In the latest episode of PlayStation Underground, the PlayStation Blog sat down with members of Square Enix to play NieR: Automata on PlayStation 4. During the 29-minute gameplay video, you’ll get to see the Android resistance camp, early open-world gameplay, and some combat (beginning at 3:25).
Over on the PS Blog, Square Enix Marketing Lead Francis Santos offered up some details on the open world and backstory of NieR: Automata:
The world is in ruins, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t hidden caches strewn across the harsh, dystopian landscapes. The game is open world, and with double jumps, mid-air dashes, and super speed, 2B can reach heights and treasures that no mere human ever could.
Mankind has fled to the moon… but life is not completely gone. Yes, don’t forget about the wildlife that inhabits Earth! Using special items to lure them, you can mount creatures to traverse the world and even attack your foes until they’re scrap metal.
If you die in NieR: Automata, your memory and data are uploaded into a new body. If you return to the spot of your death, you can either retrieve the body for a bonus or attempt to repair it. Santos adds, “If players attempt to repair, they could be successful and reactivate the body to help in battle. Players can also be unsuccessful, as the body may have become corrupt, causing it to become hostile. If players defeat their former selves, they gain an enhanced bonus.”
As part of an article where they interviewed Director Taro Yoko, VG247 said NieR: Automata also allows you to leave haiku-style messages near your corpse. Since Square Enix isn’t talking about online features yet, they wouldn’t explain why.
Additionally, in an interview with the European PS Blog, it was mentioned that NieR: Automata includes a Really Hard mode where one hit equals death.
NieR: Automata releases on March 7 in North America and March 10 in Europe for PlayStation 4. A demo is available through the PlayStation Store.
[Source: PS Blog (1), (2), VG247]
