5 Most Thought Provoking Video Games Of The Decade

2B or not to be, NieR: Automata is an incredible blend of existential dread, beautiful orchestral music, moving narrative and gorgeous visual design which is an existential introspection into meaning in an apparently meaningless world. From the robots quoting philosophy, to the lifeless androids strewn around the world, NieR makes you question what it means to have meaning. One machine in particular, named Jean-Paul, in reference to the French existentialist Sartre, states “existence precedes essence” as the characters attempt to explain the world around them and find their purpose in it.

As the machines begin to band together in communities it also starts to ask what the difference is between man and machine. When androids die however their consciousness is downloaded into another body in the same way that in religion the soul goes to heaven, death has so little meaning within the world of NieR, in almost Dark Soulsian fashion, once can remove their own oS and kill themselves by choice.

Throughout the game, your character is presented with the lies used to give meaning to the war and existence, justifying slaughter to give those left behind a raison d'etre. The title focuses on what it means to be human, artificial intelligence and the idea of meaning.

When NieR ends, its not truly finished, instead it allows a subsequent playthrough from another perspective which then leads to a post game on a 3rd playthrough that begins to truly unravel the horrors of existence within the beautiful whimsical world of NieR: Automata.

In a final act of defiance your are asked to break the cycle once and for all, in the most meta way possible, by deleting your save data in order to help other players end the cycle and create a better world and giving you something to die for.