Nier

A 7 that feels like an 11 (unlike Automata, which is a 9 that feels like an 8).

Nier is among the most frustrating games I've ever played. It's brilliance is marred by subpar plotting, horrendous technical issues, and filler that would make the most bloated open-world checklist-laden game blush. But the characters, music, ideas, and underlying story (not the way it's told, which is bad) are some of the best in a video game and a showcase for writer-director Yoko Taro's talent. I will forever defend this game because Automata could not exist without it.

Great storytelling, but getting the different endings is quite repetitive. I think I actually preferred the smaller game world over the sprawling expanses of Nier: Automata (which I played first and liked less).

This is one of the most hit and miss games I've ever played. The story can be brilliant at times, but also incredibly dumb. The boss battles can feel epic one moment, but obnoxious at another. The reason why I rate it this high is because I adore the world it created, the creative approach to utilizing game mechanics with plot, and beautiful soundtrack. It's definitely a rough game to play, but it's more interesting to me than most video games, and I generally like interesting more than polish.

this felt like the prototype for something special. seven years later, that something special was released. Automata's brilliance does stem from here, even if it's obscured by the fog of lousy PS3 textures and broken, repetitive gameplay.

People slept on this one and I think in some ways it's actually better than Automata. The music is an example of that, and I think that while they both have incredible stories, this one is also better. It gets points for being the first because all the genre swapping that happened in Automata originated here. It's not the prettiest game and some people hate the combat (I don't), and this may be hard to start off with if you're a fan of the sequel.