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Samurai, gods, big rosters – notes from my E3 2018

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Stepping out into the mid-June sunshine, away from the hype and noise that follows any series of E3 press conferences, I couldn’t deny that some of that hype may be rubbing off on me. Before we even get to my E3 2018, let’s remember that we’re already in the middle of what people are claiming to be a new golden era of gaming – one where modern classics are being released with uncommon frequency. Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Nier: Automata, Persona 5, Cuphead, Sonic Mania, Celeste – the list just keeps going, and it looks like the list will grow even more if my E3 2018 was anything to go by. Rather than one platform holder emerging as a clear winner or loser (and let’s not pretend that there haven’t been clear winners and losers in the past), my E3 2018 had Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo revealing exciting and interesting new games.

Microsoft favourites from my E3 2018

my E3 2018

The biggest reveal of Microsoft’s show was undoubtedly Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. A new IP from revered developer From Software, it promises polished third-person action with a samurai flavour. The trailer was only about two or three minutes long but showed the mechanical arm first seen in the “Shadows Die Twice” trailer, and its owner – a character who can go toe-to-toe with swordsmen, use said arm in a grappling-hook fashion to ascend to higher positions or cross chasms, and supposedly rise to his feet after being “killed”, which seems appropriate given the subtitle. Elsewhere, it was revealed that the once PS4 and PC exclusive Nier Automata would receive an Xbox port with the release of Nier Automata: Become as Gods Edition (perhaps to make up for Scalebound’s demise), so hopefully more people can enjoy the weird and wonderful combination of slick Platinum gameplay and distinct Nier quirkiness. Also of note was the first true reveal of Cyberpunk 2077 and news that Devil May Cry would be getting a new numbered sequel, but the lack of substantial gameplay footage for either game suggests that these are very early announcements.

Sony familiarity in my E3 2018

my E3 2018

By comparison, many people criticised the lack of new reveals in Sony’s conference; there were many games we already knew about from previous shows (such as Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part 2 and Death Stranding), and with the remake of Final Fantasy VII still early in development, there was little hope of seeing anything new from that game. Despite this, we did get confirmation of an exciting new PSVR title with From Software’s Deracine, reaffirmation that Mizuguchi’s The Tetris Effect still looks superb, and more gorgeous footage of Sucker Punch‘s Ghost of Tsushima. (As an aside, it seems that samurai games were the general theme of this year’s E3, with Tsushima, Sekiro and a trailer of Nioh 2 all making appearances somewhere amongst the conferences.) Another notable surprise was Remedy’s Control, a game that seems to combine shifting geometry with conventional gunplay and creative mind control mechanics. It was a fun looking title, even if it did make me wish for a sequel to Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy…

Nintendo’s contribution to my E3 2018

my E3 2018

As is to be expected these days, Nintendo combined the bizarre with the exciting, from making me question the need for a Pokéball peripheral used in conjuction with Pokémon Go (which will transfer Pokémon data from the mobile game to a new console game) when you already have wireless communication technology in your primary gaming devices… to the surprise reveal of Daemon X Machina, an exciting action game from Marvelous Entertainment that boasts bright and colourful visuals and shows off the kind of gameplay that brings to mind games such as Omega Boost and Transformers Devastation. Elsewhere in the show, the unveiling of a new Mario Party was hardly a massive surprise – at the same time, the immediacy and social nature of the series is an obvious fit for the Switch hardware – and the new Super Smash Bros seemed hell-bent on including every character from previous games in its roster, to the delight of series fans. It was also revealed that these characters will all be tweaked slightly, hopefully resulting in a balanced game and some exciting re-learning of old favourites.

The highlight of my E3 2018

my E3 2018

All of the three main shows succeeded in giving fans something to look forward to, but the reveal that interested me the most was Babylon’s Fall. This was one of the new announcements from a very short Square Enix showcase scheduled separately from the three main conferences – a new IP being developed by Platinum Games, Babylon’s Fall only revealed a glimpse of CG at the end of its trailer, but was introduced with text-heavy stills that promised a tale of clashing ideologies, of gods striking down against mankind, and of huge armoured characters and electric (or perhaps arcane) powers. It was perhaps the only trailer I went through frame by frame as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing, and it’s definitely something I intend to keep an eye on between now and its 2019 release.

