Steam Thanksgiving Sale Damage Thread

I need someone to keep telling me this so that I’ll go back to it. I really enjoyed the concept of it for awhile, but then I got bogged down in a lot of open world chores running and back and forth between spots I’ve been to a hundred times already. I need convincing that I should push through it to get back to the good stuff.

NieR Automata is the Game of the Year to me. No, of the Decade. Maybe Century.

That said, I know there are people who don’t feel that way about it. You might well be one of them. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But I’ll say that only ending B is actually repetitive. Ending C follows from A and B, ending D branches from C near the end (so it’s quick and mostly painless to play), and ending E is entirely original.

So only the second “playthrough” - ending B - has a lot of repeated content. So if you manage to get beyond that, there’s a good chance you’ll want to play to the very (real) end.

Also, if you’re still in the first “part”, wait to do sidequests once you have unlocked “fast travel”, so to speak. That helps a lot in the going back and forth part.

NieR: Automata is okay. I don’t think I’ve ever read anyone praise the moment to moment gameplay, though, when talking it up. The actual fighting that is a big part of the game feels a bit of a mess and the boss battles occasionally frustrate me and for that reason I haven’t finished it yet.

Unlocking fast travel - finally - was nice. You know, like how unlocking saving - finally - was nice. This is a game that gives people lots of reasons to put it down in frustration and never play it again, regardless of the praise.

I like all the robots.

That’s how I felt after playing its beta/demo, whatever that was. It’s tough to get excited for a game if you don’t enjoy the core moment-to-moment gameplay. Still, I suppose if the story overall is so good that it’s worth it, then looking at it from another perspective, it’s not like the gameplay was particularly objectionable either. It was competent, and not too frustrating. So if I look at it that way, if it’s a game that’s worth it for the story, then the gameplay shouldn’t be a big impediment to that enjoyment.

For me the gameplay isn’t bad, and at normal difficulty I can afford to fight sloppily through the entire game. What kept me going to the end was how so many people raved about the story, and particular the journey that was laid out. I had to experience that for myself.

I may not name this my game of the year (that would still be Persona 5), but I will definitely replay this from the beginning again, one day, unlike P5.

Should someone talk me back into Nier? I was really enjoying it, and I was genuinely surprised by its weird twists. In fact, that’s why I was enjoying it. The surprise of what weird twist or boss would come next. So then I get to the “end” and now I have to replay the story from the perspective of a character I really don’t like? Without the surprise of the twists and bosses because I’ve already seen them all?

I figured the generic JRPGboy sidekick was just along for the ride to make sure I heard the backstory the taciturn badass lead character didn’t want to say out loud. I don’t want to replay the story from his perspective! So I bailed. :(

Did I make the wrong call?

-Tom

Yes. I’ll explain why later today (on mobile now, and I have a lot to type). ;)

9S is the only good character in the game!

So, uh, let me try to convince you to play more. Minor spoilers ahead perhaps.

So, playing as 9S might seem at first to not be as good as 2B was. And you’re basically playing through the same events with a different character. And at first, it seems it’s not so different, so you might think it’s too much repetition.

But here’s the thing: that first impression is somewhat deceiving. You’re seeing the same events, but through the eyes of a different character. And this character has this ability that gives you new insights on what you’ve seen before. 9S is not 2B. He doesn’t perceive the world in the same way; he doesn’t see the world with the same eyes. That difference between the two characters is extremely important to build some of the basic elements that will be used in the rest of the game.

There are also new elements in the second playthrough - it’s not all repetition from a different point of view. And sometimes the different point of view changes completely a certain encounter. You’d be surprised to see how effective that can be, and I think you will by the time you make it to the “Carnival boss” with 9S.

I was a big fan of 2B when the first playthrough (ending A) ended. 9S didn’t seem to me to be as interesting, and he was certainly a lot less badass. I thought of him as JRPGboy sidekick, much like you. But by the time I got to ending B, I looked back and realized there was more to 9S than I gave him credit for. In many ways, the story is more about him than it is about 2B. It’s hard to think of that as a good idea at first. But then stuff happens and you see how much sense that makes.

In the end, though, the story is actually all about who’s playing the game. 2B, 9S, A2 are ways the game uses to make you peek deep into your own mind. It’s brilliant.

So yeah, you should play it. The repetition can be grating to many, but I’d go as far as to say that that’s part of the message behind the game. Life, as we know, is filled with busywork if you want to get to the good parts of it. NieR is ultimately about what life is, what it means (or doesn’t mean), about the nature of existence, about why and how we keep going in spite of suffering and pain and hopelessness and meaninglessness. To convey that, sometimes it must feel like a chore. But it makes up for that in spades.

I also lost momentum early in the second playthrough, but I pushed through and it was well worth it.

golf claps

I can only add this: I intend to play the game again (maybe even to the very end), to enjoy the story beats in a whole new light based on all the revelations revealed all through the game. Plus I found a list of side quests that are more relevant than others.

ObDamage: I finally retired my Asus router and bought a new one: Netgear R7000P.

It’s 161 MB, Brian! Where do you find all of the room!?? I’m not made of hard drive.

I’m $7 poorer today. Because I decided to “catch up” on this thread. Damn it.

I picked up the following during the current Halloween sale:


This one has been on my wishlist for a while. So far Obra Dinn has been the best game I’ve played this Halloween season, and while I doubt this one will measure up to that experience, it looks dark and spooky enough to get the job done. Unfortunately I probably won’t start playing it until Tuesday. It should help distract me from another, scarier, horror show happening that day.



I picked up A&A for because of the current 50% off sale and because of this exchange in another thread:

I’ve never actually played an Axis & Allies game before.


The Qt3 people that are into these types of games tend to go gaga over this series, so I put my money where their mouth is.

Kerzain breaking all the rules!

It is ok. Lockdown means time has lost all meaning. Halloween is just like thanksgiving is just like Christmas.

All works and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All works and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
etc. etc.

@kerzain. Since you bought the game, you need to visit what I considered one of the best named threads here at Qt3:

I’ll get my ath in there asap.

I take it the Axis and Allies game is multiplayer focused since it is called ‘online’? I’ve never played an A&A game either, but I had a friend who loved it. If it plays well single player I may consider trying it.

No. You can play vs the AI. You can either take one full side, or just one country.

Is the AI is good enough to be enjoyable long term?