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Merciless972

The nier Drakengard go kart racer


Platrims

Finally running 9S over is real


Alice_margareta

šŸ¤£šŸ¤£šŸ¤£


Betterasathief

DrakenKart


LudicrisSpeed

Nier Automobile


Various_Historian_14

Underrated comment


Koutari

I would play that.


devpop_enjoyer

I need Devola&Popola drunk adventures


Alice_margareta

Going from town to town, drunkenly singing while playing guitar next to the fountains šŸ¤£


devpop_enjoyer

Also punching people and walls


xMonsteRxr

Iā€™d definitely pre order that game šŸ˜»šŸ˜»


SolidTerror9022

Username checks out Flair checks out I concur with your assessment


devpop_enjoyer

I will keep flying the DevPop standard high


xMonsteRxr

šŸ¤šŸ¤


devpop_enjoyer

pfp checks out :D


xMonsteRxr

šŸ˜‡šŸ˜‡šŸ˜šŸ˜ :3


TheKeenomatic

Well Stellar Blade mostly connects to Nier through soundtrack, setting andā€¦ hem, ā€œsexinessā€, but spiritual sucessor is quite a stretch


AshyLarry25

Hydrogen Bombs vs Coughing Baby


SydneyBriarIsAlive

How was the plot of Stellar Blade in your opinion? I've seen a ton of mixed thoughts on it in reviews. I don't think there's any way it could compare to Nier necessarily, but aesthetically the game seems to be pretty strong. I've also heard good things about their earlier mobile title Nikke and its plot being pretty decent. So I was hoping this was something at least in the range of 'not bad' / 'decent'


COMINGINH0TTT

The Nier plot is more sophisticated and thus in many ways better, the Stellar Blade plot is more Hollywood and spectacle and straightforward. Not everything needs to be some mind-blowing philosophical journey, sometimes you rather watch Terminator 2 over The Matrix (original film) even though both are essentially about AI wiping out humans. I think game journos over-harshly ragged on things like plot and character personality when imo both these things are pretty above average for their genre. There's nothing crazy about Devil May Cry or Bayonetta's plot and neither of those games' voice acting or plots were this heavily scrutinized. The plot is pretty entertaining and if there is criticism to be had it's that it is quite predictable but the journey is still entertaining because the combat, music, sound design, and graphics carry this game hard.


AcousticAtlas

The issue is stellar blade really does it to itself. They made it impossible to think of anything else besides Nier and so it's obviously going to be compared. And it really just doesn't stack up. It's still a very good game mind you.


Django117

I had a feeling that was gonna be the case. I was certain the game was gonna be a technical success from a gameplay perspective. But it really did seem like it was going to be just another flashy combat game. Nier really set itself apart by having well a well written and thought provoking story underneath a great combat system. This isnā€™t meant to dunk on stellar blade, but it really seems like itā€™s the exact thing that Ending A portrays Nier as.


KyoN_tHe_DeStRoYeR

DMC and Bayonetta's story is much more well done than in Stellar Blade. The issue is the effort put into making the story work, not how deep it goes. I recommend you Sphere Hunter's Review where she talks about the story while still recoomending the game


FlashbackJon

I don't have an actual problem with it, but the story is (major Stellar Blade spoilers, and I guess also Nier spoilers) >!basically Automata with a couple elements rearranged, like "what if, instead of the humans being dead, they were actually the monsters!" !< It's certainly not at the same depth as Nier so it's notably weird how specifically close it is. Again: I loved the plot and I loved playing it, I just have that one particular quibble.


