By Kaan Serin

Copyright gamesradar

Skip to main content

GamesRadar+
The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love

View Profile

Search GamesRadar+

Game Insights

Games Features

Games Reviews

Games Guides

The Big Preview

On The Radar

Future Games Show

Action Games

Action RPGs

Adventure Games

Third Person Shooters

Xbox Series X

Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Switch 2

Tabletop Gaming

Grand Theft Auto

Assassin’s Creed

Monster Hunter

The Elder Scrolls

Entertainment

Anime Shows

Sci-Fi Shows

Superhero Shows

Animated Shows

Marvel TV Shows

Star Wars TV Shows

DC TV Shows

Movie Reviews

Superhero Movies

Action Movies

Sci-Fi Movies

Anime Movies

Horror Movies

Marvel Movies

Apple TV Plus

Disney Plus

Amazon Prime Video

Marvel Comics

Toys & Merch

Toys & Collectibles

Dungeons and Dragons

Hardware News

Hardware Reviews

Hardware Features

Desktop PCs

Peripherals

Headsets & Headphones

TVs & Monitors

Gaming Mice

Gaming Keyboards

Gaming Chairs

Speakers & Audio

Accessories & Tech

Gaming Controllers

SSDs & Hard Drives

Accessories

Buying Guides

Newsletters

Retro Gamer

Game Insights

Games Features

Games Reviews

Games Guides

The Big Preview

On The Radar

Future Games Show

Action Games

Action RPGs

Adventure Games

Third Person Shooters

View Platforms

Xbox Series X

Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Switch 2

Tabletop Gaming

Franchises

Grand Theft Auto

Assassin’s Creed

Monster Hunter

The Elder Scrolls

Entertainment

View Entertainment

View TV Shows

Anime Shows

Sci-Fi Shows

Superhero Shows

Animated Shows

Marvel TV Shows

Star Wars TV Shows

DC TV Shows

View Movies

Movie Reviews

Superhero Movies

Action Movies

Sci-Fi Movies

Anime Movies

Horror Movies

Marvel Movies

View Streaming

Apple TV Plus

Disney Plus

Amazon Prime Video

View Comics

Marvel Comics

Toys & Merch

Toys & Collectibles

Dungeons and Dragons

View Hardware

Hardware News

Hardware Reviews

Hardware Features

Desktop PCs

Peripherals

View Peripherals

Headsets & Headphones

TVs & Monitors

Gaming Mice

Gaming Keyboards

Gaming Chairs

Speakers & Audio

Accessories & Tech

Gaming Controllers

SSDs & Hard Drives

Accessories

Buying Guides

Newsletters

Retro Gamer

Gaming Magazines

Why subscribe?

Subscribe from just £3
Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
Try a single issue or save on a subscription
Issues delivered straight to your door or device

From£9.99Subscribe now

Dying Light: The Beast
Borderlands 4 review
Battlefield 6
New Games for 2025

Don’t miss these

Action RPGs
“My producer will get really mad if he hears this”: Nier creator Yoko Taro says “how slow I am” defines his writing style, but he’s “sneaky” enough to get away with the consequences

Action RPGs
“I think this is the future that games are holding for us”: Nier Automata’s Yoko Taro thinks tech advancements like “AI’s generative capabilities” will see game interactivity “evolve into fulfilling what the players want”

Action RPGs
Nier Automata’s infamously quirky creator Yoko Taro has been an enigma for years, and now the legendary RPG veteran is getting an entire book filled with interviews that are sure to be unmissable

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s possible endings aren’t particularly cheery because the French JRPG’s creative lead likes “really sad stories” and wanted to give players “an impossible choice”

Action RPGs
Former Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma 2 director says he can’t make “the kind of games I’d most like to” as “they’d be too out there” and “probably wouldn’t sell”

Action RPGs
“FromSoftware was my very first job after graduating”: Legendary Bloodborne and Elden Ring composer says she’d watch the games in debug mode “partly because I couldn’t beat the boss myself”

Action Games
I’m glad the heatwave is over, because if it wasn’t I’d think I hallucinated these weird Death Stranding 2 moments, from dancing dolls to sci-fi directors fighting while making pizza

Former Square Enix exec says the developer “has spent two decades slowly moving away from being a content business” after accidentally predicting the rise of AI: “But the sun set on their opportunity to transition”

Simulation Games
“Make games and die. That’s my plan”: Coincidence’s Zach Barth on making games about making things, a year of teaching, and being in it for the long haul

Action RPGs
You can put Dragon’s Dogma 2 alongside Space Marine 2 and Helldivers 2 as a sterling example of what happens when you stop trying to make AAA games for everyone: “It’s normal if some people outside that target audience don’t like the game”

