NieR:Automata™
NieR:Automata™ screenshot 1NieR:Automata™ screenshot 2
ActionRPGHack and SlashGreat SoundtrackStory RichFemale ProtagonistSpectacle fighter

443 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 754

Peak in the last 7 days: 985

NieR:Automata™ Steam store

Game description

NieR: Automata tells the story of androids 2B, 9S and A2 and their battle to reclaim the machine-driven dystopia overrun by powerful machines.

Basic info

DeveloperSquare Enix, PlatinumGames Inc.
PublisherSquare Enix
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateMar 17, 2017
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 7 /8.1 /10 64bit
ProcessorIntel Core i3 2100 or AMD A8-6500
Memory4 GB
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 VRAM 2GB or AMD Radeon R9 270X VRAM 2GB
Storage50 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 423 reviews from the past 1 year

87.8/ 100
Top 30%

Steam rating: Very Positive (87%)

Metacritic: 84 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 21, 2026)

Reviewers keep returning to the philosophy behind its android war, and NieR:Automata™ scores 87.8 from 423 analyzed reviews.

👍 Strengths

194 reviews praise the story, saying its depth unfolds across several playthroughs and its questions about meaning stay with them long after the ending. Story & World ranks 57th of 1096. 62 rave about the music, with some calling the soundtrack unforgettable and a few still listening to it outside the game. Visuals & Sound ranks 156th of 1249. 27 say they loved it and found it deeply engaging, emotional and at times traumatic, and a few call it hard to put down. Content Volume ranks 351st of 1351.

👎 Where it falls short

31 reviews find the controls awkward at first, and some single out keyboard and mouse play or clumsy menus, suggesting a controller instead. 26 say parts of it are confusing or hard to reach, citing weak map guidance and invisible walls, and some note the missing Simplified Chinese option. 25 feel side quests and open areas turn repetitive, with some backtracking. Gameplay ranks 715th of 1396, and Tech & Support ranks 774th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“story reveals amazing depth across multiple playthroughs” · 194 reviews
“music is top-tier, story is excellent” · 62 reviews
“top 10 greatest games ever made, perfect 10/10 experience” · 27 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 49% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +2.66 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “freedom to build playstyle without restriction” · 3 reviews
Negative “weird gameplay mechanics stripped away” · 3 reviews

Progression 9% · Difficulty 10% · Onboarding 12% · Freedom 9% · Controls & feel 28%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 84% of reviews · Top 10% of the games we've analyzed

Story +4.05 · Plot, quests, writing, and the ending
Positive “story reveals amazing depth across multiple playthroughs” · 194 reviews
Negative “many unanswered questions in the story” · 10 reviews

Characters 34% · World 44%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 38% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Replayability +3.39 · Reasons to play again — runs, randomness, New Game+
Positive “multiple endings and side missions provide substantial replayability” · 6 reviews
Negative “only completed one ending, lazy to replay for others” · 2 reviews

Volume 14% · Variety 19%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 64% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Audio +4.60 · Music, sound effects, and voice acting
Positive “music is top-tier, story is excellent” · 62 reviews
Negative “lacks Russian voice acting” · 1 review

Visuals 31%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 1% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +3.50 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 1% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 7% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.09 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “9S hacking system extremely overpowered trivializes encounters” · 3 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 3% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 10% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Performance -0.10 · Frame rate, optimization, and loading times
Negative “weak PC port without mods can have problems” · 14 reviews

Stability 3% · Developer support 2%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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