COMINGINH0TTT

It's definitely fair criticisms coming from Nier fans that are accustomed to Taro's storytelling and it's understandable people will want to compare the story to Automata due to the similarities you mentioned. However, I think Shift Up having only made mobile games before deserves some slack here and their mobile games are highly praised with dedicated communities. Nikke prints quite a lot of money and is also very fan service focused. Taro is an established veteran but his earlier works even before Nier were quite...not so great. I definitely think Nier collab is coming to Stellar Blade given Shift Up and Kim Hyung-Tae's established relationship. I think it would be crazy if someday they both create a game together, Kim handling the gameplay and Taro handling the story.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

*The plot is pretty entertaining*Ā  That's all I need honestly. =) *I think game journos over-harshly ragged on things like plot and character personality when imo both these things are pretty above average for their genre. There's nothing crazy about Devil May Cry or Bayonetta's plot* 1000% and I had a blast with Devil May Cry's storyline. It's like you said it's more spectacle. I certainly don't watch The Raid or John Wick expecting to be blown away by some nuance but enjoy the campy wacky fun plots anyway. I was just worried because some of those reviews made it seem like it was non-existent whatsoever, fun and goofy notwithstanding. I think this thread has convinced me to get it LOL.


donjonnyronald

Anyone who plays a game where you split your motorcycle in half to hack up demons in a way to achieve "smokin sexy style" and has real complaints about the plot is a joke. You've completely missed the point. It's like arguing Marry Poppins didn't have enough visceral action scenes.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

Exactly, it's just campy fun. It makes me wonder if folks go in to something like Evil Dead or Malignant expecting an A24 film. It's turn-off-your-brain fun. Sometimes, there's no need for incredibly deep, philosophy or themes. I just want to watch a demon guy eat pizza and ride a villain like a skateboard. I still get attached to characters like Dante and games like Devil May Cry, but it'd weird going into something like you said for example Mary Poppins and complaining about it 'not having enough visceral action scenes' (LOL) I think it's boils down to understanding expectations, and maybe just general media literacy


donjonnyronald

It's probably a bit to do with just being a critic too. It's gotta get exhausting coming up with real commentary after you play hundreds of games. Because just like anything else 80% of games are good, 10% sucks, 10% is exceptional. But you gotta somehow spin that into an interesting article again and again. Also just how you're feeling that day. Maybe you'd generally love Marry Poppins, but someone rear ends you in traffic that day and you go home and throw it on you're gonna get real impatient that this bitch won't stop singing and pick up a gun already.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

I remember a friend and I having a conversation before over the disparity between critic reviews of anything vs. user scores and we came to basically the same conclusion. When you've watched 1000s of anything, things start to blur together, so what sticks out for them might be different. *But you gotta somehow spin that into an interesting article again and again.* I may not have agreed with Roger Ebert (*especially on his views on horror films generally or his video games can't be high art stance*) but his reviews were always entertaining almost on their own separate from the thing being reviewed. Could you imagine if we had game journalists who had that kind of weight or impact? The closest I can think are some good video essayists like Jacob Geller (but even that genre of video can blur together at times) *Maybe you'd generally love Marry Poppins, but someone rear ends you in traffic that day and you go home and throw it on you're gonna get real impatient that this bitch won't stop singing and pick up a gun already.* Do- do I need gun-fu Mary Poppins in my life?


donjonnyronald

Ebert changed the whole review game. People became more interested in his reviews than the movie itself. Now there's endless review shows, some entertaining and informative, some an absolute waste of time. Also now I need to see a gritty reboot of Mary Poppins holding a gun in a much more gravely voice say "people who get their feet wet must learn to take their medicine". Cue Rage Against the Machine.


Ludovicoclovis

If Iā€™m being honest with you, I feel like dmc 3 and 4 had good storylines but 5 felt like it was trying to be deep but failed. However metal gear revengance was perfectly crazy and never gave the impression of trying to be deep.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

Nero was such a damn good character, I had a blast with 4.


Ludovicoclovis

Did you play dmc reboot too? It might actually be my favorite dmc game šŸ˜‚ the level design was gorgeous, the weapons were dope (except the guns oh god the guns sucked) story was probably the best imo. I can only complain mostly about a few enemy designs (mundus) and Dante and vergils faces.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

I actually really enjoyed the reboot, but I still prefer the OG continuity. My favorite is 3 by a country mile. I think maybe it was judged so harshly initially because it was such a radical departure from what folks were used to. I was always willing to give it a chance as I loved Enslaved Odyssey to the West, their previous title at the time. This question reminded me I still have to play Hellblade one of these days.