Obviously, I saw some criticism levelled at the three main conferences as people collected their own thoughts on discussion boards and in social media – people claimed that Sony’s show repeated the same announcements as last year and didn’t have enough new reveals, or that Nintendo’s show needed to give fans more details about known games in development (precious little was seen of Metroid Prime 4, Yoshi, or Starfox Grand Prix)… Microsoft’s show was perhaps the most refreshing, but I noticed people claiming that their conference pushed 4K and the Xbox One X a little too much for owners of older Xbox models. Despite all of this, I’m remaining optimistic about the future of all three platform holders – there’s something for everyone to look forward to in the near future, and the absence of any big new hardware reveals (certain optimistic individuals expected the unveiling of a PlayStation 5 before the show commenced) suggests that the current generation still has some life left in it for the time being. As ever, let us know if there were any reveals that stood out for you in the comments below.

Nier Automata Piano Collections – impressions

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It isn’t too much of an exaggeration to say that Nier Automata – just like Gestalt/Replicant before it – has a good soundtrack. 2017 was an excellent period for videogame music in general, whether you were getting into Persona 5’s tunes, turning up the dial whilst in the middle of Sonic Mania, or enjoying that atmospheric FFXII score all over again when playing the Zodiac Age remaster. It’s no secret that videogame soundtracks play a vital part in forging strong, lasting memories of our favourite titles, and Nier Automata excelled in this regard. From the powerful “Birth of a Wish (This Cannot Continue)” piece that plays when the androids first encounter Adam, through to the gentle track “Vague Hope” – playing as you reach one of the game’s conclusions – Nier Automata had plenty of memorable musical moments. (And that’s before we even get to the brilliant covers of songs from Gestalt and Replicant…) It helps that the game itself was captivating in its own right, with an intriguing storyline and engaging gameplay that made hours seem like minutes; however, even after I had seen the main endings, I would still listen to key pieces of music from the game. Although I’ve yet to pick up the main game soundtrack, I was interested in the announcement of the Nier Automata Piano Collections CD – a selection of tracks from the game covered by a number of musicians, all under the supervision of original composer Keiichi Okabe. I’ll admit that I was simultaneously nervous and excited to find out how well the diverse music of Nier Automata lent itself to piano compositions… however, since listening to it, I can safely say that there’s a lot to enjoy here.

Highlights from Nier Automata Piano Collections

Nier Automata Piano Collections

The Nier Automata Piano Collections CD has a selection of twelve tracks, and whist this might not seem like a big number when you consider how much music is in the main game soundtrack, I get the feeling that most of the best tunes are captured in this collection. Fittingly, the collection of tunes is bookended by Weight of the World (one of the main themes of the game) and Vague Hope (a tune you hear in one of the game’s endings); both of which are recreated as soothing, gentle melodies… although Weight of the World builds up nicely in the middle of the track, and Vague Hope toys with a slightly slower tempo at times which fits the tune’s “feel” extremely well. Elsewhere, the lonely, gentle atmosphere of the City Ruins piece is captured well (although the tune gets a little excited before it winds back down at the end), and my personal favourite piece is probably the Copied City rendition. I remember this theme being a complex and busy melody in the game (not to mention having a key piano part in there already), and hearing the piano rendition brought back memories of that moment in the game immediately.

Nier Automata Piano Collections – worth a preview

Nier Automata Piano Collections

If there are any downsides to the Nier Automata Piano Collections CD… well, you might not get as much out of it if you haven’t already played Nier Automata, although that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Also, the piano music is impressive but may feel slightly “stark” compared to the more fleshed-out pieces of music you hear in the game. As well as this, it might not be easy for everyone to get hold of – my own copy is a Japanese import, and although there are third-party sellers on Amazon UK at the time of writing, these could still be pricey. However, I believe a lot of the music is streamable on YouTube (again, at the time of writing), so track it down and – if you like what you hear – consider picking up the CD for all the high-quality tuneage you desire (and to support the people behind the collection, of course!)

Nier Automata Piano Collections is out now.

