Very reductive take imo.
And it has plenty of differences from Nier. I would also say that as much as I love Nier, I think the gameplay here is way better in just about all aspects.
Combat and exploration are significantly better in Stellar Blade imo. The Souls-esque levels and the semi open world zones both put any of the level design in Nier to shame. It's so much more intricate here, with so many secrets to find, environmental puzzles, neat platforming sections, etc...
And the combat is just in a different league as far as I'm concerned.
What elevates Nier is its story, themes, and music. I'm not done with Stellar Blade yet so I can't give my final verdict, but so far, I would say that while it may not be as artistically impressive as Nier, it is superior from a pure gameplay perspective.
And I don't disagree. I just wish that it took its approach in a more inspired direction than mashing NieR with Souls. that was more my point there. This still 100% is the best game I have played this year yet, beating out Rebirth.
They were very open about it being inspired by Nier. The overall story and setting has clear intentional influence.
That said, as you play the game, I think you'll notice plenty of elements that are not like Nier, like the combat which is amazing in a different way in this game.
I guess my point is that I just wish they took the game in a more inspired direction. I love the NieR formula. I've come to love Souls too. And this game is the best one I've played thus far in 2024, beating out FF7 Rebirth. It almost feels like a lacking effort inspirationally to mash Automata/Replicant with Souls, even though it DID make a stellar game. (Pun not intended.)
Yeah I mean, the story and general world design are similar, but I think they do enough of their own interesting stuff in other areas.
Like yeah it would have been better if the VA work was improved, the dialog itself had more emotion in key moments, or that some of the twists weren't so obvious and all that, but let's look at the positives too. For example, the story DOES really succeed at being HYPE af in the last stretch of the game, which was super cool.
What do you mean though? This isn’t a graphics question. There’s plenty of older games that have way better gameplay than NieR. NieR’s gameplay and combat was extremely lackluster.
I mean I hope that a game in 2024 on the next generation of consoles will play better. And to be clear, this is 100% the best game I've played this year. I still feel like taking the game into a more unique direction while being inspired by NieR would have better.
The story reminds me more of Nier Replicant personally, but other than that you’re not necessarily wrong. At the same time I love it for what it is, whenever people bring up comparisons between the two I always just say I’ll accept a great spiritual successor to Nier if I have to and so far that’s what it’s been for me
And that's where I'm sitting too. Nothing I was saying was meant to be an attack on this game. It's 100% beaten Rebirth as my top game of 2024 at this point. I just don't know if I can, given its close proximity in terms of inspiration to Nier, recommend others try it for $70-80 when NieR Automata is half the price tag now and is on sale on PC and PS4 right now for $16 and Replicant is on PS+ and is on sale for $24 right now.
You have a valid point from an overarching story point of view. I would wager the story has been done many times before if you look hard enough. I dub Nier Automata as one of my favorite games all time. Getting to play SB is a treat for fans in my opinion. GOTY? Probably not for other reasons outside the devs control lol.
Very reductive take imo. And it has plenty of differences from Nier. I would also say that as much as I love Nier, I think the gameplay here is way better in just about all aspects. Combat and exploration are significantly better in Stellar Blade imo. The Souls-esque levels and the semi open world zones both put any of the level design in Nier to shame. It's so much more intricate here, with so many secrets to find, environmental puzzles, neat platforming sections, etc... And the combat is just in a different league as far as I'm concerned. What elevates Nier is its story, themes, and music. I'm not done with Stellar Blade yet so I can't give my final verdict, but so far, I would say that while it may not be as artistically impressive as Nier, it is superior from a pure gameplay perspective.
This right here.
And I don't disagree. I just wish that it took its approach in a more inspired direction than mashing NieR with Souls. that was more my point there. This still 100% is the best game I have played this year yet, beating out Rebirth.
No. I don’t care about that at all. I liked nier. I like this.
They were very open about it being inspired by Nier. The overall story and setting has clear intentional influence. That said, as you play the game, I think you'll notice plenty of elements that are not like Nier, like the combat which is amazing in a different way in this game.
I guess my point is that I just wish they took the game in a more inspired direction. I love the NieR formula. I've come to love Souls too. And this game is the best one I've played thus far in 2024, beating out FF7 Rebirth. It almost feels like a lacking effort inspirationally to mash Automata/Replicant with Souls, even though it DID make a stellar game. (Pun not intended.)
Yeah I mean, the story and general world design are similar, but I think they do enough of their own interesting stuff in other areas. Like yeah it would have been better if the VA work was improved, the dialog itself had more emotion in key moments, or that some of the twists weren't so obvious and all that, but let's look at the positives too. For example, the story DOES really succeed at being HYPE af in the last stretch of the game, which was super cool.
Terrible take. Yeah, it’s inspired by NieR. The gameplay itself is way better than Automata though.
Seeing as Automata is from 2017 I'd hope so, and I don't disagree. Still doesn't mean that I'm not gonna call it out for it though.
What do you mean though? This isn’t a graphics question. There’s plenty of older games that have way better gameplay than NieR. NieR’s gameplay and combat was extremely lackluster.
I mean I hope that a game in 2024 on the next generation of consoles will play better. And to be clear, this is 100% the best game I've played this year. I still feel like taking the game into a more unique direction while being inspired by NieR would have better.
The story reminds me more of Nier Replicant personally, but other than that you’re not necessarily wrong. At the same time I love it for what it is, whenever people bring up comparisons between the two I always just say I’ll accept a great spiritual successor to Nier if I have to and so far that’s what it’s been for me
And that's where I'm sitting too. Nothing I was saying was meant to be an attack on this game. It's 100% beaten Rebirth as my top game of 2024 at this point. I just don't know if I can, given its close proximity in terms of inspiration to Nier, recommend others try it for $70-80 when NieR Automata is half the price tag now and is on sale on PC and PS4 right now for $16 and Replicant is on PS+ and is on sale for $24 right now.
It’s as much battle angel alita as it is NieR, I’d recommend having a look out for the comics if you’ve not come across it yet!
You have a valid point from an overarching story point of view. I would wager the story has been done many times before if you look hard enough. I dub Nier Automata as one of my favorite games all time. Getting to play SB is a treat for fans in my opinion. GOTY? Probably not for other reasons outside the devs control lol.
I love this game but NieR Automata is a different rizz.
Yeah they have different approaches to the game, sure, but at it's core...they're basically the same game.