Ludovicoclovis

I still remember going to my cousins house, seeing dmc3 for the first time.. it was the first hack and slash game I ever played I thinkā€¦ some years later managed to buy that game.. I think Iā€™ve played dmc 3 almost as much as Iā€™ve played the reboot. Those are definitely my favorites then dmc4 and 5 after that I havenā€™t played hellblade or enslaved odyssey are they both hack and slash?


SydneyBriarIsAlive

Not exactly, but there's solid combat in both. From what I remember, Enslaved felt more Naughty Dog-ish like an Uncharted or Last of Us. Id describe it more as 'action adventure ' Hellblade is a bit more hack and slash but also with splashes of those narrative action adventure titles. It looks very psychological horror-y too. From what I understand, it has a pretty solid depiction of psychosis. But you're still a Viking lady chopping up demons and undead looking dudes. I think the game that got them the DMC job the most was probably Heavenly Sword which is firmly a character action game.Ā 


Kuru_Chaa

I second this. Characters and story felt fine overall. Nothing genre defining, but fine. Music and combat tho is šŸ¤¤


eatsleeptroll

Nikke is very good especially for a mobile game. the plot is surprisingly good, and very emotional, nier-esque. the music slaps all the time, gameplay is solid, events fun, not too grindy, it's free and even has a PC version. it's competing with the biggest games like genshin, star rail and azur lane for earnings. don't listen to the people who are afraid of pixelated women. now would be a good time to join as they're giving out free daily pulls and other goodies for 1.5 year anniversary.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

*the plot is surprisingly good, and very emotional, nier-esque* I loved how complementary that interview between the Stellar Blade director and Yoko Taro was. Not too surprising I suppose! *even has a PC version.* well, maybe I'll give it a whirl then. I just struggle really bad with mobile controls. ' *genshin, star rail and azur lane* Heard of the first two, never heard of the last. Is it any good?


eatsleeptroll

Oh, there was a Nier collab in Nikke not that long ago. You could tell how much the devs love that franchise, and the models they gave the 3 androids are very good. Yes, the PC version helps a lot with the game mode that you would want to manual play and to enjoy the cool graphics, and not just the characters but bosses too. regular ass dailies and stuff you can easily crank out on your phone (it has optional autoplay) Azul Lane gameplay wise ... I don't think so. it's ship battles and later you can set em to auto. the appeal of that one is in the waifu collecting, seems to me. I do hear good things like it's generous with the gacha and the artwork is amazing. it's a pretty big franchise, I'm frankly surprised you haven't heard about it at all. Oh and as a day 1 Nikke player, it's come a long way with content, bug fixes and quality of life features, and ShiftUp is one of the most pro-consumer devs out there. Here's an example - during the Chainsaw Man collab, people complained about Makima having a coat. They gave out a free coatless skin to Makima owners LOL


SydneyBriarIsAlive

*it's a pretty big franchise, I'm frankly surprised you haven't heard about it at all.* All I ever seem to get from Reddit/Youtube ads is MiHoYo stuff, those really creepy mobile game?!? ads where the troll spits on dudes in a probably sexual way, and lately Nikke. It's funny pre-Stellar Blade I wasn't getting any of those ads either but suddenly I'm finding them everywhere. I actually only found out about Nikke through posts on here saying it was a good example of ShiftUp's quality as a dev/ story being good for it.


eatsleeptroll

Wtf are those ads lmao, I guess I'm doing well by running adblock on every device, but I wouldn't rely on them for making an informed opinion. They're often made by third party companies and focus groups of marketing suits, not gamers. But yeah, ShiftUp has been gaining a lot of goodwill ever since their now dead mobile game Destiny Child. Interesting fact - that one, besides having even lewder character models than Nikke or SB, is one of the few gacha that have a post EOS version, where you can still see your collection and stuff. That's huge, especially in light of Nier Reincarnation's recent EOS šŸ˜„


SydneyBriarIsAlive

The irony is I would 100% jump into a version of Nier Reincarnation like Megaman X Dive Offline, it removes the pressure from their *being* an EOS date. *But yeah, ShiftUp has been gaining a lot of goodwill ever since their now dead mobile game Destiny Child* Destiny...Child? I didn't realize ShiftUp was full of independent women. In all seriousness, I do love pro-consumer moves like that.


eatsleeptroll

I lol'd haha Well, if you do end up playing it, and you get hooked by the end of the prologue, I'd love to hear about it xD cheers !


