Some new details have released for Nier: Automata, the RPG sequel created in collaboration between Square Enix and action game experts Platinum Games.
For more on what’s coming, check out our list of upcoming PC games.
In a recent article in Famitsu, via NeoGAF, the game’s developers laid out how combat works. According to the notes, it’ll be a rather simple system, more concerned with timing than remembering button inputs.
You’ll explore a seamless open-world, getting into combat encounters with enemies you come across along the way. In fights, you’ll perform combos with speed and heavy attacks, switching between them to mix it up. You can also switch weapons mid-combo, adding a little more depth the the balletic battles.
The weapons revealed so far are a one-handed blade, and all-rounder with a good balance of attack power, speed, and range. Then there are the gauntlets, short range weapons capable of blisteringly fast combos, best used against single enemies.
You’ll also have a dodge ability which, when timed to trigger just as the enemy attacks, will grant you invulnerability, letting you launch an immediate counter-attack.
Your robotic pod that follows you around is upgradeable, and you can set it to attack autonomously or use it like a manual projectile, firing lasers, machinegun rounds and more at the enemy.
All going well, we should be able to play a demo by the end of the year, but the developers say they’re releasing more information on that soon. Check out NieR: Automata’s combat in the gameplay video below: