Square Enix have announced that Nier Replicant will be launching on April 23rd for Europe and America, with a Japanese release set for a day earlier, on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. To reveal this news, Square Enix published a brand new trailer as part of Toyko Game Show 2020, which you can watch at the top of the page.
So What Is Nier Replicant?
Nier Replicant is a remake of a previously Japan-exclusive action RPG, kind of, and prequel to the smash hit Nier Automata. It’s also a sequel to one of Drakengard’s many endings, which is a whole other kettle of fish in and of itself.
The original Nier launched on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010 worldwide, but there were two versions: Replicant and Gestalt. Gestalt saw a father racing to find a cure for his daughter’s sickness, while Replicant focused on a brother and sister. While the majority of the world only saw Gestalt, Japan saw the release of Gestalt on Xbox 360 and Replicant on PS3, and it’s Replicant that’s being re-released next year. Got all that?
What’s New With The Remake?
The remake, which is being primarily developed by ToyLogic, has been produced in partnership with PlatinumGames, who developed Automata, to completely revamp the game’s core combat, making for a much faster-paced game overall. On top of that, there’s improved graphics, animations and voice-over work, making for a more well-rounded game as a result. Hopefully, it still keeps the text-based dungeons and horrendous lighting bloom that occurred when moving from indoors to outdoors. You know, just for nostalgia’s sake.
Will There Be A Next-Gen Version?
Currently, Nier Replicant has only been confirmed for PS4 and Xbox One (along with PC), but given what we know about next-gen consoles and backwards compatibility, you should still be able to play Replicant on your shiny new PS5 or Xbox Series X. Whether it’ll receive any fancy benefits is another story, but we’ve reached out to Square Enix for comment.
READ MORE: Nier: Automata (PS4) REVIEW – An Outstanding Title
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