I probably don't say it often enough, so I'm saying it again: Thank you to everyone who watches for all the kind words, encouragement, and debate and discussion. These videos are incredibly time-consuming to produce and it's a neverending struggle to get traction on UKposts, which can be hella discouraging, but all your feedback and kind words are so uplifting and gratifying for me. Even the smallest bit of encouragement goes a long way, so, thank you.

WHAT I PLAYED: NieR Automata WHAT I EXPECTED: *EPIC JAPANESE HACK ‘N SLASH WITH ＥＸＴＲＡＴＨＩＣＣ ROBOT BOOTY* WHAT I GOT: philosophy lessons, feels and all of the above.

I agree, it's hard to beat the end credits scene through a blur of tears

I started tearing up when I came back to the village after wiping pascal's memory and found him selling random robot parts..and realising they were taken from his children's corpses. Heartbreaking moment

I think the moment where I really began to emotionally pay attention is when they make you play as the machine at the beginning of the second play through. Him trying to pour oil on his “big brother” to wake him back up struck me, as the machine you play as is clumsy, slow, and weak. In fact he’s rather pathetic, and that pathos I felt toward him made me feel for the machines in a way I hadn’t before, only to have it broken by 9S who coldly brushes the event off as nonsensical. It was then that a three party event was occurring where the androids, machines and myself are all watching each other and evaluating if each other’s point of view is worth having.

Square Enix: So what’s the plan for Nier Automa.... Yoko Taro: EVERYONE FROM FROM THE FIRST NIER GAME IS DEAD.

"When you are 30, there are no original cells left in your body from when you were 10" Except for your brain cells, those have an estimated life span of 230 years. Most of your brain cells are the same brain cells you've had since birth. Brain cells are the longest living cells in the body. Thus, while your other hardware changes throughout your life, the operator is still the same operator.

It's incredible how the universe Yoko Taro created is probably one of the shittiest in all media to live in, and yet you always find a glimpse of hope that never fades and push you forward. A true hymn to humanity.

I get some "Nothing we do matters, so all that matters is what we do" vibes from this

“I read Kant, Voltaire, Pascal and other philosophical masterpieces, what did you do?” “I played Nier Automata”

I'm a completionist. And when I got to the end of the game and it asked me if I wanted to delete my save data I was surprised that I wanted to do it. Even though I still had stuff left. For a brief moment, I felt happy to be given the opportunity to sacrifice something even as silly as a save file for someone else even if it doesn't matter. As the prompts asked me to reconsider I understood what the game was leading me to do. And if I didn't delete my save file I felt that all of my time spent with the game would have been wasted. At that moment, Nier Automata transcended it's medium. It was more than a game. It forced me to make a "senseless and selfless act" as you put it. It truly changed me.

one of the hardest moments i had with automata was after the escort mission where you have to escort the machine child who ran away from their mother after a argument having to fend off bigger higher level machines that just kept coming, you have to escort the child a long distance and i had gotten them right to the end fighting through a chunk of the city just by the entrance leading up to the village, and then suddenly the machine child gets struck and explodes, and unlike every other game or anything like this, there was no mission failed, click to restart despite what my mind told me in that split second, that's it. The machine child dies.. and after you have to go tell the mother machine that her "child" didn't make it back which goes how you'd expect, i remind you i was like 5 steps away, and i cant remember about my saves but i remember i couldn't go back a save, i was so close, and im no thinker but this pretend Childs death really weighed on me for a couple days, i had to vent to my friend about it because it upset me that much which they had no clue bless them

The part about not being able to look at Simone is absolutely brilliant and I've never seen anyone mention it even almost 4 years after this came out. Also finally someone who looks a bit more into the philosopher names. Alot of youtubers tend to skim over or ignore them.

"..to kill god" 》God is mankind 》Mankind is dead 》The player, representing mankind, gives up everything to give life to the androids at the end Wow

I picked up Nier Automata a year ago for 2B butt, and here I am watching through the entirety of a 45 minute video discussing the philosophy behind the game.

I played once and thought, “Meh, that was okay.” Then I played new game plus, and was drawn in a little more. Played three times, and cried during the credits. Thanks to all who sacrificed their time for me. I repaid the favor. Glory to Mankind.

One of my favourite "makes you think" moments of the game was the side quest to escort and keep safe a robot parade for peace through a hostile area, just think about how many robots you had to kill at the behest of so-called pacifists just so they could spread their message to those unwilling to hear it. Pure pacifism would require it's adherents to either separate themselves from any possibility of conflict or bend the knee and accept their fate as soon as someone else tries to dominate them. Getting other people to commit violence on your behalf is merely domination of others by proxy... you are no less guilty of murder if you hire an assassin to do the deed. So pure pacifism is ultimately self destructive and regular pacifism is selfishly pushing the responsibility of violence and destruction onto others.

"Or perhaps he skipped right past profound and went straight to crazy instead." one of the best lines in the game.

Punished Nietzsche killed me.

In a game where there are no humans left, the characters in Nier:Automata are more human than actual humans and that is the reason why most of us who have played this until Ending E are so emotional about it. Nier: Automata is more of an art form that is meant to be experienced and absorbed rather than it is something that you'd waste your time on while you wait for other AAA games to come out. Never have I ever played a game that brought out emotions from me. Sure, there are lots of games out there that I've played where I felt sad for a few minutes and just sat in silence as I try to process everything that has happened. However, Nier: Automata is the only game (that I know) that skipped past conventional storytelling and told you a story of what humanity is at its core. At the end of the story, the game doesn't ask you as one of the three characters you get to control to make a decision, no. The game asks you, as the player behind the screen, the one that controlled the life of the three, to make a decision. Like the three, are you willing to risk everything that you have, everything that you worked for, to possibly save somebody else? Because that's what Nier:Automata is about. It's a game about sacrifice. In my 20+ years of playing video games, I can say with absolute certainty that Nier:Automata is my favorite of all time and I don't think that will be changing any time soon. Probably not until Yoko Taro graces us with another game, that is.

I watched this video countless times. Thank you for this :)

About a month ago I wrote on the Nier subreddit about my disappointment in the way this game has been covered. When you started your essay with Taro's quote about the emotion evoked in the player being more important than the narrative or lore of the game, I knew I had finally found what I was looking for. This is the best video about Nier: Automata I've seen yet. And I've watched a lot of videos about Nier:Automata. Thank you for this.

I’m a year late, but honestly, I literally can’t stop myself from tearing up whenever I hear even just little parts of the OST from this game.

People talking about Dante’s “I should’ve been the one to fill your dark soul with LIiGggHt” but not 9S’s “A2222!”

Damn, I could tell the game was trying to mess with my head. It made me feel complicated emotions that I can't describe and always surprised me and caught me off-guard when I least expected it. It also holds the record for the fastest game to make me cry. I never cry in movies and only sometimes cry at the end of long RPGs (by long I mean like 100 hours long) if something happens to character I've known since the start. But Nier:Automata completely broke that rule for me and made me hold my face in my hands and cry upon seeing 2B break down crying after strangling 9S - but the writing and execution wasn't all. The voice actors really knocked it out of the park.

Deleting my save file was the most emotional I've ever gotten during any media. I picked this game up like a year and a half ago. I had planned to 100% the game after beating it. However after fighting through the credits and finding out that the ships helping me were other people who gave up their save files to help a total stranger, I knew I had to do the same. I haven't gotten back to 100% the game but I never regret that decision and I start tearing up when that choice is brought up. If any of you had SlippyTheDeer assist I'd love to know.

Nier doesn't purport to answer the question: "What if robots were more like humans?". Instead it urges you the player, to answer: "Is there anything that truly makes me different from a robot?"

This, this is it. The best review of nier automata that I ever saw on UKposts. Understanding all the subtle details 3 years after playing the game where it made me cry is literally a magnum opus in and off itself.

