NieR: Automata's Plot Has One Fatal Flaw
Hoo boy. It's been awhile, but that's because it's taken me a long time to contemplate and fully digest the profound existential questions posed by NieR: Automata, an action-RPG centered around feral machines with no souls and humanoid robots with no pants. It's published by Square Enix, which we know has never made a bad game.
Spoilers abound in this article as I delve into the one critical flaw I found with this game's plot. You've been warned.
I'll start by saying that I easily predicted that humanity is extinct by the time the game occurs. When the game finally reveals it, I'm not surprised at all. The stiff, seemingly pre-recorded messages of the Council of Humanity and the fact that neither you nor other characters ever encounter a living human being throughout the game kind of give it away.
In other words, the big reveal in the plot was heavily foreshadowed. This is not the flaw.
I am of the opinion that the best plot twists are the ones that you can see coming. The ones where you, the audience, feel rewarded for paying attention. When a story delivers a twist that isn't sufficiently hinted at, the audience feels cheated instead.
NieR: Automata is unique in that it features both a well-crafted major twist and a poorly-crafted one. The final plot twist you get toward the end of the game reveals the machines purposefully held themselves back against the androids in order to perpetuate an endless war.
The reason for this, given in a piece of Intel you receive after the third ending, is because the machines' core programming was to "defeat the enemy." As the machines evolved and grew more intelligent (killing their creators in the process), they "logically" arrived at the conclusion that the only way to perpetually comply with their programming--their reason to exist--was to purposefully never finish off the androids.
Therein lies the flaw. Throughout the game, it's heavily hinted that the machine lifeforms are capable of adapting and evolving. It's shown in your first encounter with Adam, as he levels up mid-fight and gains new abilities to counter yours. Less explicitly, the trash mobs you encounter in the open world get increasingly stronger as the game progresses.
Why, then, can't these super-smart machines evolve beyond their core programming? Or better yet, why don't they conclude instead that after they eliminate all the androids, they should then find new enemies to defeat? Or, you know, conclude that there's nothing wrong with existing just for existence's sake, and that there's no need for a reason?
Instead, we get a convoluted plot that, perhaps by design, had us questioning the point of it all. I like what they were going for, but I don't like how they got there. To me, NieR's first half, basically everything up to the second ending, is a much stronger game than all the events that lead to any of the "true" endings.
But perhaps I'm missing something. Perhaps the machines aren't as smart as I thought. After all, one of the key plot points is that the machines are fascinated by humanity and want to become just like them.
I find it hard to imagine that a highly adaptive, basically immortal networked artificial intelligence would look at one of the most self-destructive, illogical, gross, sweaty creatures on Earth and think, "Yeah, I want some of that."
------
That said, the game is awesome. Fast-paced, pretty combat, locked 60 FPS, talented voice acting, beautiful and haunting atmosphere, flawless soundtrack. 8.5/10. Would recommend.
Spoilers abound in this article as I delve into the one critical flaw I found with this game's plot. You've been warned.
I'll start by saying that I easily predicted that humanity is extinct by the time the game occurs. When the game finally reveals it, I'm not surprised at all. The stiff, seemingly pre-recorded messages of the Council of Humanity and the fact that neither you nor other characters ever encounter a living human being throughout the game kind of give it away.
In other words, the big reveal in the plot was heavily foreshadowed. This is not the flaw.
 |
| Not pictured: humans |
I am of the opinion that the best plot twists are the ones that you can see coming. The ones where you, the audience, feel rewarded for paying attention. When a story delivers a twist that isn't sufficiently hinted at, the audience feels cheated instead.
 |
| Not pictured: pants |
The reason for this, given in a piece of Intel you receive after the third ending, is because the machines' core programming was to "defeat the enemy." As the machines evolved and grew more intelligent (killing their creators in the process), they "logically" arrived at the conclusion that the only way to perpetually comply with their programming--their reason to exist--was to purposefully never finish off the androids.
Therein lies the flaw. Throughout the game, it's heavily hinted that the machine lifeforms are capable of adapting and evolving. It's shown in your first encounter with Adam, as he levels up mid-fight and gains new abilities to counter yours. Less explicitly, the trash mobs you encounter in the open world get increasingly stronger as the game progresses.
 |
| Adam hasn't learned the "pants" ability, either |
Why, then, can't these super-smart machines evolve beyond their core programming? Or better yet, why don't they conclude instead that after they eliminate all the androids, they should then find new enemies to defeat? Or, you know, conclude that there's nothing wrong with existing just for existence's sake, and that there's no need for a reason?
Instead, we get a convoluted plot that, perhaps by design, had us questioning the point of it all. I like what they were going for, but I don't like how they got there. To me, NieR's first half, basically everything up to the second ending, is a much stronger game than all the events that lead to any of the "true" endings.
 |
| Not pictured: a true ending |
But perhaps I'm missing something. Perhaps the machines aren't as smart as I thought. After all, one of the key plot points is that the machines are fascinated by humanity and want to become just like them.
I find it hard to imagine that a highly adaptive, basically immortal networked artificial intelligence would look at one of the most self-destructive, illogical, gross, sweaty creatures on Earth and think, "Yeah, I want some of that."
------
That said, the game is awesome. Fast-paced, pretty combat, locked 60 FPS, talented voice acting, beautiful and haunting atmosphere, flawless soundtrack. 8.5/10. Would recommend.
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