‘Nier: Automata’ On Switch Is A Fantastic Port Of A Phenomenal Game

Switch ports fall into only one of two categories: good or bad. After over five years of having Nintendo’s lesser-powered but brilliantly portable console in our lives, us sticklers for the system have made our peace with the odd rough texture or remodelled lighting system, and we accept the minor compromises when the overall experience is still a terrific one, especially when you can take it to bed or onto the bus. That’s why we can warmly recommend releases like Alien: Isolation and The Witcher 3 on Switch, and not so much efforts like The Outer Worlds and (heartbreakingly) Life is Strange.

Check out the 2B character trailer for Nier: Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition below…

So it’s a pleasure to confirm that Nier: Automata - a game featured in our own greatest games of all time (at number 61) and our best games of the 2010s list (at 22) - falls into the former category. On first impressions, as I’ve managed only two hours with the port so far (bit of a caveat that, as who knows what’ll happen when 2B gives way to 9S and subsequently to A2, across the game’s essential repeat playthroughs), this is an exemplary example of how to make a game well known on other platforms shine on Switch - so plenty of credit needs to go the way of Virtuos, who handled the project. Playing handheld on OLED everything is sharp and crisp, movement fluid, combat punchy and maps and menu screens crystal clear. The music, such a striking and moving element of the game’s release in 2017, is as stirring as it ever was, and even in the very early stages of a multifaceted and cerebral adventure the unique melancholy of this title is palpable. 

Square Enix

Dock your Switch and there’s an obvious difference between how Nier: Automata looks on this hardware - releasing as The End of YoRHa Edition, with included 3C3C1D119440927 DLC (largely cosmetic items and supplementary activities) - compared to how it appears on PC or other consoles. But while there’s some detectable blurriness, some lack of clarity on environmental assets, never is the game’s performance pinched. This was never a stunner, looks wise, but it was always consistent aesthetically and enveloping with it - and that carries over to Switch perfectly. And 2B’s elegant attacks and Witch Time-y dodges - this is a PlatinumGames-developed joint, so they’re allowed the mechanic - always feel incredibly responsive, ensuring that while combat can be punishing (your chosen level of difficulty being a factor there, of course) it’s always fair.

I’m not going to dive deeply into the story of Nier: Automata here, as this is more a piece confirming that this thing runs brilliantly on Switch than a full review. But in short, not everything is as it seems, and while it’s a twisty and turny affair that’ll sometimes have you scratching that skull of yours even as you dispatch untold legions of funny-looking robot foes, this tale goes to places that no other game has touched. That’s largely thanks to the unique creative vision of director Yoko Taro, who draws from his Drakengard series to underpin the events and action of this multiple-endings experience. You’ll feel a great sadness pull at you the further you travel into this odd yet affecting game, but don’t forget to manage your characters’ various plug-ins and load-outs, as when the combat begins in Nier: Automata, you’d better be packing the right tools.

Square Enix

An action-centric role-player quite unlike any others of the last five years, Nier: Automata’s arrival on Switch brings with it a platform-exclusive extra: motion controls. I tried them and switched back to using the usual button configuration, but your mileage may vary. The left Joy-Con serves as your dodge - simply waggle to duck out of the way of incoming attacks - while swipes with the right ‘Con control the weak and strong swings of 2B’s sword. It’s basic, and I can’t see many players choosing to go right through the game with motion controls on, but hey, it’s an option. So too is playing on what’s a super-easy mode where attacks and evasive manoeuvres are essentially automated (you can switch that on and off, though). But where there’s the smooth there’s also the rough, and an ultra-hard mode is available in the menu at any time should you want the most modest of foes to one-hit kill you.

Nier: Automata on Switch is more than good enough to finish endings A to E all over again if you’ve done it already - this time from the comfort of wherever the hell you like. And for newcomers, this port is of such a high standard that you’re guaranteed to not come away feeling you’ve had an inferior experience compared to that of pals who played this wonderfully singular hack-and-slash-and-cry-a-bit ‘em up on other platforms. It’s a showcase for how the Switch really needn’t be a ‘lesser’ system than its console-generation peers, when a port’s in the right hands.

Nier: Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition releases for Nintendo Switch on October 6 2022. Code for this coverage was provided by the publisher, Square Enix.