The theater's boss story is honestly one of my favorite character stories in the game. A robot compareherself to a human she seeks beauty from jewelery, parts and singing. She adds more and more parts to herself from other robots and the one she tries to make see her is unable too so she falls into a type of insanity of seeking more and more "beauty".

Weight of the world plays Me: Immediately starts crying.

Great video, I'm glad someone shed some more light on the philosophers, but I'm disappointed that you didn't mention the eastern thinkers behind some of the bosses - it seems they went over other people's heads. (Text wall incoming. I write only what I know about the subjects below, I'm sorry for anything I got wrong.) So-Shi, the final boss of the factory overrun by the cult and Boku-Shi, the robot piloted by Eve prior to his final fight in endings A and B, are both named after the Japanese pronunciation of Zhuangzi and Mozi. Zhuangzi was one of the founders of Taoism, known for dismissing how humans perceive concepts like life or death and good or evil. In his eyes, people could not accurately convey the reality around them because of a gap between what we experience and how we convey our experiences. That's the idea behind one of his poems, the famous Butterfly Dream, where he questions the validity of human perspective, the limits of our ability to observe and the distinction between waking and dreaming: "Did Zhuangzi dream that he was a butterfly, or did the butterfly dreamed that he was Zhuangzi?" Because of that he encouraged people to live a carefree life, in harmony with nature, and to not be egotistic. He encouraged rebellion against the tyranny of political, societal, intellectual and emotional oppression, even against the "tyranny of death". So-Shi ended up representing a complete opposite of the cult shown in-game, but Zhuangzi's opposition of societal structures aligned with Kierkegaard's hate for the church. Mozi, on the other hand, argued strongly against Taoism and Confucianism, because he believed in the concept of unconditional love; that everyone should love each other equally and that the lack of that love is the primary source of evil. His teachings went directly against Confucians, who believed that people should care about different people in different degrees. Mozi wanted to replace the Confucian focus on family and clan, the group consciousness, with the love that was not constrained by any structural barriers. He also believed in one personified god that loved people and wanted for people to love each other. Because of that the Jesuits called him the "naturally Christian". I think it fits Eve too well, as the love for Adam was his driving force. After Adam's death, when the primary object of his love was torn away from him, he felt hatred for everything around him - a cruel twist on Mozi's philosophy. Then we have the bosses from the Tower: Ko-Shi (who chases 9S) and Ro-Shi (who chases A2), both are named after the Japanese pronunciation of Confucius and Laozi, respectively. They were the founders of Confucianism and Taoism, both being considered to be opposites of each other. Automata hammers that in when Ko-Shi and Ro-Shi fuse to create one, black and white machine (obvious allegory to yin and yang). 9S faces off against the representation of Confucianism, which taught about the importance of duty, loyalty and stability. Like I mentioned before, Confucians believed in a society divided by classes, each of different importance, but each person has to commit to their duties so the societal order can be maintained. Confucius taught about the importance of loyalty to the family, the ancestors and respect for the elders. The famous golden rule, "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself" was also his creation. All of this is a great commentary to the entirety of 9S' downfall, as he is doomed to always betray YoRHa, his "family", disrespecting his "ancestors". Because of his curiosity, he will never fit into the order established by YoRHa. In the end, he realizes the hollowness behind all of the duty and loyalty that he's been taught, that all of it was just for the sake of stability, for the sake of order. On the other hand, he remains loyal to 2B - the closest he had to family - to the very end. A2 battles with the representation of Taoism. It teaches that in order to achieve "perfection" one must become one with the unplanned rhythms of the universe. One way to do it is through "action without intention", meaning to let things exist in the way they were created. The world works harmoniously and as a person exerts their will against or upon the world they disrupt the harmony that already exists. So any man made commandments or moral rules should not be followed, because a person should not do virtuous things because they are ordered to, but because they should be naturally compelled by their heart and mind, and therefore they shouldn't require any intention. Another important principle of Taoism was the belief that when something reaches its extreme, it becomes its opposite; evil becomes good, good becomes evil. When we try too hard to fulfill our desires, we instead suffer. I think it all goes well with A2's journey of someone loyal to YoRHa, unnatural and not tuned with the world around her, to being left to fend for herself on earth, finally to slowly start experiencing natural human (well, not too human in this case) interaction with the robots in Pascal's village. I also think that subplot hides a small deconstruction, because Taoism believes that a sage will achieve that perfection, while I like to believe that A2 comes closer to the "unplanned rhythms of the universe", to the harmony, simplicity and spontaneity that is such a great focus of Taoism, not through meeting a sage, but by interacting with children.