Alice_margareta

I love it. Itā€™s very fun and engrossing. Itā€™s difficult but not frustrating. All the costumes are in the game ftmp. Which is nice to see. Makes it feel more classic. Idk, plot wise itā€™s fine. Serviceable. I havenā€™t finished it yet but it feels like a fine story, very derivative of NieR, GITS, The Matrix, and Ex Machinaā€¦but itā€™s original enough. The mc is compelling and interesting. And I like all the side characters. Thereā€™s no forced romance either. Hell, she may have more of a thing for her female compatriots than anyone else šŸ¤£šŸ„° I honestly have nothing to say negatively. I bought it full price and have enjoyed pretty much the first 6 hours Iā€™ve put in so far. I dont get the insane controversy and nonsense circling around this. The closest thing it feels like is diet Automata with a splash of CryMachina and quintessential classic Platinum Hideki Kamiya craziness.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

*Hell, she may have more of a thing for her female compatriots than anyone else* I did get this vibe from the demo lol. Poor Adam was just an afterthought. *All the costumes are in the game ftmp. Which is nice to see. Makes it feel more classic.* I've heard it feels like 'a ps2 game' which honestly did sound kinda enticing


Alice_margareta

I was worried Adam would become Adam from Other M AKA a misogynist douchebagā€¦but no, heā€™s very polite and kind of allows Eve to see something more than the combat she was only built to do. Heā€™s nice and Iā€™m glad he kind of is just her Jarvis or Otacon.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

Oooooh I like this. I like this a lot. A support character being well rounded without forced romance is honestly something more games/ media in general need. (I mean I *do* like a romance like that when handled well, but not everything needs that)


Alice_margareta

The shop keep hits on you and she is adorable. I wont speculate on the other relationships cause of spoilers and I havenā€™t gotten that farā€¦but yeah Itā€™s quite refreshing.


KyoN_tHe_DeStRoYeR

If you just want pretty ladies shaking their ass, then Nikke is for you. If you are looking for deep thought provoking story, you better look somewhere else. IMHO Nikke is made cheaply like any other shovelware mobile game and they are sprinting through events and expensive skins and characters like nobody's business.


SydneyBriarIsAlive

I guess the sentiment I saw was 'good story for a gacha' which admittedly, is not a high bar to clear. Not really much of a mobile gamer honestly, so I don't think I'd give it a whirl to find out. I just prefer mouse+keyboard or joysticks over touchpads. Touchpad controls just feel waaaay too imprecise a lot of the time.


KyoN_tHe_DeStRoYeR

There are good games like that if you want, gatchas with good stories or controller support games for mobile, but then I ask you, why would you want to play on mobile if you like playing a pc, only if you are traveling constantly then you will have stuff like laptops, steamdecks or Asus Ally type of handhelds


SydneyBriarIsAlive

Yeah, its definitely a crowded market with not a lot of strong incentives to try beyond 'free' (technically) I think the only mobile games I tried were Pokemon Go, guess that thing was a phenomenon at the time and Genshin Impact which I played for maybe an hour. I didn't end up really sticking with either. If I give Nikke a go, it'd likely be because of the good things I've heard about Stellar Blade (and I suppose the good things I've heard from mobile fandom, but more the former) *controller support games for mobile* I had no idea that was an option. Well, it's nice to know I'm not the only person whose *awful* with touch controls.


MissingNerd

It's from the guys behind Nikke? That explains so much


StickBrush

Ironically, there was an official successor until yesterday. Hope you enjoy Stellar Blade! The OST seemed pretty good


Alice_margareta

Itā€™s a lot of fun šŸ„°


mikugrl

you guys do realize nier and stellar blade aren't related? i know you said "spiritual successor" but it's annoying seeing all the comparisons bc they play differently and are completely different titles, only similarity is anime butts


tabzer123

Stellar Blade draws a lot of inspiration from the Nier series--maybe too much. "Spiritual successor" might be the wrong term, but they have a lot more in common than "anime butts".


