Before we dive into a world of extreme complexity, you need to come with me in a trip down memory lane. Let’s rewind time back to 2010. Gamers everywhere were enjoying the glory days of the Xbox 360 and PS3. We had absolutely amazing titles such as Darksiders, God of War 3, Bayonetta, Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Metro 2033, Resident Evil 5, Heavy Rain, Bioshock 2… 2010 was absolutely stacked with quality right from the get-go. There’s games that were released back then that are still talked about today. Nier, originally released in April 2010, was a bit of an outlier, however it still falls into the same category of iconic games from more than a decade ago.



Nier was the result of Cavia and Square Enix wanting a 3rd entry into the Drakengard series. Game director, Yoko Taro, was given creative control with minimal interference from Square Enix. During the game’s development cycle, it ultimately ended up becoming a spin-off and a fully fledged JRPG in the process. Thus Nier was born and a masterpiece of storytelling cemented itself into gaming history.



The game was split into two different versions. Nier Gestalt and Nier Replicant. Nier Gestalt, the version that we got in the west (simply titled as Nier) featured a fatherly figure as the main character while Nier Replicant featured a younger protagonist. The key difference being the protagonist’s relationship to an important character known as Yonah. Players would either be playing as Yonah’s dad (Affectionately named “Papa Nier” by fans) or her brother depending on which version of the game they purchased. This change was done to better localise the game for its western release where an older father figure was deemed to fit in more with the types of heroes we’re used to seeing in western media.

The original Nier which released in 2010 scored average review ratings but gained “cult classic” status among those of us who got our hands on it back in the day. The story was dark and depressing, the gameplay was rough around the edges and the music was fantastic. The game wasn’t exactly a financial success but it wasn’t a commercial failure either. Yoko Taro and Square Enix producer Yosuke Saito eventually wanted a sequel. Fast forward to 2016 and Nier: Automata entered the scene as a result of Square Enix taking a risk and collaborating with Platinum Games. Nier: Automata went on to become a huge success worldwide selling more than 5 million units and remains one of my favourite games even now, almost 5 years later.



This is where we come back to the present. If you’re reading this, chances are you most likely never played the original Nier back in the day. You might have played Nier: Automata or at least heard about it and that is exactly why Square Enix and Yoko Taro have decided to bring the original title back. Almost 11 years have gone by since the original title was released and there’s a brand new generation of gamers who are around now. Yoko Taro calls “Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…” a “Version upgrade” of the original game and that sums it up pretty well. This version of the game exists so that those who missed out on playing the original back in the day can get to experience it, with modern improvements. It was originally intended to be a simple remaster but Yoko Taro decided to tweak things and improve upon them.

Yoko Taro calls “Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…” a “Version upgrade” of the original game and that sums it up pretty well.

So onto “Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…” or Nier Replicant as I’ll refer to it from now on. Does it live up to the original’s cult classic status? What has changed? Can a newcomer pick this title up and enjoy it? All of these questions will be answered shortly.

First and foremost, yes, newcomers can play this game. Its story does not need any prior knowledge of Nier: Automata, nor that of Drakengard for that matter, and as such, newcomers can purchase Nier Replicant and dive right into the game’s mysterious world. Players will take on the role of Yonah’s brother, Nier, in this title so if you wanted to experience “Papa Nier”’s take on the story you’re unfortunately out of luck. This isn’t a bad thing though since the tale the game tells is essentially still the same. Yonah is ill with a deadly disease known as the “Black Scrawl” and after players discover a floating book known as “Grimoire Weiss”, things really escalate.



Grimoire Weiss is a floating, talking, magical book and as far as floating, talking magical books go, Weiss is incredibly useful in more ways than one. Players will make use of the magic that spouts forth from Weiss’s pages to do immense amounts of damage to enemies. Monsters known as “Shades” inhabit the world in Nier Replicant and they are not to be trifled with. Shades can range from small knee height little rascals to building-sized beasts and players will use a variety of attacks to dispatch these fearsome foes.



Combat in Nier Replicant involves performing simple sword slash combos. The combat has been refined from the original game to be more in-line with Nier: Automata and it feels great. It’s fast and fluid and while still quite hack and slash-like, is extremely fun. Combat also gets a lot more complex later on in the game when players unlock different weapons and help Weiss obtain the “Sealed Verses” which unlock more of his abilities. Learning to combine Weiss’s magic with your own physical attacks while dodging enemy attacks is key to victory in Nier Replicant.

The combat has been refined from the original game to be more in-line with Nier: Automata and it feels great.

Gameplay in Nier Replicant is a topic which involves multiple genres. There’s a mash-up of so many different concepts here but the game masterfully interweaves them into its story. For example, players will start off doing some relatively menial quests for a lady named Popola in the village they reside in. These quests will be quite simple fetch or investigation quests. However, they slowly pick up in intensity as the game reveals more of its deeper aspects to you. The pacing of Nier Replicant is the game’s biggest issue with the first few hours or so of the game being quite slow to get through. Beelining the main quest line leaves you missing out on much of the game’s heart so we do not recommend doing this even though some side quests can be quite an effort to complete.