As I type this, this video is now over 2 years old, and I have no idea if you’ll even notice this comment. However, I still have some things I want to say... This game has made me rethink and ask questions about myself that I never thought I would before... like... I’ve taken philosophy classes before, but none of my professors have ever managed to make me TRULY question myself and the world I live in like NieR has... A day or two after I completed ending [C], I literally woke up crying because of how confused and quite honestly upset with who I felt I’ve been since the pandemic started... I also felt lost and unsure about what the future would have in store... On the surface level of my emotions, I had always felt confident in who I was, and where I was going to go in life, but NieR, for the first time in my life had me slam the brakes and really ask myself “Are you SURE?!”... and it was one of the biggest wake up calls I needed for me to really grow as a person and take the time to realize if I need to find a new path or not... Moving on to today, I finished ending [E], and I didn’t really know how to feel after giving up my save data. I felt so many conflicting emotions (or lack thereof) going on at once. I felt depression coupled with happiness. Emptiness coupled with pride. Sorrow for loss of data I have caused for others coupled with hope for the completions of runs of players in the future. So many emotions running through my mind and heart... but not a single one of those emotions was regret. I do not, and will not regret giving up my data because I know someone somewhere is going to need it no matter how small the contribution may be, but... that’s enough for me I’m sorry for the mess of an essay I put above if you do end up seeing this, but I just wanted to let you know that this game is still reaching out to and affecting players in a positive way to this day, and so has your video. This game and your video have helped me rationalize about myself in ways that I can’t thank you enough, so... Thank you!!!

I'm trapped in a never-ending spiral of telling my friends about Nier Automata, make them play the game and then suggest this video.

Just recently bought nier: automata thinking it was just a good time waster. Played through all the endings and realized this is the first ever game I've played to cause me to flat out cry and ponder my existence. Played through all the endings and I already wanna play it again. Great review! Edit: after I finished the game and deleted my data to help someone else. I ACTUALLY GOT A MESSAGE FROM I GUY I HELPED THANKING ME IN SPANISH. he even sent me a video of him beating the end! XD

"Depression" "Suicide" These disclaimers at the beginning we're very appropriate LOL

The moment when 9S screams out in rage, sorrow, despair, the moment where he actively loses his mind, his dreams, his love, everything he had that made him the sweet boy we all grew to adore, is the moment this game broke me. What happened to 2B was essentially inevitable, but seeing his reaction to it just hurts so bad because it is so painfully realistic. The Japanese voice acting portrays it best, as I think the English dub can't even hold a candle to the perfection of Natsuki Hanae's acting.

When the music tells the story, you know the game is a masterpiece

I cry every time i hear "Weight of the World". What an awesome video dude, one of the best in depht looks at Nier Automata i've seen.

This is by far your best work so far; completely blew me away! There are so many individual things that are impeccably executed on their own - but the way you built up to that finale; like, the way all of them are only small cogs of a giant machine that is the final conclusion of this video essay and build up to a central emotion that you pull the audience through... feels like you've taken a slice from Yoko Taro's game making process and applied it to video essays. ;) Damn fine job!

"I watch Discovery Channel, I know you eat people." -Bunkley

This video essay can easily be used to describe basically the entire SMT series of RPGs. Would love to see you delve into that. SMT V in particular is bizarrely similar.

