NieR: Automata Demo Now Available On PS4

While the demo we played only featured one boss fight against a giant buzz saw contraption, gamers should expect many more large-scale boss battle segments littered throughout NeiR: Automata . On top of that, Saito also confirmed that there are more mounts aside of previously revealed deer and boars, commenting cryptically that not every mount may be an animal. The addition of several difficulty options this time around will also make for an easier playthrough experience, a sharp contrast from the difficult-by-default original NieR . The game will also feature an 'Auto Mode' for those who fail to progress through the action sequences but still want to experience the st


NieR: Automata represents a big step forward for the series, as it attempts to correct the many mistakes that were made in the original NieR while also preserving its core sense of identity. Fans of the original game praise its story and character development as its biggest selling points, and NieR: Automata will have to carefully balance all of the innovations it is bringing to combat with the things that made the first NieR memorable in spite of its fl

The difference appears to be less visible during cutscenes, where developers probably managed to squeeze a little more juice out of the standard PS4 due to the controlled rendering environment, bur it's still quite noticeable in elements like YoRHa 2B's hair.

In all our previous projects, we sound designers made individual settings for echoes to fit the exact shape of each area in the game. However, since NieR: Automata takes place in a more open world, it would take a massive amount of work to do it that way. We’re aiming to cut down on all that effort while creating a realistic soundscape for the game by using a system that can manage echoes on the fly.


"Join androids 2B and 9S and their ferocious battle to reclaim a machine-driven dystopia overrun by powerful machine lifeforms... NieR: Automata is a fresh take on the action role-playing game genre that gracefully blends mesmerising action with a captivating sto

In a tight, closed space, sounds don’t echo very much. In a wide open room like the one above, though, echoes last longer. Echoes also change depending on the materials that make up an area: They’re louder when you’re surrounded by metal than when you’re surrounded by dirt, for example. Each area you explore in a game needs its own reverb settings to get these echoes just right.

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There is a really popular show for instance, Game of Thrones, well Drakengard was dealing with all themes presented in GoT long before it was popular. This game has it all, incest, child abuse, sadism and other heavy themes. It also has dragons, which are dealt with in a more realistic way than GoT. Fans of fantasy know Dragons are almost god-like beings, hell, in Dark Souls they’re immortal…. getting back on topic though. This series is known for pushing boundaries’. Drakengard was the first of its kind, a game doing something different that few games, especially beat ‘em ups were approaching. The storytelling in Drakengard was astounding. Drakengard, convey's a sense of permanence of choice that games can still struggle with today. Not that every game must have a rigid backbone to it, that wouldn’t make video games fun. It’s understanding the way the story is being told though that allows for the praise this game series deserves. Long story short, Drakengard tells a story in its own way, also knowing how to end a game. The same can be said for Nier. Even both game’s sequel game’s manage to keep things interesting while remaining in the realm of the weird.

Nier, which creative director Taro Yoko has stated is the direct follow-up to Drakengard 2, follows suit perfectly for what these games offer up. Nier might take place a thousand-plus years in the future, but that changes nothing. There could easily be a whole essay on how all the games are connected (there probably is), but that’s not what this article is about. The series is asking deep questions, questions that might not be as obvious at first. The series, for as wacky and bombastic as it can be, is a reflection on events taking place in our world and how "we" fit into that world. It flips over rocks that might be hiding something nasty and at other points opens doors most people never want to peer behind. Not everyone wants to look at here at these things, nor should they be forced to. For those who usually let curiosity get the best of them or are looking for a deeper understanding of something, it’s worth pulling back the veil.

Here’s a distinctive landscape! Rows and rows of nearly identical housing units stretch across the desert as far as the eye can see. To be honest, I’m not crazy about having to draw the same thing out over and over again like this in 2D, so I started making this piece by digitally placing models of the buildings in 3D space and painting over that. To keep it consistent with the overall game world, I brightened the scene up and toned the colors way down until it’s nearly monochromatic.