My Disposable 2017 – highlights from the year

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When I published my 2016 retrospective in late December of last year, I decided to cherry-pick a few key highs and lows of the year rather than listing out hundreds of different things. It’s a format that I was quite happy with, and considering how picky I have been this year there’s no harm in doing the same here. What follows, then, is my Disposable 2017 – a quick rundown of everything that I enjoyed this year. A lot of the highlights will be familiar if you’ve checked out previous reviews on this site, but it’s worth remembering what made the year so special. For me, at least…

RPG sequels in my Disposable 2017

my Disposable 2017

Let’s start with the games. 2016 could have been the most exciting year in gaming for me; a repeat of 2009 that saw a new mainline Street Fighter title and a new mainline Persona game released in the same twelve-month period. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be, but Persona 5 was still worth the wait even if it didn’t surpass the standards set by its predecessor. Yes, some one-off dungeon gimmicks outstay their welcome; yes, people might prefer 4’s intimate mystery to 5’s sprawling epic; yes, there are repeated character archetypes… (Not to mention the unshakeable feeling that P4 had more main characters that were instantly likeable.) However, it still plugs a nice 90-100hr slot for anyone with time on their hands. And on a more positive note: the presentation is better than ever, the sprawl of Shibuya is the liveliest location yet with lots of discoveries and distractions, and the battle system tweaks are welcome. I never really got to talk a lot about my admiration for the Persona series during Disposable Media’s break and subsequent relaunch, but I was simultaneously nervous and excited about the release of 5 – yes, it’s got to live up to one of my all-time favourite RPGs… but if it ends up improving on the formula it would be a phenomenal experience. In the end it fell short of my expectations, but I’ll still hold out for a bunch of spin-off announcements and maybe even get around to importing The Day Breakers.

Thinking about it, the most fun I had with a game in my Disposable 2017 was probably with Nier Automata. The original Nier was a niche action RPG that had an engrossing, twisting storyline, wonderfully memorable settlements, unique bullet-hell magic combat, a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, superb camera tricks and an unfortunate amount of rough edges and jank. With Platinum Games at the helm of Nier Automata, fans were hopeful that the gameplay could be tightened and – provided that the RPG roots were respected – this could be a surprise classic. In the end, Platinum followed the format of the original more faithfully than I ever expected. Seamless shifts from 2D to 3D are everywhere, sidequests, levelling and customisation are all present and correct and multiple playthroughs are surprising and rewarding. At a time where Scalebound was getting cancelled and TMNT looked ropey, I can’t pretend that I didn’t have my doubts for a moment, but Automata more than makes up for those moments of uncertainty. And yes, I know that some Platinum fans were new to Nier and got burned when they realised that it wasn’t a pure character action game, but I don’t think it’s fair to criticise the game because of this. If that were the case, we may as well start criticising Dropmix for not demanding beat-perfect button presses, or slam Dissidia for its lack of turn-based combat. Developers are allowed to do different things, and you can’t criticise a game because you didn’t know its genre.

Top tracks of my Disposable 2017

my Disposable 2017

Whilst away from the joypad I’ve enjoyed a lot of great music during my Disposable 2017 – The Upbeats released two superb new EPs with De-Evolution Part III in March and Punks in November, not to mention the remix collection Re-Evolution. All of these have numerous tracks worth recommending, and have provided me with a bunch of new favourites. Playlists were made and re-made, tracks were added and removed all of the time, standouts were picked and re-picked, but in general The Upbeats’ output this year has been remarkable. Elsewhere, Major Lazer’s Know No Better EP had an annoyingly catchy opening track with some fun extra tunes (including one of the most misleading build-ups in Jump) and a few notables on the remix collection that was released later in the year – meanwhile, Shobaleader One returned with a set of covers that are much more immediately likeable than d’Demonstrator’s offering, ditching the vocoder in favour of revitalised classic instrumental jams. (Going from work to the high street to pick up Electrak and Nier Automata was a particularly fun Friday afternoon.)

Even though a variety of artists released a lot of good material over the course of the year, my most played tunes of my Disposable 2017 probably come from The Upbeats; despite the fact that there are a few tracks on De-Evolution Part III and Punks that aren’t all that memorable, I’m still not bored of the standouts. The Upbeats have proven that they can handle slow tunes, fast beats, aggressive tones and more restrained vibes, and it’s this diversity that keeps me coming back. The title track of Punks is quick and catchy, but Oddity has slow beats and fun wobbly sounds; meanwhile, Veiled is a haunting and moody piece from De-Evolution III which is contrasted by the relentless title track.