When Horizon: zero dawn took 1st place in story telling in Golden joysticks awards 2017 I was so disappointed, I mean NIER AUTOMATA WAS MIND BLOWING and gave everyone one the forums the feels non stop

I think the years 11939 - 11945 and the 14th Machine War isn't just a simple reference to World War II. The game always emphasizes how both androids and machines are fascinated by humans and their history. The game also emphasizes how both androids and machines aren't able to enforce their own free will to break the cycle, they are bound to make the same mistakes they did before over and over again. The machines and androids are simulating the original World War II for the fourteenth time, exactly after ten thousand years of the original war.

I’ve finished this game in early 2021 and I’ve been revisiting this video for a while. The experiences I have and the thoughts that fill my mind brings me back to how this game impacted my mentality. I saw myself being critical of others and irrationally self-reliant in some cases as a younger teenager. I had no support system and it built up too much for me to handle. I don’t blame myself because I was a teenager, but it wasn’t a pleasant time. I’m still a teenager(18yo as of writing this post), but after spending some time alone, self reflecting, and learning about mental health, my perception of myself and other people slowly but surely changed. I then got my gaming pc for Christmas and played through NieR: Automata and it felt like I found a light at the end of a tunnel.

This is absolutely brilliant; it's so rare that I see someone understand the text of the game so thoroughly and correctly. Thank you. Years (!?!) later and your description and depiction of the E ending still brought me to tears...

People say that Nier: Automata is a depressing game and while it does have it's messed up moments I can't help but feel happy at the end of the experience. The game makes me feel less depressed overall honestly. It actually gives me hope and I think that is what this game is all about.

I've become jaded and cynical about games over the years for many of the reasons you describe. Nier-Automata broke me out of that cycle. I understood the final "true" ending and arrived at the same conclusions. But your video demonstrated the how and why that I couldn't quite verbalize myself. Tears were streaming down my face as I faced the final credit bullet hell sequence once I realized that other players had come to the rescue. It was an automatic response but I couldn't explain it. Heh. Now I can. Thank you. Nier Automata is a true masterpiece and far beyond the confines of what the cultural elite consider fine art.

Finally took the time to watch this video, and I'm very glad I did. Very, very well thought and structured. Sound breakdown of the themes in game, both actively present and implied. Amazing job. Well done!

Im not sure why, but the start menu song (Significance) always brings a tear to my eye. Might be because somehow this game made me appreciate life much more in 2018, when I was not in a good place. Automata was a saving grace for me.

This made me cry, it brought me back to that emotional catharsis I experienced during my playthrough of Nier Automata. I bought it along with a PS4 when I moved to Germany to study. I was a lone foreign exchange student, in an immigrant tight city. Nier Automata did so much for me that I can't even properly describe it in words.

Man, I remember crying some emotional tears back when I played the ending for the first time, and I kind of had to squeeze out a tear when watching this video. You did an incredible job and have just gained a new subscriber. Oh and also: Salari sent me here!

holy shit a 1.5 year video project. i admire your passion and am glad this video has 1 mil+. this game/world is my new obsession!

First Person to clear the game and leave a note: I think I kick started something great. Media: Yoko Taro is a modern philosopher using games as his medium. Yoko Taro: You're all just reading too deep into it. It's just a game. *sips tea*

This game is a masterpiece. It is perfection. It truly is art, in it's purest form. For the ultimate purpose of art, is to evoke emotions from those who behold it, specific or otherwise.

Can’t believe I almost skipped this video because of its length. Wonderful, eye-opening watch that deepened my appreciation for this game. Thank you.

just finished the E ending today, and this game must be one of the best games I've ever played. The combination of gameplay, philosophy, plot and themes is uncanny. I literally played through those credits with tears in my eyes, and I can completely agree with you that this game is written first to find your emotional triggers and shoot, and then to tell a story. There's a masterful use of environmental sound and music to convey emotions, there's a feeling of abandonment and loneliness that only deepens the bond between B2 and 9S and the bond between them and you as a player (the only game i've also felt that connection was with Death Stranding). If you're attentive you can notice how the music reacts to the changes in landscape and story. and most of the "small" endings are jokes on the expense of the player, the game is telling YOU that you made that ending happen, which is also a masterful class on how to push for urgency in video games, subverting the general rule that you can just go on sidequests when disaster is imminent.