The game introduces new areas to you at a glacial pace as you progress throughout the story. This is ultimately where the varying gameplay concepts also come into play. Entering buildings in towns changes the viewing angle to a side-view cross-section. Another example of a change that happens is in the Junk Heap area, players will enter and explore an underground facility filled with robots. The game will change the camera angle to a top down view and you’ll face off against enemies with this viewpoint throughout this section.



Once you reach the town of Seafront, players will be tasked with a rather lengthy fishing questline which will keep you busy for quite a while should you choose to do it. Fishing in Nier Replicant thankfully has been tweaked to be a lot easier than in the original game and is not nearly as frustrating as before. Players will simply cast their line into the water, wait for a bite and then reel in a fish by pulling the left analog stick in the opposite direction the fish is moving in. In the original game, this was an incredibly frustrating experience. It was difficult to pull off because the visual cues in the original game were not quite visible. Nier Replicant fixes this thankfully.

Fishing in Nier Replicant thankfully has been tweaked to be a lot easier than in the original game...

Another aspect of gameplay that consumes quite a hefty amount of time in Nier Replicant is gardening and harvesting. Players will gain access to a plot of farm-land quite early on in the game and will be able to plant crops and flowers to grow. If you’re in search of trophies or achievements, this will be important to consider since you’ll have to cultivate a specific flower eventually. Unfortunately for some baffling reason, watering your plants doesn’t show a visual effect on the ground and this makes it quite hard to tell if your plants need to be watered or not. We’re hoping that Square Enix will patch this in the future.



Circling back to the story aspects of Nier Replicant, taking on side quests is an important part of the game. The world building and lore that’s explained to you via the side quests makes completing them worthwhile. In the City of Facade, the social commentary takeaway from dealing with the citizens and their rules is an excellent example of how Nier Replicant’s story conveys a deeper meaning to the player.



Grimoire Weiss and Nier also have casual conversations throughout the game which build their relationship and it’s incredibly intriguing. Players will learn a great deal more about the world and the quests they are doing through these conversations and the excellent voice acting from veteran voice actors like Laura Bailey, Zach Aguilar and Liam O’Brien will keep you entertained. Weiss’s penchant for using sophisticated, fanciful language also adds character to these interactions - A stark contrast to another character, named Kainé, who has foul-mouthed sweary dialogue throughout the game.



There are moral quandaries to ponder and the side quests in this game don’t hold anything back in terms of their melancholy. If you aren’t a fan of games that make you question your ethics or makes you think deeper about complex topics, you might want to play something else. Nier Replicant features a lot of text and dialogue which can be quite heavy to process.



Boss battles in Nier Replicant are great with bosses putting up a decent challenge throughout. Players will also encounter bullet-hell combat a lot more during boss battles than out in the open-world environments. Dodging streams of red orbs or firing back at them with Weiss’s magic is a lot of fun and there’s a sense of reward whenever you damage a boss enough to pull off a cinematic attack on it. Defeating bosses yields a “Sealed Verse” which unlocks new attacks for Weiss. These attacks can easily be assigned to any of the shoulder buttons on your controller so players can use multiple different types of Weiss’s dark magic in combat.

Players will also encounter bullet-hell combat a lot more during boss battles than out in the open-world environments.

Square Enix have also decided to include some additional content in Nier Replicant. There’s a brand new chapter involving a little girl and a shipwreck and there’s a challenge mode which was previously only accessible as paid DLC for the original Nier.



The soundtrack in Nier Replicant is one of the best parts of the game. Nier Replicant features rearrangements of the original game’s official soundtrack and every single NPC is fully voiced in the game. Players can unlock Nier: Automata’s soundtrack for use in-game after completing the game the first time. Speaking of completion, it is essential to play through the game multiple times to get the full story. There’s a lot of replayability in Nier Replicant exactly like in Nier: Automata because of this fact, so be sure to have multiple save files and backup your saves to get all the endings.



Graphically, Nier Replicant doesn’t look like a cutting-edge next-generation title. This is a “version up” and as such, is a remaster with additional changes to spruce things up a bit. The environments look decent enough but character models in-game have a lifeless appearance. Thankfully this doesn’t extend to cutscenes. Graphically the game honestly looks fine for a stylised PlayStation 4 title with flashy effects. The story and music is the star of the show anyway.



Overall, Nier Replicant is an excellent game that brings the fantastic world of Nier to the masses. The original game was a cult classic hidden gem and hopefully now that it’s far more accessible to far more gamers, it’ll achieve the success status it rightfully deserves. The quality of life improvements Square Enix have brought to the table in this game are great and even featuring an “Auto-battle” option to help gamers who want to just experience the story is a nice touch. If you haven’t played the original Nier we highly recommend you play Nier Replicant. There’s a deep, engaging story and world that lies beneath the surface of this game and one that’s well worth sinking more than 50 hours into. Nier Replicant comes highly recommended from us.

*PS4 Review code provided by Square Enix