Platinum's NieR: Automata coming to PC March 17th
A return to form?
After a spot of umming and ahhing, Square Enix have confirmed a PC release date of March 17th for NieR: Automata [official site]. That is ten days after its console launch but, given that I've been waiting literally years for Platinum games like Bayonetta and Vanquish to hit PC (go on, Sega), I'm perfectly fine with that. NieR: Automata is an action-RPG about childlike androids in the far future coming down from the Moon to beat up robots across the ruins of Earth. Its action is very Platinum-y, which is a great thing to be. After a few licensed duffers, NieR looks like a return to form for Platinum.
While Automata is sequel to a game which never came out on PC, the connections are minor enough that it's fine. It's made by Platinum in collaboration with a number of folks from the last game, including eccentric director Yoko Taro (also of Drakengard fame). Expect quests, weapons to collect and upgrade, bits of bullet hell and other genresmooshing, fishing, moose-riding, and the ability to kill yourself by yanking out your OS chip.
Here, this new trailer shows off almost half an hour of gameplay:
Automata looks good! I am hopeful. Some of Platinum's best games in recent years have avoided PC, leaving us with licensed games like Transformers: Devastation (though Alec quite liked it) and the notgood TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan. (Hey, we all have bills to pay.) Their Scalebound was cancelled too. But this, this looks quite good.
Sadly, still no word on whether we'll get the demo that has been out on PlayStation 4 for months. If you're interested in a non-marketing look at the game, I'd recommend Chip Cheezum's video of the demo. He's a big Platinum fan whose high-skill Let's Play of Metal Gear Rising made me see the game in a whole new way.
Oh, and while normally I wouldn't mention pre-order guff: 1) check out that Valve eye; 2) since the PC edition won't get this t-shirt, we're free to simply enjoy Yoko Taro rolling around:
