Posterity will remember from the eighth generation of consoles only a handful of Beat’em All, the genre having experienced a small loss of speed since the release of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in favor of Souls-Like. Sure, Devil May Cry 5 and god of war remain sure values, and the recent Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection was a breath of fresh air. We could also quote you Yakuza 6, to a lesser extent, but the license will know, with its seventh episode, a change of genre which excludes it, for the moment, from the one that interests us at present. But you know where I’m coming from: among this short list of outstanding Beat’em All, NieR Automata stands not far from the podium.
Released in February 2017 in Japan, then in March of the same year in the rest of the world, NieR Automata has since been distributed to more than 6.5 million copies. A surprise success, for a license rather unknown to us, and a genre that generally affects a fairly targeted audience. It was enough for Square Enix to consider a port on the popular console of the moment, the small Nintendo Switch, despite its dated hardware. Yet another hybrid version of a game originally released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and new questions about the feasibility of such a project. Examples of failed ports abound, and Platinum Games’ title may not be the prettiest on the market, but it’s still a voracious experience.
Testing conditions: We played this Switch version for just over eight hours, mainly on TV, but also in portable mode. We also tested it on Switch Lite, for about an hour.
Change of studio and deserved success
It’s an established fact, when it comes out NieR Automata received a salvo of rave reviews. It must be said that the title does not come out of nowhere. After a first part, soberly titled Deny par chez nous, produced by the Cavia studio to whom we owe in particular drakenguard and its sequel, this opus intended for the PS4 (which will be released on One a year later) is entrusted to Platinum Games. A company founded by former Capcom, big heads such as Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya, respectively creators of the series resident Evil and Devil May Cry.
And in 2017, the studio’s track record is already very impressive. Not content to have hit hard with his first game, the ambitious mad world on Nintendo Wii, he continues the same year with Bayonetta, a Beat’em All designed by Kamiya, a true masterpiece of gameplay. The following year, it is the turn of Vanquish, overseen by Mikami. In short, so many excellent titles, and the list will grow later, with in particular Metal Gear Rising and The Wonderful 101. The fact is that the developer does not take long to be recognized as a producer of sure values.
So when Square Enix announces the arrival of an Action-RPG (which is still closer to Beat’em All, but the barrier is thin) developed by Platinum Games, with a certain Yoko Taro at the helm, the canvas gets carried away. And there is something. Nier Automata is a success on many points, starting with its gameplay. Its handling is easy, and yet it achieves a rather original result, notably allowing the use of a shooting function, via pressure of a trigger. For the rest, we are on a recipe that is ultimately very close to what Bayonetta. Very good, then.
Masterpiece for some, misunderstood for others
Like its eldest, which recently had a remaster named NieR Replicant, Automata offers a subtle and refreshing mix of genres. If he counts on very nervous Beat’em All, with RPG elements such as an experience bar and equipment, it often puts us in front of different situations. Thus, it is not uncommon for the camera angle to change, placing us in front of what looks like a 2D platform, or for us to take command of ships in Shoot’em Up style courses. A genre that we also find in more classic fights, with elements of Bullet Hell that force us to keep moving.
But what stands out the most about Nier Automata, it is undoubtedly his universe and what he has to tell us. After an altogether banal introduction, although a bit nebulous, the title quickly moves on to heavy existentialist questions. It raises strong subjects, such as violence in video games, which justifies it, and talks about the meaning of life, between two more warlike sequences. Yoko Taro has once again produced a story unlike any other, which will have to be completed three times to obtain the true ending, and which will require looking back at her old projects to fully understand everything.
We can say it, the title is surprisingly rich. Both in terms of its gameplay and its universe. There is a lot to read, a lot to learn, and we would quickly get lost if the adventure were longer. Count about twenty to twenty-five hours to see the end of its first cycle in a straight line, and a big fifteen more if you dwell on what it offers in additional content. Well that’s without counting on the DLC, adding lunar boss fights against the presidents of Platinum and Square, and of course its two New Game + necessary to get all the information, and the true ending. What more can be said ?
What about this Switch version?
We have detailed its content, and as for its gameplay, the images you will find in this article speak for themselves. But what probably interests you if you’re reading these lines is what’s going on with this Switch version. It must be said that we no longer count the failures among the ports, and titles like The Outer Worlds Where Ghostrunner are memorable examples. We even prepared a little top of the worst Switch versions for you some time ago, which it is better to keep on hand just in case!
We could see spinning Nier Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition on the occasion of Square Enix Play 2022, and the first minutes of his adventure had rather reassured us. Now that we have its final version in our hands, the observation remains the same: this Switch version is solid. We placed it next to the PlayStation 4 edition to get a feel for it, and it has nothing to be ashamed of. So obviously, concessions have been made, if only in terms of display distance or overall rendering. The title is less pretty on Switch than it could be on other consoles.
It is adorned with a certain vagueness in the distance, more pronounced than on its other editions, its textures are sorely lacking in finesse, and we notice all the more the repetitiveness of its decorations, as well as their general poverty. Technically, the title was very far from what was done best on PlayStation 4 in 2017. And, finally, this Switch version is not far behind. What is even more surprising is the fluidity of the action. Nier Automata runs like a charm on Switcheven when displaying a very large number of enemies or projectiles on screen, and that’s great news.
The rendering on TV is satisfactory, even if it obviously highlights the various shortcomings of the game. As for the portable mode, it is rather pretty, and blurs some of the said shortcomings. It also remains perfectly fluid. So obviously, with such nervous gameplay, the Joy-Con are not the best. And we will, as often, tend to advise you to use a pro controller when playing docked. The Switch Lite does better, with its nicer buttons. However, on mobile the subtitles seem a bit small, sometimes difficult to read. And their size is still not configurable.
Is it enough to advise you Nier Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition, all the same sold about forty euros? The answer is yes ! The title is still good, in this Switch edition, certainly less pleasing to the eye than its big sisters, but remaining fluid. Moreover, it is all the more complete, including all the DLCs (although few of them are of real interest, it must be admitted), and its portability is a real asset given how long it takes to get to its true ending. Not sure that those who have already done it on console or PC will find their account there, but the others can only have a very pleasant time.