By 2021 standards this game is considered to move quite slow. Nier Replicant is a remake of the very first game to the series: Nier. This game has received criticization from harsher reviewers due to its outdated pacing and repetitive combat. This is to be expected as this game is a remake of a decade old game and not a new game.

If you are able to push yourself past the 10 hour mark of the game however, you’ll find out why this often messy and plodding game came to birth such a huge hit sequel Nier: Automata, and humongous expansion to, of all things, Final Fantasy 14, despite having nothing to do with the Final Fantasy series beyond having a common publisher and rising fandoms.

The storyline defies simplicity, so here is the basics from what we know: In 2049, a mysterious virus appears in Shinjuku and the quickly spreads across the world, this virus converts humans into either statues of salt or shadowy ghouls called Shades. Skip forward 1,300 years, when a young man learns that his sister Yonah has been infected with a similarly mysterious and utterly incurable virus. For the sake of this article we will refer to our protagonist as Nier due to the complexity of the story.

Refusing this fate of his sister, Nier quests across an earth reclaimed by nature and populated with Shades, ranging in size from “lap dog” to “cruise ship.” Nier believes that by slaughtering these creatures he will uncover the mystery of them which will grant him the lost ancient knowledge necessary to save Yonah.

There are 5 endings to Nier Replicant and multiple online guides on how to unlock all of them already in such a short amount of time of the games release. One new ending has been added since the release of the original Nier. Some endings to the game become permanently cut off if some objectives are not met. It really is annoying when you have committed 20 hours or more of your time and realize you forgot to buy some obscure, but important sword.

This game carries the burden of its previous game’s popularity making it a game mainly for two audiences. The two major audiences this game serves are longtime fans of the original Nier, and fans who joined the series through Automata. If you are a fan who joined from Automata who’s been craving anything new, whether it’s an MMO expansion, a mobile game, or a new remake this game will come with many surprises, despite the nagging sense of déjà vu.

I refrain from this as regardless of what type of fan of the series you are, there are many decade old ideas that you can respect. Nier Replicant is an appetizer for what comes and what Square Enix plans to serve us, but it was the best appetizer we could have hoped for. For newcomers or casual fans of the series only one thing really stands, this being: Nier Replicant is a game worth your time, but only if you have plenty of time to spend.