Yoko Taro’s Nier: Automata is the eccentric director’s magnum opus, delivering consistently subversive gameplay to complement a story bolder and more complex than almost every other game to come before it. While many of Taro’s previous games were met with a mixed critical reception, the decision to partner with renowned action PlatinumGames helped to make Automata‘s combat on par with anything else in the industry, and Platinum director Hideki Kamiya feels that the game may have even saved the studio.
“Nier‘s success has, to this point, given Platinum a new fan base, a growing staff, a brilliant success story, an increase in qualified job applicants, and a great benefit,” Kamiya wrote on Twitter in a post translated by a NeoGAF user. “Normally, I can’t help but do everything by myself. It’s a pitiful story, but to say that Yoko-san saved Platinum would not be an exaggeration. I cannot thank him enough.”
Nier: Automata wasn’t just a critical success, but a commercial one, as well. The game has sold well over 1 million copies thus far, which is much higher than publisher Square Enix had anticipated, and the game’s producer even hinted that this could lead to a remastered version of the original Nier.
Previously, Taro had worked with the now-defunct studio Cavia to developer the original Nier as well as games in its sister series, Drakengard. He partnered with Access Games for Drakengard 3 before joining forces with PlatinumGames. Shortly after the game’s release, he parted ways with the studio, though we wouldn’t be shocked to see him return for the all-but-inevitable follow-up.
Many of PlatinumGames’ other recent projects haven’t generated the same buzz. Both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan and The Legend of Korra were poorly received, and Star Fox Zero‘s strange control scheme didn’t help what was already essentially a remake of Star Fox and Star Fox 64. The developer’s action-role-playing game Scalebound seemed to show promise, but the Xbox One and PC-exclusive title was canceled by Microsoft earlier this year.
Most recently, PlatinumGames has teased remastered games for the Nintendo Switch. Last month, the developer posted artwork from the first two Bayonetta games, with blue and red backgrounds similar to the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers. We’ve heard little else in the following weeks, but we’re certainly hoping the ass-kicking witch will make her way to the system.