You have to appreciate UKpostsrs like this.

God it's amazing how even seeing that end credits sequence still chokes me up, I actually cried just seeing it, that's one powerful scene. That aside, this was an amazing video, well done in all respects and brought a lot of fresh ideas (to me at least) to how I look at the game. One thing I want to say though (maybe more, sorry in advance i feel like this is gonna be super rambly), I don't think Yoko Taro is reluctant to share his ideas on what his games mean, I think he doesn't want to. If he said what he thought, most people would take it as fact, no one would really question it, he's the creator after all so he would know best. I think Yoko Taro prefers everyone to be able to make up their own minds about his games and see their own meaning and lessons. For instance (two points): you glazed over Jean Paul Sartre and in your context he wasn't incredibly vital, but in my opinion he was one of the most important characters in the game. I find it super interesting the only philosopher that left the game unscathed was Jean-Paul. The man who said bluntly that we, individually, make up our own ethics. Every philosophy dealing with ethics comes to the same conclusion but they try to resist it with intermediary steps (cue hedons and dolors). So basically the only survivor is the guy who says we make our own world with our own choices (fighting a meaningless fight against a meaningless cycle is meaningful if we consider it so, like the end scene with the pods). Secondly, I definitely see how you can view this as a pacifistic lesson, it definitely makes sense when you look at it that way. For me though, especially with the Jean Paul idea, the meaning is more along the lines of "do what you will with conviction, be unapologetically you and find your own meaning, even if it doesn't end up correct" or something like that. You said yourself that the game element is extremely important, so, in my opinion, both choices at the end (to delete or to not) are equally viable. From where I'm at, the game doesn't want you to sacrifice for others and be pacifistic and caring, it wants you to make your own decision and be happy you made it. Sorry, this was way too much for a comment. Anyway, loved the video, now the plan is to start binging this dreaming in neon series.

I have watched this so many times over and over because i love this so much. The way you talk about it and how you address the points is great i love this. Do some more philosophical videos! Keep up the great work man

I recently played this game and the ending blew my mind. It was so special! I still tear up whenever I think of the credits. Great job on the essay, informative, entertaining, and well produced!

I love this game and I think the [E]nd Credits will never stop making me cry

This game really has a shit ton of meaning that an unintelligent idiot like me will never get alone. However, through your video I finally understand most of it. I won't say I understand all of it, as everyone will still have struggles no matter how much they know about life itself, but this certainly helps. And this goes right back to the point you made at the end. We must, in a an act of senseless and selfless compassion, help others in order to truly be free. We humans must stick together, in order to brave through the obstacles that the universe had set for us. And, through suffering agonising amounts of research and writing.. You have committed that act of selfless and senseless compassion to help me as an individual, to understand the way of things better. Thank you.

this was awesome and really helped me gain new appreciation for the game. thanks so much for the effort you put into making this! (also the fma ref at the midpoint was just *chef's kiss*)

Two years later, this is still the most well research and referenced interpretation of Nier: Automata that I have ever seen. Thank you so much for capturing how beautifully told this game is.

When I saw the end credits again I cried, harder than I've cried in a long time. Nier Automata is truly a beautiful game with so many elements which evoke the deepest parts of the human psyche. Okabe should be proud of the work he so graciously decided to release on the rest of us.

You made cry because of nier automata, this is the second time it happens. The first time was after the credits sequence while playing the game. I hope us viewers remember to do acts of kindness in our daily lives when we can. or otherwise make this sequence itself meaning less. Good day people.

If I hadn’t searched for this kind of video on the game, I wouldn’t have found your channel, but I’m glad I did. I love longform content like this that picks apart and analyzes media of any form. This game is an underappreciated gem too, and definitely deserved such treatment. Well done 👍🏻

Im glad you brought up the ship of thesus paradox. That line with the shopkeeper at the resistance camp immediately made me think of that and it completely shaped how i saw the world of automata.

