Can you play this game offline?

[MysteryK]

Without internet connection, that is.

[TheSeek]

Yes, but you'd be missing on some minor feature(corpses of other players appearing on the ground which, when looted, will give temporary boosts).

That said, the ending of this game can't be obtained without internet connection, as one specific mechanic that is required to obtain it only works with network connectivity turned on(no way around this).
The ending can be technically obtained with no connectivity on, but it's insanely more difficult(literally to the poin of giving up), and even if you manage to do it, it's not the intended way, to the point where if obtained like this, you will not see the full extend of the ending(which goes past the cutscene, and the extra part is related to what you can only do with connection on).

[MysteryK]

Thank you.

[rusty_dragon]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

Yes, but you'd be missing on some minor feature(corpses of other players appearing on the ground which, when looted, will give temporary boosts).

That said, the ending of this game can't be obtained without internet connection, as one specific mechanic that is required to obtain it only works with network connectivity turned on(no way around this).
The ending can be technically obtained with no connectivity on, but it's insanely more difficult(literally to the poin of giving up), and even if you manage to do it, it's not the intended way, to the point where if obtained like this, you will not see the full extend of the ending(which goes past the cutscene, and the extra part is related to what you can only do with connection on).

Thanks for the warning. That's a very bad and sad information. Should've been an official warning on the store page.
If such online DRM requirement won't be removed in the update - I won't buy the game. I have tendency to replaying old games that I've liked. And when online servers for the game will go down it will cripple the game.
And online services go down for all games eventually. Look at what's happened with Hitman: Absolution or Warner Brothers games.

[TheSeek]

Originally posted by rusty_dragon:

If such online DRM requirement won't be removed in the update - I won't buy the game. I have tendency to replaying old games that I've liked. And when online servers for the game will go down it will cripple the game.

Just for clarity, this is not an online DRM, it's a quite literal mechanic of the game.
And by that i don't mean a random mechanic which will arbitrarily stop working if you're not connected(which would imply it can work without connection but was randomly locked to such functionality), but a mechanic that is literally based on the concept of being able to connect to others for story reasons(can't say more without heavy spoilers), and since it's part of the story of the game itself it can't be removed.

[rusty_dragon]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

Originally posted by rusty_dragon:

If such online DRM requirement won't be removed in the update - I won't buy the game. I have tendency to replaying old games that I've liked. And when online servers for the game will go down it will cripple the game.

Just for clarity, this is not an online DRM, it's a quite literal mechanic of the game.
And by that i don't mean a random mechanic which will arbitrarily stop working if you're not connected(which would imply it can work without connection but was randomly locked to such functionality), but a mechanic that is literally based on the concept of being able to connect to others for story reasons(can't say more without heavy spoilers), and since it's part of the story of the game itself it can't be removed.

But you can complete the game without it, right? I very rarely play multiplayer in games nowadays.

One more question. Does lack of internet connection cuts part of singleplayer gameplay, like it was with Hitman: Absolution?

[TheSeek]

As i said in my reply to OP's question, you can play the game entirely offline and the only missing feature would be other players' corpses which give temporary boosts when looted.
This is a relatively minor feature which isn't crucial to the game(even if online, you can as example not loot the corpses, the game and story won't be affected).

But internet connection is absolutely required to get the full ending(you can turn it on for the ending alone and keep it off for the rest of the game), and again, this is not done as some sort of DRM, it's an integral part of how the ending(and the concept behind the way it is obtained) works.
This is an extremely story based game, its entire gameplay, some mechanics and the way they work, are all tied to and shaped by its story, and the ending is not an exception, it's entire concept(story wise) and how it works are build around being able to reach out to others.

I don't know how Hitman Absolution worked, never played it, but in the case of this game there's no multiplayer aspect involved, but i wouldn't exactly say that it cuts part of the single player gameplay, cause the entire game is 100% playable without connection, it's just this aspect of the ending which requires network connectivity to be turned on(and be able to connect).
It's really hard to explain more than this without spoilers...what i can say is that the ending is way more than just a cutscene, a very important aspect of the ending is something that happens during it and something you do during it, and neither of these things can happen without internet connection because both rely on the very concept of reaching out to others.

[CrowRising]

Originally posted by rusty_dragon:

Originally posted by TheSeek:

Just for clarity, this is not an online DRM, it's a quite literal mechanic of the game.
And by that i don't mean a random mechanic which will arbitrarily stop working if you're not connected(which would imply it can work without connection but was randomly locked to such functionality), but a mechanic that is literally based on the concept of being able to connect to others for story reasons(can't say more without heavy spoilers), and since it's part of the story of the game itself it can't be removed.

