Neir Automata: Am I missing something or is this game just tedious?

I've seen all the high review scores and obviously a lot of people do seem to like this game. However I'm at a loss to explain why:

I feel uninvolved in the action, it's not clear what effect I am having on the game, mostly it seems to be playing itself with me moving the character.

Then there are the charecters themselves which are dull, and speak in a monotone all the time, which might be in charecter but is very boring to listen to.

The first hour of the game is all very drab: grey with a few browns. After that it opens a little bit but I was expecting much more and a few fields and some elk aren't doing it for me.

All in all I just don't get it; what makes this game worth my time and money?!?

@lord_darkheart: I haven't played it for very long but what I have has been really enjoyable, the combat system alone made it a fantastic game. As it's almost on par with games like Bayonetta from Platinums portfolio. Not forgetting them adding some mini games to prevent the combat being too "tedious".

I think one of the main draws for it as well is how different this post-apocalyptic world is to how many other AAA games have handled the concept.

it's a pretty small game world. the narrative will take you back and forth across the same areas over time, and some of those areas will change a bit with the story. It has a fair bit of game length, though, because of the amount of quests and a forced replay of the initial scenario to get access to the second half of the story. The game is pretty much on rails as well in that you shouldn't let the talk of multiple endings fool you into thinking you have a lot of agency in this story.

It's a niche title, as are most Japanese titles these days. So with that in mind, you have to be more careful than usual with reviews.

People are praising this game's combat but it's bloody awful.I've played musou games with more combos and depth.

It's simplistic,lacks combo variety and is very poorly balanced across all difficulty modes.Normal is too easy and hard is too hard

@ShepardCommandr:

I've played musou games with more combos and depth

More combos doesn't equal "depth". God of War games are proof of this. Ninja Gaiden (Xbox) has one of the most deep combat systems in the genre, and hasn't many moves.

However share these examples could you? I'm curious what's giving Platinum a run for their money_

I am a fan of Bayonetta (I played B1 and B2), that was one of the main reasons I bought this game. In Bayonetta most of the game systems were explained to you in an understandable way. The combat combos changed signficantly with player input and the damage output really changed in proportion to risk. Also I could understand and follow most of what was going on; the opening sequence from Bayonetta is stylish but functional in a way that drew you into a the game. More than 3 hours in and I am still very "WTF" about much of the game.

I do think the game maybe too much of a culture clash for me; I have found I just don't enjoy the full-on Janpanese style games (either typical JRPG or "Souls" style games); I think this may be one of these. However many of the review promised some accessibility (like Bayonetta) which I don't see here.

Glad it's not just me.

man i'm so glad for this thread! I played the demo and commented somewhere on tehse forums that the game was so easy, so basic, so...uninspiring. Some cool elements but nothing else. Then the review scores came out and I thought I missed something and played the game again with a friend who is a massive fan of this stuff and I just didn't understand the fuss.

I mean, from an objective point of view, it looks bland, slightly better than a ps2 game, has very bland, very simplistic combat and the characters are boring as hell. It's a 6/10 type of game.

From what I've read, the game doesn't really come together until your second playthrough. Which is true of most Yoko Taro games. Which is why his games tend be the definition of niche.

Good to know. I wasn't sure if I'd like the game or not so I haven't taken the wrapper off. This just confirms what I thought about the game. I think I'm going to take it back and get something else tomorrow.