Skip to main content

The mystery of Nier: Automata’s secret church door has been solved

Over the past four days, fans of Nier: Automata and bystanders alike have been collectively obsessing over a newly discovered secret. This was all due to a door found in the popular action roleplaying game. It was no ordinary door that players simply missed on their multiple playthroughs needed to beat Nier; it was one that apparently only one person in the history of the game could manage to open. After a week of speculation, we know know why: it was fake.

Someone randomly posted a video on the Nier Automata subreddit showing they found a secret room in the Copied City. So far no one else has worked out how they managed to make this secret door appear. Literally 1 person on earth has accessed this room and we are uttered mind blown pic.twitter.com/g7W4JxiNDg

— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) July 25, 2022

The original clip of the secret door was posted to Reddit four days ago and set the internet on fire. Fans raced to find out just how this single player managed to find this hidden door in a game released five years ago. It was a throwback to the pre-internet 80s era of game secrets, which players recently got a taste of with Elden Ring. Just as you may have felt when your friend told you Charizard was unlockable in Super Smash Bros., many fans were skeptical, but chased the secret anyway.

Apparently the unmasker of this discovery, Redditor Sadfutago, has been on this goose chase for quite some time. Looking through their posts throughout different Nier subreddits shows they’ve been wondering how to unlock and get into the church within the game for two months.

Eternal mystery… https://t.co/crCyL0hZQ3

— 齊藤陽介 Yosuke Saito (@SaitoYosuke_Z) July 26, 2022

Sadfutago’s quest brought us to where we are now: a door that no one but they could enter that even Nier producer Yosuke Saito became puzzled over. Nier: Automata is no stranger to hidden secrets. In fact, the game is full of them, with “the last secret” apparently being found a year ago. So how come we haven’t ever heard of this impossible-to-get-through door until now?

The Nier: Automata church mystery is over. Mod tools are coming soon along with the files for the church! pic.twitter.com/ZIaBXkrB7A

— Tyler (@tylercolp) July 29, 2022

The secret is finally out after days of puzzling: the door is a lie. This elaborate hoax ended up being a mod created to showcase upcoming advanced modding tools coming to Nier: Automata. The creator of this “secret church” mod went to Twitch and showcased a new in-game scenario taking place in new and existing areas.

The moment may have been a lie, but it still proved to be a valuable experience for the game’s community who banded together to solve it. It was a charming throwback to rumors like unlocking Shen Long in Street Fighter 2 and jumping over the original Super Mario Bros. flagpole to unlock hidden levels. Maybe the secret door was truly the friends we made along the way.

Editors' Recommendations

DeAngelo Epps
Former Digital Trends Contributor
De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…
The Nintendo Switch just got 2 surprise games — and they’re both worth grabbing
A teddy beat sits on an embroidery hoop in Stitch.

If you were unable to catch this week's Nintendo IndieWorld showcase, then you missed a surprisingly loaded show. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes got a May release date, WayForward showed off its Yars' Revenge revival, and Steamworld Heist 2 got an exciting reveal. In the midst of all those headlines, two smaller games were surprise released on the platform: Stitch and Sticky Business. Don't sleep on either of them, as they're both worth a purchase.

Both games are ports of previously released games, but both went a bit under the radar upon their original launch. Sticky Business modestly launched last summer on PC, whereas Stitch has actually been around since 2022 as an Apple Arcade exclusive. The latter even has an Apple Vision Pro version now that can be played in mixed reality. I can't blame anyone for missing either, but their Switch releases offer a good opportunity to catch up with some quiet hidden gems.

Read more
Is this Razer’s Steam Deck killer?
The Razer Kishi Ultra sitting on a table.

Razer has been oddly quiet in the burgeoning world of handheld gaming PCs. When I met up with the company at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) to learn about its new products, I was happy to hear it had an answer to the success of the Steam Deck.

But it was not the type of answer I was expecting.

Read more
The best iPhone emulators
A collage of the delta emulator.

The market for iPhone games has become so wide and diverse that it can realistically compete with most console and PC offerings. Where we once only got cheap time-wasters, we now have complete experiences that don't feel any less impressive than what the competition offers. In fact, a lot of games made for consoles are appearing on the iPhone now that it is becoming so powerful. However, older games have paradoxically been mostly absent from the app store. That all could be about to change as emulation is now allowed on iPhone, though with some caveats that any retro fan should know about before getting too excited to play all your favorite NES games on your phone. Here's what's up with iPhone emulators, as well as our picks for a few of the best ones you can get right now.
What you need to know about emulation on iPhone
Emulators on iPhone, as well as emulation in general, are in a strange legal gray zone. Previously, the only way to get an emulator on your iPhone was through some workarounds that generally involved jailbreaking your phone, That differs from Android, which has enjoyed native emulators for years. In 2024, Apple updated its App Store guidelines to allow for emulators on its store, but with some important restrictions.

Here's the exact wording: "Apps may offer certain software that is not embedded in the binary, specifically HTML5 mini apps and mini games, streaming games, chatbots, and plug-ins. Additionally, retro game console emulator apps can offer to download games. You are responsible for all such software offered in your app, including ensuring that such software complies with these guidelines and all applicable laws. Software that does not comply with one or more guidelines will lead to the rejection of your app. You must also ensure that the software adheres to the additional rules that follow in 4.7.1 and 4.7.5. These additional rules are important to preserve the experience that App Store customers expect, and to help ensure user safety."

Read more