Other flagship single player games released in 2017 have so much better graphics, immersive gameplays, and deeper stories. I'm really scratching my head on NieR fandom and I wonder if its lack of exposure for others to form an objective comparison, or if my tastes have really diverged so heavily.
Nier:Automata remains to date the epitome of playable existentialism, and the characters (and their development) frankly unique, cut more from Camus and Japanese theatre than any sci-fi trope. It also presents a vastly more nuanced and integrated narrative structure. The ruined world is creatively, if somewhat allegorically built, some remarkable visual set-pieces but ultimately not as finely drawn as HZD, the regular switches between game styles keep it interesting instead, the range of optional combat moves is amazing (and superbly animated) and there is downright ingenuity to some of the challenges. Still, only one of these games needs a photo mode.
But this topic is ultimately about soundtracks, in which Nier is absolutely superlative and I can’t even remember HZD’s, and observe that the sonic experience is fully one-half of AV.
Long and short of it, I enjoyed both, but for entirely different reasons, and in both cases enough to motivate 100%-ing them.
Not sure what “fandom” is. Sounds like a sex thing though, so I’m hesitant to look.