It is inherently difficult to surmise what any one thing means to any one person on a deeply personal level. You will never know exactly what thoughts, feelings, and emotions I experienced, nor will you know the level at which I experienced them. The same as I will never understand your inherently deep and personal experiences in life. That being said, I will still attempt to convey exactly such a thing as my review for NieR: Automata.

I genuinely do not think I will ever play another game quite like NieR: Automata. It is so unique, so profound, so emotional, so philosophical, so player-focused, and so artfully and masterfully crafted.

Finishing Automata sent me back to the exact moment when I was sitting in front of the TV playing Shadow of the Colossus as a kid, and had a massive revelation of just how much of a high art form video games are truly capable of being. NieR: Automata sits high atop that throne of masterpieces and outliers that challenge the norm to drive the medium forward.

It challenges what you know about video games and what you think you know about yourself.

Automata is one of those "Game of the Decade" titles that surpasses so many different amazing games in their own right. With music that is so integral as to become part of the actual gameplay. This poignant experience evoking such emotions as despair, loneliness, hope, sorrow, encouragement, enlightenment, anger, hatred, and emptiness. Automata is a true commentary on the state and history of humanity.

You do not come out of NieR: Automata as the same person who first went into the game.

“I've had my share of hardship. Just remember, you're not the only one.”
The end is only the beginning.

Glory to Mankind.

Disclaimer/Backstory:
This game was gifted to me around 2019. I would have the same opinions about this title if I had purchased it on Steam with my own money. I, in fact, enjoyed the game so much (getting to the "true" ending), that I purchased a physical copy with my own funds.

Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic game!
To compare this to Pokémon is to do Cassette Beasts a disservice. Pokémon feels to me as though it has lost its heart and soul. This game plays not like a Pokémon made for kids or to print money but a game made for all ages, and a game made out of love and passion. I'm so ashamed of myself for sleeping on this for so long. I bought it back when it came out and just never got around to playing it until now. Ironically enough, I kind of put it off a bit thinking it would be “yet another Pokémon clone.”

I'll be transparent and say I haven't finished the game, but I'm on track to doing so. It runs well enough on Steam Deck and utilizes the Godot game engine. My playtime has been split between playing on my laptop and playing on my Steam Deck. I leave it set to 50 Hz on Steam Deck, and leave all other battery settings at their default values. Turn off half rate shading if you're using DeckyRecorder. HRS seems to cause some sort of flickering in footage. May cause epileptic episodes if you open footage without realizing you've left HRS on. Steam Deck does get frame drops, and they are noticeable, but due to the nature of the gameplay, they are not game-breaking. I did get some crashes, and I think my issue was limiting the wattage to 13 instead of leaving the limiter off. I have been unable to recreate the crashes after setting wattage back to default. I don’t have an OLED model Steam Deck to compare, but the fans ramp up quite a bit on the old 512 GB LCD model Steam Deck.

Cassette Beasts is 100% what I would call a wholesome and cozy game. It's got some creepiness and some cuteness. It’s got a good amount of diversity. It’s got some heartfelt moments, and some good potential for character development. There’s been some really clever moments that made me go “Huh. That’s interesting,” as well. I think I still have quite a bit left to do, and I've been stumped a couple of times. The game could do with some more hints or giving more guidance on what you're supposed to do next at certain points. It just kind of started to slow down at one point, and I ended up wandering around until I stumbled into what I was supposed to do. This actually happened a couple of times during my play sessions.

There’s some really good music in certain locations and boss battles of this game as well. I was in a cafe at one point and was suddenly hit with some music that took me aback for a moment. I wasn’t expecting that kind of vibe from this game going into it. As a music lover, I can’t help but love the record-themed stages. The first boss encounter had a really good song, as well. Not quite the kind of music I was expecting from this game, but definitely not disappointing by any stretch.

I find the fusion and cassette/recording mechanics to be really interesting. They’re a good twist on the monster collector formula. Type matches and mismatches, abilities, buffs, and debuffs all feel really good to me. They’re fun to play around with, and they make sense in this game’s world. I really like the way the leveling system is implemented as well. I never felt like I was hindered by the beasts I wanted to use. Your beasts level up, evolve, and all that good stuff. However, your player character also levels up. That’s the interesting part. There’s a lot to play around with here, and a lot of interesting twists on the monster collecting genre. It’s really not “just another Pokémon clone.”

To just describe it as “Pokémon but better” or something along those lines is to do Cassette Beasts dirty. It’s so much more than that. It’s a love letter to what made those classic Pokémon and Zelda games great. It wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and it does it in the best way possible.

Pick this one up. Buy it on sale if you want, but I think it’s worth the full asking price.

Edit: I beat the game. I cried. I'm now playing the DLC. Cassette Beasts is definitely worth the asking price. So much so that I've gone back and purchased their previous game, Lenna's Inception, as well.

Edit 2: I nominated Cassette Beasts for the Labor of Love award in the 2024 Steam Autumn Sale because this game still truly feels like the epitome of a labor of love.