My Disposable 2017 – a solid year

I can’t say that any of these highlights are my New Favourite Thing Ever – Nier Automata has its flaws, P5 isn’t as good as P4, older Upbeats and Major Lazer releases probably have more standout tracks than the latest ones – but they represent a small part of what has been a fine year. As for the future? The Prodigy have already announced a new album for “early next year”, we should finally see the releases of Dissidia and Dragonball FighterZ and there will surely be some surprises along the way. As always, let us know what you’ve enjoyed this year and what you look forward to in the next twelve months.

Nier Automata review (PS4)

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As I finish the last of the three main campaigns of Nier Automata and chapter-select my way to the other conclusions (there are about 26 endings to the game but only a handful of them are “proper” endings) I was left with so many thoughts and feelings. The true ending wraps things up perfectly and is sublime from a gameplay, narrative, and emotional standpoint. When I realised what was going on, and the implications of what was going on, I was left speechless. And it almost makes up for the varying quality of the gameplay.

Nier Automata is a truer follow-up to the 2010 game than we could have ever hoped for; the gameplay is tightened, the combat is slick, but it hasn’t been streamlined into a character action game and instead retains the RPG tenets of the original. You’ll do fetch quests, gather materials, go from A to B and quick-travel across several unique regions. More notably, you’ll level up through play and face enemies that are at a much higher level than you; enemies that will decimate your health bar in one hit if you try your luck. Through levelling and player customisation, the typical skill barrier associated with character action now has a number of RPG elements to support you. Take plug-in chips for instance – they offer various buffs and effects but take up a certain amount of “storage” depending on how good they are. Certain chips offer typical buffs like increased damage, better healing effects etc, but other chips can turn it into a completely new game – there’s one that grants health after every enemy kill (think rally in Bloodborne) and another that slows down time whilst retaining character speed after a successful dodge (hello Bayonetta). It’s one of Platinum’s most rewarding systems yet, and it means that a bit of levelling or chip tweaking can turn defeat into victory.

Nier Automata – split personality

Nier Automata

Plug-in chips and levelling aren’t the only deviations from the character-action formula; Nier Automata has more of the classic shoot ‘em up action seen in the demo as well as a new gameplay feature introduced after the first playthrough that adds an interesting new dynamic to much of the rest of the game. (This isn’t the only time this happens as you go through the three campaigns, but I found that it was the biggest gameplay shift.) And even though the world and town may feel small-scale compared to other RPGs you play, there’s still enough going on to prevent you from feeling like you can’t progress. Enemy levels are displayed as you fight them (this may be optional based on interface plug-in chips; I’m not sure) and so you instantly know if you’re going into an area that will be too challenging, encouraging you to level up and do sidequests until you’re ready.

There’s also a lot of variety in the environments you’ll explore – the 2010 game had the likes of Façade, Seafront and the Aerie peppered around its central hub, and Automata has its own desert in addition to an amusement park, a forest and more abstract areas later on. Even though the shifts feel a bit disjointed as you speed from place to place, each one feels distinct in its culture and identity. And remember that a lot of time spent in the areas will involve a finely-tuned combat system that is satisfying in itself but transformative when plug-in chips are involved.

Nier Automata – rough moments

Nier Automata

It is, however, a Nier game. Even with Platinum at the helm there’s always the risk of some dodgy moments when Nier is involved, and Automata isn’t without its problems. Some platforming can be fiddly, camera shifts can come at the worst possible time, you can end up underlevelled if you hurry through things, and the 3D map – as good as it is – can still be hard to wrap your head around at first. At the same time, just like in the original Nier, you’ll forgive these blemishes just to see where the story takes you, and the underlevelling only happens if you try and treat it like a straight character-action game rather than embracing the RPG roots of the series. (On a personal note I’d also recommend rotating your saves and/or backing up saves to the cloud, just in case you over-use the manual saves and wind up in an impossible situation. Ahem.)

