From 2D platforming and bosses made of crates to a clan of strangers who speak in windings, today's new extended gameplay trailer for Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139 is one hell of a ride.
Ahead of the Nier remake's release on April 23rd, Square Enix today showed off a 9-minute gameplay segment from The Barren Temple. This is the second proper look we've seen following an action-packed trailer at The Game Awards last December—but while that gave us a whirlwind tour of Nier's hack 'n' slash combat, today's slows down to show off the game's weirder moments.
For someone who has a passing knowledge of the franchise at best, it's an eclectic mix—jumping from some RPG exploration to a light side-scrolling segment, ending with a bullet-hell boss fight against a cube-man with glowing red weak spots. The trailer also ends with a lass saying "I'm gonna kill the shit out of you!" to said cube-man, which gets two thumbs up on my end.
Announced last September, Nier Replicant is a remake of the 2010 precursor to Nier: Automata. The game came in two flavours when it launched on Xbox 360 and PS3 last year—the Japan-exclusive PS3 Replicant version sporting a younger protagonist while Xbox and international players got Gestalt's affectionately-named "Papa Nier".
This remaster is building itself off the former (sorry, pops), featuring a total visual update and full voice-acting from the game's original cast. The combat has been tweaked to be more in-line with Automata's—though both already shared a fair few similarities, including a floating companion who blasts lasers at baddies.
