How open is the game / world?

[LaeLena]

Key features mentions: "Beautifully Desolate Open-World – The game seamlessly joins together hauntingly beautiful vistas and locations with no area loading." It is really hard to judge by watching gameplay because most videos focus on combat or only show running around in a fairly small area (don't want to watch walkthroughs and spoil the story).

Can I go where I want, when I want? You know kinda like in FFXV where I could pick up quests and then just ignore them while exploring, enjoying the combat and trying to improve my gear and characters. Or am I forced to follow quests all the time?

[myhr2]

Like many terms that once meant something, "Open-world" is nearly useless now as a category.

But to answer your question, no, you can't go where you want when you want, you unlock the different areas of the game one after another, and said areas may evolve with the story events that unfold. At the end of the story, you indeed have access to the whole map and can travel seemlessly from one end to the other, but I would not call this an "open-world" game, it's not why you should play this game, it's not "The Witcher 3" or "Zelda : Breath of the Wild" open-world, I recommand that you pick it for the intriguing story, the catchy gameplay, and the philisophical feels.

[Nope]

If you have already expect FFXV type of open world then yes NiEr Automata is exactly like that
It's open to certain degree then other area is locked by story progression
It's just not the elder scrolls type of open world where most of the world area is not locked behind a quest or main story

[lPaladinl]

It's not open world at all.

Have you ever played Fable? Older 3d Zelda games like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword?

That's how "open world" NieR:Automata is. Which is to say it's not open world at all. Story locks you into certain areas as it unfolds. Progression is also blocked in some cases by difficulty spikes for alternate paths which are either dead ends with loot or dead ends till the story decides to tell you to go there.

[Krowten]

It's full of invisible walls and enemies that all look the same. Enjoy.

[KenzyBlane]

Originally posted by Krowten:

It's full of invisible walls and enemies that all look the same. Enjoy.

That's the least of the concerns for anyone who has finished the whole game

[myhr2]

Originally posted by Krowten:

It's full of invisible walls and enemies that all look the same. Enjoy.

And neither are selling points of the game, great!

[lessthanoff]

Originally posted by Krowten:

It's full of invisible walls and enemies that all look the same. Enjoy.

Did you ever actually beat the game, after all this time? Or did you do that thing everyone likes to do and only play 1/3, thinking that's the end, while acting completely baffled at why people like it, despite you not having seen the majority of the content/story? I'm guessing based on your achievements, which only show you did Route A, and your review, where you say "I've seen people call this game a masterpiece and I don't know how they are coming to that conclusion" that it's the latter. Awesome.

[AvrorA]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1467069448
The world is pretty opened: you can revisit places of previous battles (except plot related ones, in 9S or A2 stories, for example). Some areas need a key, some need courage, or even guide. I din't discover thru all A, B, C games region beneath the waterfall, thats was a surprise. Also there is a small sewer underneath the Amusement Park, City and Flooded City (oh, and some sort of catacombs in the Desert).

But open/closed world not the biggest issue in this game, unfortunately.

[sammykneen]

Compared to FFXV it’s similar in structure, slightly smaller world, but better story and combat.

[LaeLena]

I think I'll give this game a try. It might not be as open world as I'd like, but the more I watch the combat the more I want to experience it myself.

[Taka]

Originally posted by lessthanoff:

Originally posted by Krowten:

It's full of invisible walls and enemies that all look the same. Enjoy.

Did you ever actually beat the game, after all this time? Or did you do that thing everyone likes to do and only play 1/3, thinking that's the end, while acting completely baffled at why people like it, despite you not having seen the majority of the content/story? I'm guessing based on your achievements, which only show you did Route A, and your review, where you say "I've seen people call this game a masterpiece and I don't know how they are coming to that conclusion" that it's the latter. Awesome.

Well.. he ain't wrong...

[lessthanoff]

About the invisible walls? Sure.

However, beyond the fact that the enemies you fight technically fall under the category of "machines," I don't see how this is the case. Are you going to tell me that a small stubby, a medium flyer, a medium quadruped and linked-sphere all look the same?

How about a medium exploder, goliath biped, small sphere and reverse-jointed goliath?

[lessthanoff]

And this is ignoring the fact that corrupted YoRHa androids become your enemies later on, in Route C, as well as fighting some YoRHa androids earlier on, depending on whether you're doing side quests or not

[DOUBLE [R]]

Some areas are one-time visits. Those are mainly story related areas. After youve visited an area, you can go back whenever you like, with some exceptions.

Keep in mind some missions are playthrough specific, and some are progression based, meaning they will no longer be available to complete once youve progessed through a certain point of the main story quests.

Combat is one of the best parts of this game, considering you can switch weapons in mid-combo, and weapon type and arrangements affect what combos are possible. Combat is only two buttons, but variations like button duration and input orientation create a good arsenel.