There is a risk that with all the genre-bending Nier Automata shows you all of its tricks too soon, and that certainly begins to ring true in the third playthrough. That said, even when you think it’s running out of ideas the gameplay is so satisfying that you’ll want to keep going anyway. Finish the three main routes and a chapter select opens up, allowing you to see alternate conclusions for the third route and, ultimately, one of the most majestic ways a game has been wrapped up in some time. In that moment, it’s easy to gloss over the flaws you noticed along the way – it’s easy to let emotion drown out cold analysis. At the same time, don’t we spend evenings with videogames for moments just like the gameplay and narrative highs of Nier: Automata? So yes, this is a recommendation. If you enjoyed the original Nier, you shouldn’t let the Platinum logo put you off. If you want to see character action in a more fleshed-out world, this is worthy of your attention. And I can only hope that this gains enough attention to make up for the first game’s niche status.

Nier Automata

Nier Automata is out now for PS4 and will be released on PC on March 17th

Nier Automata demo released this week

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The Nier Automata demo represents a first look at what could either be the biggest squandering of a golden opportunity or the refinement of a flawed gem. The first Nier game – Gestalt on Xbox 360 or Replicant on PS3 – had a fantastic story, great world-building and character arcs, and a beautiful soundtrack. However, it was let down by flabby gameplay sequences, woolly combat and rough edges. As soon as it was announced that Platinum would be helping out on Nier Automata, fans of Gestalt and Replicant were delighted, as it potentially meant a game that delivered on both its gameplay and story. More than a year after the announcement of the new Nier game, a gameplay demo has been released. And, naturally, I’ve spent some time with it already.

Nier Automata demo – slick moves and orb shooting

Nier Automata demo

Let’s begin with the obvious point – as soon as you get your hands on the controls this feels like a Platinum game in terms of movement and combat; movement is fast and fluid, you have a dodge which goes far and in multiple directions, and you can cancel from attacks to dodges. Furthermore, the Nier Automata demo starts you off with an air-dodge and double jump, and attacks have light and heavy variants, as well as special enders. Meanwhile, your “pod” droid fires for as long as you hold down the trigger and its shots can be aimed in multiple directions. So far, so Platinum, but the Nier DNA makes itself known soon enough; waves of red orbs are shot from enemies and can be destroyed with shots or melee attacks. Additionally, enemies have lifebars and damage numbers fly off as they take hits, so the RPG roots are clear.

Nier Automata demo – a fresh perspective

Nier Automata demo

What’s also clear is that Platinum liked the original game’s perspective shifts – the Nier Automata demo is constantly going between side-on, overhead and conventional 3D views; at times it almost feels like it beats the player over the head with these camera tricks, shouting “hey, remember? Remember when Nier did this?” but maybe the full game will relax things a little. There was one moment where the perspective shifts worked against the gameplay – enemies can spawn from small containers in one top-down sequence and it’s possible for 2B to enter one of these containers and be in a bad spot whilst the player can’t see what’s going on – but for the most part It was fine.

Nier Automata demo – promising combat and unproven questing

Nier Automata demo

The Nier Automata demo is all about showing off the combat – it’s at its best when mobile enemies approach 2B at close-quarters whilst shots from wall-mounted cannons also head towards her, as it forces the player to manage the crowd and switch between melee and ranged attacks on the fly. In the previous game you generally had to deal with one threat or the other – removing the bullets of an enemy so that you could close in on that enemy and deliver melee damage. Later on, one phase of the Nier Automata demo’s boss showcases some similarly impressive bullet hell, where clusters and waves of projectiles are belched out and rockets rain from the sky. This is where the gameplay truly feels like Nier Deluxe – a more refined version of the original formula – and I would welcome more of it.

The one aspect of the game that’s never really shown off during the Nier Automata demo is the RPG and story side of the game – the character arcs, the settlements, the quests to pick up, the jaw-dropping twists. Just like Gestalt and Replicant felt like missed opportunities with their rough combat and platfoming, Automata could feel like a waste if it’s “just” another Platinum game with none of the hybrid gameplay of the original. However, it’s understandable that Taro might want the story and RPG elements to be kept under wraps if the narrative is anything like the original’s. From what I have played now, I feel confident that Platinum will do what Platinum does best, but I appreciate that we’re still in the dark about the bits that made the original Nier so special in the first place. If the slick combat is there but the questing and story are afterthoughts, we could find that Automata and Gestalt/Replicant are two halves of the one of the finest games ever made, neither one delivering on both gameplay and narrative.

Nier Automata demo

Nier Automata will be released on PS4 in March 2017. A PC release has also been confirmed but not yet dated.

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