Square Enix has a pretty jam packed schedule of releases over the next six months with World of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts 2.8, and the new entry in the NieR seris, Automata. In a new issue of Famitsu, Square Enix and Platinum Games divulged a ton of new details on NieR: Automata, covering its battle system, weapons, and a new feature called Auto Mode.
Battle System
NieR: Automata is set in the distant future, after humans have fled to the moon because of powerful mechanical invaders dispatched by otherworldly beings. You play as YoRHa No. 2 Model B, who’s a part of a bran new android unit sent to reclaim the earth. Battles happen seamlessly as you run into enemies in the game’s world, and it’s a simple system that uses two button inputs. Light attacks are mapped to the square button while heavy attacks are on the triangle button, and your character will unleash a combo of attacks as you press each.
There’s an evasion ability mapped to the R2 button, and you can combine it with the directional stick to do arc like dodges across the battlefield. Knowing when to attack and when to dodge is a big part of the flow of Automata’s battle system.
Weapons
Automata features a selection of different weapons that you can use to bring down your enemies with everything from swords, to melee weapons, and guns. A Pod support system follows your character around and by hitting R1, you can use it to gun down enemies. The Pod will automatically lock onto enemies when you’re using it, or you can lock on by using L2. Additionally, you’ll gather resources throughout the game that will allow you to upgrade the Pod and make it stronger.
Different close quarter weapons can be used in the game, and you’ll have the option to switch between them on the fly. A one handed sword is balanced in power, speed, and range letting you chain combos together easily. Contrary to that, the giant two-handed sword you have is slow and cumbersome, decimating enemies but leaving you open to attacks. Additionally, there will be other melee weapons to use like gauntlets, that have a fast attack rate and put you right up in enemies faces.
Auto Mode
As Automata will attract a fair amount of RPG fans, the developers have included an “Auto Mode” for those who may not be as skilled at action games. This mode is can be altered in a few different ways, and is restricted ton only being used on the easy difficulty. With it your character will attack and evade on their own, and all you need to do is move them around the screen. You can even set how much the game uses it, by assigning it to only be used for close attacks, ranged attacks, evasion, or a mix of the three.
NieR: Automata launches on February 23, 2017 exclusively for PlayStation. You can take a look at even more brand new screenshots released by Famitsu down below. If you missed it a few months ago, you can also watch the game’s trailer from E3.
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