keiichi Okabe joined forces with PlatinumGames to create a sequel to the 2010 cult classic NieR, which is tangentially part of the larger Drakengard series. Bigger in scope and budget, NieR: Automata is set thousands of years after NieR‘s fourth ending, during a proxy war between androids and machines.
To say much more than that would spoil the magic of the game, as Automata is a masterclass in storytelling, tackling themes of life, death, empathy, beauty, and language, among other things. Retaining NieR‘s incredible thematic storytelling and creating a much more visually beautiful game with improved combat made the sequel a surprise hit, and one of 2017’s very best. Its success ignited an interest in and raised the profile of Yoko Taro and the ex-Cavia development team.
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