8 Fatal Flaws That Stop Nier Automata Being A Masterpiece
6. Combat Quickly Becomes A Chore
Just like every other title in Platinum Games' strong body of work, Automata's combat can be phenomenal. Tough, challenging, but always fair, the blistering speed of both the game's melee brawling and shooting is completely satisfying - but it's something that quickly loses all depth as you level up.
In the same way as most other RPGs that feature some sort of resource or exp. system, Nier lets you constantly upgrade and improve your characters throughout its 30-hour adventure. However, this mechanic very quickly allows you to entirely circumvent any and all challenge the game poses.
Because healing items are rare and your health doesn't regenerate on its own, the opening hours of the game can be tough. But by the time you're rolling in cash and have upgraded yourself with healing chips, every combat encounter just becomes a series of mindless button mashes and dodges.
And, again, you're probably going to say "well if you don't like using those chips then don't use them!", but why wouldn't a player use something that the title constantly shoves in their face to their own advantage?
Sure, you could take the more difficult route and pad the game out even more than it already is, but what's the point when Nier lets you breeze through every combat section in a pinch to get to the parts of the RPG that are actually enjoyable?