You control android soldiers fighting through a war-torn world using both close combat and shooting sections, with the story looping back through the same events from different angles as you progress. Combat mixes sword strikes, gunfire, and even overhead shooter segments depending on the moment. It asks for real commitment to see multiple playthroughs through, and its story becomes much stranger and more emotional the further you go.
Gameplay video
More NieR: Automata The End of YoRHa Edition gameplay on YouTube →Ready to play NieR: Automata The End of YoRHa Edition?
Grab a physical or digital copy from Amazon — prices and availability update live.
This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Screenshots & review notes
The verdict
This is one of the most philosophically ambitious games ever made, and getting it running on Switch, despite technical compromises, is a genuine gift to a new audience.
The mechanics
Combat blends hack-and-slash, bullet-hell and twin-stick shooting fluidly, and the multiple playthroughs required to see the full story never feel like padding.
Presentation
The port takes a visual hit compared to other platforms, with softer textures and dips in busy fights, but the haunting, melancholic world design still shines through.
Staying power
A must-play for anyone who missed it originally, portability included. Just know upfront that its structure demands multiple full runs to really pay off.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
You play an android in a black dress and blindfold, walking a ruined, overgrown Earth armed with a sword and a floating companion drone that also shoots enemies for you. Combat mixes fast melee swings with dodging, and the camera and controls shift constantly, sometimes pulling into a side view like an old arcade shooter, sometimes zooming out for a top-down dodge-everything bullet pattern. In your first ten minutes you're already piloting a flying mech, then leaping out of it to fight on foot, so the game trains you to expect the rules to change without warning.
You'll spend your time completing missions for a resistance camp, exploring ruined cities and amusement parks for side quests, and fighting robotic enemies that range from mindless drones to oddly poignant machines with their own small stories. The game asks you to finish it, then start over as a different character to see the same events from another angle, and a third playthrough after that reveals the real shape of the story; each pass takes considerably less time than the last. Difficulty is adjustable at any moment, including an option that lets your equipped chips fight almost automatically if you just want to see what happens next.
Session to session it swings between quiet walks through grass-covered rubble with a soft piano soundtrack and loud, chaotic fights where the screen fills with glowing orbs you have to weave through. Some stretches are deliberately slow, and the running back and forth for side quests can drag if you try to do everything, though fast travel points take the edge off. It suits someone who wants an action game with an unusual, melancholy story and does not mind a game that breaks its own rules for effect; if you only want straightforward combat, the odd structure may frustrate you.