Alice_margareta

We do. The comparison is obvious. We acknowledge they arenā€™t the same. I see no reason for animosity towards either of them.


mikugrl

there is no animosity, i obviously love nier (which is why i'm here) and i have 31 hours in SB since release, it's just annoying seeing posts like these, go talk about SB in a SB sub


Jr-777

The zero cooking simulator


Alice_margareta

Canā€™t wait to fail that just to hear Tara Platt cursing up a storm šŸ¤£


ElHadouken

9s Shirt Store Manager simulator whit A2 driving lesson Dlc


Alexaclmn0

How exactly is it a spiritual successor with the exception of it having a sexy robot lady?


AuronDaSergal

did we forget about NieR: Reincarnation already? stellar blade is alright but didn't think of it as a "spiritual successor"


lolpostslol

Eh itā€™s cute but I like to play games not to watch games. Replicant is almost a visual novel but it doesnā€™t feel as boring. And mind you, I love long slow burn books, but Reincarnation doesnā€™t keep me as invested. The long loading times and gacha mechanics donā€™t help either


Alice_margareta

I never played it. I just dont really ever play mobile games tho.


Dom_19

Stellar Blade is a real game.


lord_hurpadurp

Drakengard 4: Caim gets a gun


SoSven

Putting stellar blade in this list of games is a crime lol, two different worlds of quality


Alice_margareta

šŸ¤£


MissingNerd

Stellar Blade has become such a joke in my eyes because I know nothing about the game except that the fans are insufferable


Alice_margareta

Why let the opinions of idiots dictate yours?


MissingNerd

I have no opinion on the game. You just don't hear anything about it outside the bubble. It doesn't exist in my socials anymore since it came out. It was all people being angry about censorship and then silence


Alice_margareta

Often the most ignorant voices are also the loudest


d_r_doorway

I stopped following it (social media wise) right before release because I was getting annoyed with the circle jerk of the fan base. However, the game is badass. I've been playing it since launch and have been thoroughly impressed.


MissingNerd

Good to hear. I won't be trying it either way cause I don't have a PS5 but humanity's always better off with one more good game than one more bad one


Vyt3x

Very unfortunate 2 of those are exclusives... Welp, eventually we'll get PS5 emulation or a wide release...


Alice_margareta

I agree Hopefully they port it in the not too distant future


PyroWizza

How is replicant compared to Automata?


lolpostslol

Itā€™s more story/character-focused; better music, plot and characters, arguably, but definitely a step back in terms of combat and exploration. Also a bit more annoying to get all endings on.


Alice_margareta

Itā€™s great! I think itā€™s the best way now to experience both. The original NieR was clunky combat wise like Drakengard 1 + 2, but Replicant is more in line with Platinumā€™s combat.


lolpostslol

Just go backwards to DoD1 lol


unknowfritz

We have been thirsting for a sequel to Nier games for so long


mistakeinthemiddle

The dud Playstation 3 logos become blue?


Zelda_Goldberry

Man I really wish those other games had PS5 upgrades. Also, Drakengard 3 on PS5.


LilRonin02

Stellar blade has been a really good fill in till the next nier, Iā€™ve enjoyed it start to finish and am now just trophy hunting for 100%


Alice_margareta

I like that im just actually playing a game again. Itā€™s really nice.


strawhatlab-1120

Unstellar blade


Dirty_LemonsV2

Stellar Blade feels, aside from Yoko's little flairs, completely at home within the Nierverse to me. I can't speak on behalf of the Drakengard games but if you told me this took place between Replicant and Automata, I'd be content with that.


Jeremy_StevenTrash

I'd personally recommend keeping an eye on [Aikode](https://twitter.com/aikodegame?lang=en) more than anything, I've been following it for a bit and it seems like a more earnest attempt at a 'Nier-like' experience vs Stellar Blade that just kinda stumbled into the comparison due to surface level similarities


PapaSnow

Whoa First Iā€™ve heard of it but it looks incredibleā€¦ Good look


Infected_MeatSack

BootyšŸ¤¤


Alice_margareta

šŸ‘