A few times during each generation, a game comes along that leaves a real impression on me. Generally, these kinds of games fly under the radar. A game with no hype to its name, and no marketing push to speak of. Perhaps the game happens to be in a genre that is not considered exceptionally popular at the time. For one reason or another, one of these games ended up in my hands, and I booted it up. I expected to spend an hour, maybe two, playing the game before becoming bored and/or frustrated with its shortcomings as labeled in most mainstream reviews.
But then, something happened.
Maybe it was the story of the title–maybe it was the music, or the pacing, or the atmosphere–but something kept me glued to the screen. I played, and played, and played until reaching the conclusion, which still left me wishing there was more to see and do.
Nowadays, these kinds of games are growing scarcer as development budgets skyrocket. Publishers are becoming less and less likely to take a risk on an unknown IP, especially one with unusual gameplay or story characteristics that wouldn’t necessarily market well to either gaming’s new casual audience or to the hardcore “blockbuster-only” crowd.
Previous generations had titles such as Shadow Hearts, Killer7, God Hand, and Digital Devil Saga I and II. Games that feel more like labors of love, games crafted by game creators and not by a profit-churning, money-printing marketing machine. These games generally have smaller budgets, too, a fact that becomes all the more obvious when looking at a title’s less-than-stellar visuals or gameplay quirks. These reduced production values are often reflected in mainstream reviews. For me, though, a review score does not make or break a game, and the most obvious example of a game that made an impression on me this generation is NIER.
On its surface, NIER doesn’t look like much. After spending only a brief amount of time with the game, it appears to be a fetch-quest-heavy affair with sub-par visuals. Spending more time with the game reveals just how much care went into weaving this tale. The story of NIER definitely falls into the “less is more” method of expressionistic tale-weaving, but it gives the player enough of a plot to get them invested in the characters. As simple as the main plot thread happens to be–a father trying to cure his sick daughter–the context in which the story is told makes it all the more involved. The voice acting gives life to the characters, and calling the vocally-focused soundtrack “great” would be doing it a disservice. Although the gameplay is mainly Zelda-esque action-adventure, several other genres of gameplay (including isometric exploration, bullet hell shmup, and text adventure) are woven into the game, popping up when least expected.
As I said though, the game isn’t perfect. Many reviewers noted the quest-heavy first half, “plain” visuals, and location recycling. Fewer mentioned the potency of the story, though they did give due credit to the game’s voice acting and soundtrack.
Simply put, the “world” of NIER is what drew me in and kept me hooked–the story, the presentation, the music. For me, it just clicked. Everything in the game felt deliberate, rather than a consequence of a limited budget. I enjoyed it in spite of its faults. Though far from a blockbuster, the game succeeded very well at what it was trying to do. It was something different, a gulp of fresh water in a very crowded “red ocean.” And because of that, it most certainly made an impression on me, and I believe it to be a more potent and rewarding gaming experience than most review scores would let on.
