NieR Re[in]carnation Critic Reviews

When all is said and done, Nier Recarnation delivers a package that revels in its tone, story, and artistic presentation, while pairing all that with relaxed, easy to grasp game play. While some of its options could be explained a little clearer, the game is simple enough that the player should be able to handle the mild challenges, even if they are not clear on every detail.

Nier Recarnation is very "NieR" in regard to its aesthetics and presentation, with evident sparks of its typical charm. Its flawed gameplay, however, tends to become boring after a while, even for gacha standards.

We recommend that you run and download it if you fell in love with Nier for his story and if you want to relive the melancholy atmosphere of the world created by Yoko Taro, as long as you are willing to turn a blind eye to the weak gameplay of Nier Reincarnation; if instead the gameplay is a fundamental aspect for you in a title, our advice is to move on.

Quotation forthcoming.

It’s a bit ironic to me that NieR Recarnation is a game about memories, about being trapped, and about trying to break free, but that it’s a gacha game. All of those overwhelming, overbearing elements that loop you into a grind are all surrounding a beautiful game that presents a world of isolation and oppression. It’s a package of things I love about NieR, chained to another package of things I really dislike. It feels deliberate, but in a way, that’s more frustrating and overbearing than in Replicant and Automata. Yet it all sounds basically perfect for a Yoko Taro game, doesn’t it? Maybe this is a faultless encapsulation of the NieR experience, and my grievances are exactly what the developers are going for.

There is prospective success in this game as an evolving creation of its writer. Taro has never handled a story that continued beyond launch day, and what little plot is in Recarnation so far is basic but has plenty of room to grow and expand into a weird yet wonderful experience. Still, it’s going to need to evolve past the extremely standard auto-battler it currently exists as. Admittedly, it’s just difficult to admit that a game I still kind of like at the end of the day might have been better as a “walking simulator.”

It’s strange to say that I will more than likely continue to play NieR Recarnation, despite already understanding that I could potentially cultivate an unhealthy relationship with the game. The story has drawn me in, in a way that no other mobile game, or even console title, has in a very long time. I love learning about these characters and I love this world, even if I’m barred from progression. However, there is no doubt in my mind that this game will become exceedingly difficult for new players to get into once the double rate up banners and experience point boosts disappear. If you’re looking into playing NieR Recarnation, for better or for worse, now is your time.

Viewed as a visual novel where you have to sit through large numbers of identical, non-interactive fight scenes, you could enjoy it purely for its plot and characters, but this is not a game in the conventional sense.