But you can complete the game without it, right? I very rarely play multiplayer in games nowadays.

One more question. Does lack of internet connection cuts part of singleplayer gameplay, like it was with Hitman: Absolution?

First question: Technically yes. One of the endings kinda requires you to use your internet connection during the credits to complete it, but you could simply just go for that ending last and view it on youtube or something. It involves a bullet hell section during the credits which is incredibly hard if not impossible to beat without connecting to the internet. You also get the option to delete your save to assist someone else who reaches that part, but you don't have to do it.

Second question: Nothing vital. Internet is only used during regular gameplay to find corpses which you can absorb to give you temporary buffs. You even get an option to toggle this off if you don't want it, and can beat the game just fine without it.

[TheSeek]

Originally posted by CrowRising:

you could simply just go for that ending last and view it on youtube or something.

I'd heavily advise against this, many concepts behind the way this game was made are about first hand experience instead of watching others do things.
As in, the ending sequence it's not about seeing how everyone comes together to beat this part, it's about YOU struggling with it, about YOU wanting to give up, about YOU receiving those messages of encouragement, about YOU receiving help, the entire emotional aspect of this part of the story literally relies on the fact that the game interacts with the player that is effectively struggling. Viewing all this as an external spectator nullifies the entire concept of the ending.

[CrowRising]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

Originally posted by CrowRising:

you could simply just go for that ending last and view it on youtube or something.

I'd heavily advise against this, many concepts behind the way this game was made are about first hand experience instead of watching others do things.
As in, the ending sequence it's not about seeing how everyone comes together to beat this part, it's about YOU struggling with it, about YOU wanting to give up, about YOU receiving those messages of encouragement, about YOU receiving help, the entire emotional aspect of this part of the story literally relies on the fact that the game interacts with the player that is effectively struggling. Viewing all this as an external spectator nullifies the entire concept of the ending.

I'd generally advise against it too, but it's entirely possible that one day the server you connect to in NieR: Automata will go offline, breaking online features and leaving that ending unbeatable. Seeing what comes after the bullet hell section under that circumstance will be limited to videos unless fans find a way around it.

[TheSeek]

Originally posted by CrowRising:

it's entirely possible that one day the server you connect to in NieR: Automata will go offline, breaking online features and leaving that ending unbeatable.

If my idea/theory on how the system actually works is correct, if that will ever happen, all the game needs to do is connect to the internet itself and it'll still do its thing in a different way(which is already in the game), so as long as internet itself exists, the ending should always be achievable.

[CrowRising]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

Originally posted by CrowRising:

it's entirely possible that one day the server you connect to in NieR: Automata will go offline, breaking online features and leaving that ending unbeatable.

If my idea/theory on how the system actually works is correct, if that will ever happen, all the game needs to do is connect to the internet itself and it'll still do its thing in a different way(which is already in the game), so as long as internet itself exists, the ending should always be achievable.

I sure hope so. It's something I've been paranoid about for a while.

[rusty_dragon]

Originally posted by CrowRising:

Originally posted by rusty_dragon:

But you can complete the game without it, right? I very rarely play multiplayer in games nowadays.

One more question. Does lack of internet connection cuts part of singleplayer gameplay, like it was with Hitman: Absolution?

First question: Technically yes. One of the endings kinda requires you to use your internet connection during the credits to complete it, but you could simply just go for that ending last and view it on youtube or something. It involves a bullet hell section during the credits which is incredibly hard if not impossible to beat without connecting to the internet. You also get the option to delete your save to assist someone else who reaches that part, but you don't have to do it.

Second question: Nothing vital. Internet is only used during regular gameplay to find corpses which you can absorb to give you temporary buffs. You even get an option to toggle this off if you don't want it, and can beat the game just fine without it.

Thanks for the detailed answer. It looks like nothing important is being lost playing offline.

[Kamatsu]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

I don't know how Hitman Absolution worked, never played it, but in the case of this game there's no multiplayer aspect involved,

Just to answer this - Hitman Absolution uses a system where you get no unlocks or anything if you play it offline. Technically you can play the story missions offline, but you can never unlock any of the alternative disguises, weapons, starting points, etc that make the game replayable... so by playing it offline, you will always have the same start in every mission no matter what.

I'd say that is why they brought it up - ie wondering if playing offline cut parts from the single-player experience. Which while it does with the 1 ending (as pointed out by others), the online requirement in Nier is nowhere near the terribleness that it is with Hitman Absolution.