Nier: Automata and what it means to become a god
Nier: Automata definitely felt more immersive than any other game I have played; that’s including very compelling storytelling games like Firewatch. Most videogames excel on one or two elements, like gameplay, stories, visuals, or music. Nier: Automata is one of those rare gems that excel in all of them. The version I played was Nier: Automata Become as Gods Edition.
What I played:
I have not played the other Nier games, so I cannot speak to the story as a whole. In Nier: Automata, Earth has become the front lines of a war between alien invaders and humans. A troop of androids who call themselves YoRHa fight on behalf of humans, and robots fight on behalf of the aliens. Centuries after humans have abandoned the planet for the safety of space, androids 2B and 9S stumble upon a new type of machine lifeform; not quite robot and not quite android. The pair of new lifeforms call themselves Adam and Eve (even though they both appear to be male) and they reveal to the androids that the aliens who invaded Earth have long been dead. As 2B and 9S continue their journey, they meet a tribe of machines who have been disconnected from the machine network and led by a machine named Pascal. As the war intensifies, 9S learns that the commander of the androids hid the fact that humans have also been dead for a long time. A virus spreads among the androids, which causes them to destroy each other. 9S manages to slow the progression long enough to seek revenge, and stumbles upon an old foe; an android named A2. Both A2 and 9S have to make a choice: for 9S its to complete his revenge against YoRHa, and for A2 its to try and prevent the destruction ofthe last remnants of human DNA and records that are safeguarded on the moon.
What I experienced:
The summary above does not completely capture all of the ideas presented in the game, but it does touch on the idea I would like to talk about. The death of God.
This is a concept in the philosophy of Nihilism which was championed most famously by Friedrich Nietzsche. In Automata, the aliens and humans are the literal creators of the robots and the androids respectively. Both were designed to serve the will of their creators, and had a clear purpose for existing. But with both sides gods literally dead, they discover their war has been meaningless. The two sides handle this news differently.
The higher ranking androids made the decision to falsify broadcasts from humans and supply missions to keep up the appearance that their gods were still present. In essence, they created a religion to give themselves a sense of purpose. Those androids who did not follow the religion were all hunted down and killed. The thought was if androids are allowed to exist without god, it will only bring chaos. Freedom of thought and choice are messy, after all.
The robots had a different experience. All of them were connected in a sort of hive mind through a network; they would receive commands from the aliens and simply carried out those commands. The robots evolved quickly because of this hive mind and killed their alien creators. However, after so many years of not receiving any commands, some chose to disconnect from the network. Free to think for themselves, the robots sought a purpose.
Many of them found some solace in imitating the society that they wiped out centuries ago. Adam and Eve become a new type of machine lifeform. They are not made of metal like the robots, but they are not quite an android either. Both Adam and Eve are able to save and upload their memories into the network whenever they wish, which brings a form of immortality. However, Adam becomes fascinated with the human experience and how their short life spans brought meaning to their existence. He cuts himself off from the network just to experience death like a human. Through death, Adam becomes like the god of the androids.
Eve was more of a classic villain in that be believed he and his brother were a higher level of lifeform. He looked down upon the robots and androids and only wanted to spend time with his brother, the only other one like him. When his brother dies, he is so afraid to be alone he turns to a destructive form of Nihilism. If his reason for being was destroyed, so must everything else.
The gameplay itself plays a role in the conveying the philosophy of the meaninglessness of war itself. When you first start the game, you fight robots that are attacking you so there was a clear enemy to fight. However, when you first enter the City Ruins, the robots are peacefully walking around and do not attack unless you attack them. This happens again at the Amusement Park where they choose to emulate the festive atmosphere and ignore you unless you attack. Since we were told robots are evil, the player is inclined to attack anyways. 9S feeds into it and says that they are not sentient so it is okay to destroy them. But then you get an opportunity to play as a robot during the introduction to 9S’ story, which adds weight to your actions.
I actually felt guilty attacking a robot who was not attacking me, and so after destroying (killing?) a few robots I stopped engaging in combat in those areas. When the leader of a friendly village of robots approached with an offer of peace, I felt more inclined to help as a result. I became much more involved in the story, and wanted to learn what exactly happened in this world I was thrown in.
After defeating Eve from 2B and 9S perspective, you get a second chapter that brings about new experiences as well. You switch off between 9S and A2 at certain story junctures, with narration between their pods (AI machines) giving an extra bit of commentary about the created caring for their creators. The pods share data to try and keep both of the androids alive, because without them then the pods would not have a reason to exist. They would just remain idle until either their power supply runs out or eventually fall into disrepair. The death of one god lends for the subjects to become a god themselves, all with the goal of trying to find meaning.
In conclusion:
This post focuses on only one idea that I felt was present throughout the whole experience of the game. There’s a slew of other Existential philosophical ideas through the side missions as well. The developers like philosophy so much they named several characters after some very famous philosphers (Blaise Pascal, Jean-Paul Sarte, Simone de Beauvoir). Even the true ending of the game has a greater message, in which once you have completed the main endings you have the choice to help another player online gain the true ending as well, but at the expense of your own saved game. The game is so well thought out and so well produced, it has easily become one of my favorite games of all time. And we all know there are so many great games out there. If you have not played it, I recommend you do so and experience it for yourself.