Never seen your works before, but my goodness, this just nailed almost every thought I had about this game. I'm especially glad you covered the part with the Ending E credit sequence. I've never played any one sequence that had such an incredible effect on me; it was such a powerful fourth wall break. You especially nailed it when you brought up that you're essentially fighting the creators of the game. To me, the sorrow of the ending was almost unbearably strong, and in any other piece of fiction in a similar genre, that would be the end of it. The sorrow would be the final taste of such a depressing conclusion, and there would be no recourse for it. But because this is a video game, because the creator can give us agency, he can give us the option to defy his will. It would be as if Flowers for Algernon could break the fourth wall and defy Charlie Gordon's decline, or if George and Lennie could have lived fat off the land at the end of Of Mice and Men. Fundamentally, books filled with sorrow are just that, doomed forever to be unchanging and unable to change. And perhaps it's better that way, in that it forces us to accept the things we cannot change in life. But for once, just once, Nier: Automata subverts even that most basic assumption about sorrow. Perhaps it is that Eastern philosophy creeping in, a hopeful note to the endless cycle of life and death. I feel as though most Western media would never try this. Maybe the only place that would ever dare challenge that convention is the roleplaying realm. As a casual DM, I know the will of the players sometimes outweighs the will of the gods (IE, myself). I know I took a few lessons away from Yoko Taro's masterpiece, though I'll never integrate them as artfully as he has. Thank you again, Michael, your video essay was beautiful and fantastic!

The Algorithm was favorable to you. Thanks for the video, I was finally was able to shed tears over the [E] ending.

I think that part about the Coke machines in India and Pakistan was beautiful. I think you touched on something important when you said that mankind's innate love shining through. To me, it was that even though we might live in a world that seems void of meaning, we can still spread kindness and compassion to others while we all suffer together

I’ve watched a bunch, and this is the best (imo) UKposts video on Nier: Automata, it’s story, and philosophy. Well done and thank you.

The choir is one of the most beautiful things happened in video games, if not the most.

One of the things that makes NieR: Automata so special and unique is that it's exactly like the OVAs and stereotypical anime of the mid to late '90s. It's something that would feel more natural airing on Adult Swim at 2:00 AM five years after it was aired in Japan, and not as a AAA video game in 2017. This is the kind of story that, if it were an anime from the late '90s, would end up becoming one of the titles we reference as "quintesentially anime", alongside Ghost in the Shell, Eva, Berserk, Ninja Scroll, Cowboy Bebop, DBZ, on and on. In the medium of video games, this is not something that would normally be green-lit, something so special, unique, and profoundly Japanese in style that most producers would fear for it's success. It doesn't play it safe, and thus, it stands out. Sorry if you go on to say this later in the video, only ten minutes in, just wanted to put in my two cents.

Nier Automata and Nier Replicant 1.22 have changed my views on the medium of gaming and storytelling forever. Absolutely brilliant games and emotional experiences, in spite of their flaws. A thorough and comprehensive analysis. Much appreciated!

Wow, dude. This brought me to tears. Beautiful work. I just happened to get my hands on this game recently and it really hit home. This was a great comprehensive assessment that brought a lot of themes to light that I totally missed in the game. I've definitely been feeling a sense of idle perpetuity in my life lately, and my ego has been on overload. I couldn't have experienced NA and your video at a better time. Thank you.

Hi! I'm from Pakistan. I never knew the inspirations behind this mesmerizing game. The Coca-Cola ad that really made me happy to know about it. This game is just sooo good! Its soo good.

Bravo! This is one of the only attempts to discuss this game that addresses the meta story and philosophical brilliance that made this game my #1 that year and possibly the best I've played. Your editing, writing and cadence are exemplary and this is a sublime video!

I've just finished ending E, and then found your video essay. It really helped me better understand what I've gone through playing this game. Thank you.

Love this video. Something I noticed in the game that I also think is important is the concept of a "network", which you can also consider synonymous with the idea of humanism and how a shared network prevents the machines from engaging with these philosophical pitfalls, but at the same time perpetuates the proxy war/the eternal cycle of life and death. Just a thought from a fellow player.

Installation screen? I never got that :(

Still, after all this time, I can't even watch a video about this game and not cry. What I wouldn't give to truly experience this game again for the first time.

Gosh I just watched the wise crack on this game and this video did SO MUCH BETTER explaining it. The slow and solid structure of your video gave each section time to get background AND explanation. Makes it very easy to understand and actually made the video go by very fast.

Incredible analysis, never seen anything like it for a game. You did this masterpiece the justice it needed.

"These days, it's easy to feel like life has become a never ending fight for survival" Hearing that during the global pandemic hits really hard. Anyway, amazing video that, to me, touches in detail into a single aspect of the bigger picture that is this masterpiece of a video game that I'll never forget 人類に栄光あれ

One of if not the best video I have ever watched on UKposts. Thank you RagnaRox for introducing me to this channel. Nier will likely forever be the most intense experience I have ever had playing a video game and just in general. The emotional and psychological connection to the player is unreal and this video does an equally insane job of breaking that down and explaining why. Absolutely incredible work! Everyone who has 45 minutes should honestly see this and try to digest it.

It's the first day of 2021, and this video essay still doesn't get old. Thank you for this.

Wow. Now I'm going to re complete the game with this context. Thanks for giving me a reason to return! Great video! Really really really good! I appreciate all the time and research you did on each specific character. So good. People like you make this youtube platform great!

This just made me realize that im am one shallow of a person that will never be able to think on the level this game requires you to.

Nier took my "favorite game of all time" category last year when it released. It was so powerful/disturbing/mind-bending and it deserved so much more praise than it got (it got a lot too) I believe everyone should play this game, thanks for taking the time to break down the intricacies of this heartbreaking story and pushing it to another audience. You deserve some credit... I hope UKposts gives you what you seek!

Your video analysis was beyond expectations! Thanks for sharing so much knowledge and congratulations on all the hardwork!

This is my first video of yours and your presentation style, amazing words aside, is so fun and inspiring dude. Worth whatever time it took, for me. My friend and I LOVED IT

playing this, experiencing this masterpiece to its full potential, realising the mastery of the craft and then seeing a essay on the game such as this, its truly what gives true artists courage and strength to carry on. genius man, genius.

This review touched me as it gave a strong recollection of my experiences with the game too. I played NieR: Automata very thoroughly and, against my expectations, it became one of my favorite games of all time. I say this not because I had doubts due to its aesthetics or such, rather I was attracted to the game because of them, but because as I've gotten older and played more and more games, I just figured nothing would compare to the great earlier hits of my gaming experiences. Despite being compared to so many experiences before it, NieR: Automata stood out to me and really captured my whole being, offering it something truly special. I'm glad you were able to highlight why that might be so. Of course, every person's experience with the game will be unique, but I do feel that we have shared some sparks with what we got out of the game. I would like to ask though, why you said only 9S and 2B got reconstructed in the final, true ending, when it seems that A2 is also reconstructed. As the scene goes on, you see her not far from 92 and 2B with her hair restored to full, implying that she was already re-put together.

THIS IS AMAZING I'M IN TEARS! Well done on your analysis and break down - event to quests so tiny most players would not even pay attention. Kudos to you and of course to Yoko, too!

This is probably my favorite video man. I come back to it every month or so

I almost teared up on the train to work while listening to this...

The combined level of thought, education, effort, research and appreciation for the game put into this video is awesome. I think we can both agree that Nier Automata was a phenomenal game. Cheers.

Watching this in 2021 and in the middle of pandemic. This explains alot about the emotions I've felt while playing the game and boi, this game taught me about hope, empathy, and sacrifice. It's what we need to survive this harsh times. Damn, it makes me wanna play this game again. Thank you for making this video

2021 and this video is even more relevant. I watched it two years ago and watched it now. What a great analysis and production. You really did well! Kudos brother, kudos.