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lead says the hit French JRPG is just “one of the stories that we want to tell in this franchise,” but thinks “the only way” to succeed “is to ignore the first game completely”

Adventure Games
“The era of game mechanics is over”: Shadow of the Colossus director says games have explored so many ideas that “whether you like it or not, it’s better to sharpen the existing mechanics”

Hideo Kojima says he makes games because an HR person told him to be creative after he decided job-hunting is “a place where lies meet lies”: “I was a Showa era detective trying to solve a murder case”

Action Games
Death Stranding 2 and risky game connoisseur Hideo Kojima says too many AAA games play it safe: “If there is no risk, there won’t be any good things that would be born”

Action Games
As Hideo Kojima celebrates Death Stranding 2’s release, he says “there were moments when I truly felt like we might never finish this game”

Action RPGs

Nier: Automata

When making Nier Automata, Yoko Taro “aimed for a story I’d have trouble grasping myself” and “attempted to make something more confusing” than Replicant

Kaan Serin

20 September 2025

Nierly there

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: PlatinumGames)

Nier Automata’s writer and director Yoko Taro didn’t really know where to start when making the now iconic game, so he just aimed to create something even more confusing than his past work that even he’d “have trouble grasping.” No wonder it’s full of 26 endings and even more twisty turns.

Speaking to Archipel in a video breaking down his creative process, the enigmatic game dev explained that he wants to change his “starting point each time” with new projects. “Drakengard depicts a dark and violent story, whereas Nier Replicant is themed around sorrow,” he explained.

A look at Yoko Taro’s writing process – Interview – YouTube

In the case of Nier Automata, he also wanted “something different to write” but wasn’t quite sure what that meant. “At the time, there wasn’t really something set in stone that I wanted to do. I had already built a story that raises emotion with Replicant.” Taro’s solution? To “create something more confusing with Automata.”

You may like

“My producer will get really mad if he hears this”: Nier creator Yoko Taro says “how slow I am” defines his writing style, but he’s “sneaky” enough to get away with the consequences

“I think this is the future that games are holding for us”: Nier Automata’s Yoko Taro thinks tech advancements like “AI’s generative capabilities” will see game interactivity “evolve into fulfilling what the players want”

Nier Automata’s infamously quirky creator Yoko Taro has been an enigma for years, and now the legendary RPG veteran is getting an entire book filled with interviews that are sure to be unmissable

“At the very beginning, the story’s frame started with Simone’s character. It’s this big female robot that sings on stage. In Replicant, you always fight enemies understanding the reason why you do so. This time around, it’s impossible to feel empathy. She devotes herself to a man as she dresses with corpses. I added this trait that players can’t relate to. Automata’s story progresses while holding some of these situations that are difficult to understand. I aimed for a story I’d have trouble grasping myself,” Taro said.

Knowingly creating a semi-confusing story isn’t the only unusual method Taro has up his sleeve. The game dev also recently said he begins writing by “showing quick progress” to his producer, “then I gradually get slower and slower” – a sneaky tactic to avoid the consequences of procrastination, perhaps.
Nier creator Yoko Taro reckons “there’s less ‘weird people'” making games nowadays although he’s not sure if it’s “something that’s happening to the world as a whole”

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

See more Xbox Series X News

Xbox Series X

PlayStation

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

“My producer will get really mad if he hears this”: Nier creator Yoko Taro says “how slow I am” defines his writing style, but he’s “sneaky” enough to get away with the consequences

“I think this is the future that games are holding for us”: Nier Automata’s Yoko Taro thinks tech advancements like “AI’s generative capabilities” will see game interactivity “evolve into fulfilling what the players want”

Nier Automata’s infamously quirky creator Yoko Taro has been an enigma for years, and now the legendary RPG veteran is getting an entire book filled with interviews that are sure to be unmissable

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s possible endings aren’t particularly cheery because the French JRPG’s creative lead likes “really sad stories” and wanted to give players “an impossible choice”

Former Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma 2 director says he can’t make “the kind of games I’d most like to” as “they’d be too out there” and “probably wouldn’t sell”

“FromSoftware was my very first job after graduating”: Legendary Bloodborne and Elden Ring composer says she’d watch the games in debug mode “partly because I couldn’t beat the boss myself”

Latest in Action RPGs

Bloodborne remake hopefuls, brace yourselves: Insider says “nothing is happening with Bloodborne, so don’t expect that”

The demo for the follow-up to one of the best indie action RPGs ever is now on Steam, and folks, Alabaster Dawn might be even better than CrossCode

“I think this is the future that games are holding for us”: Nier Automata’s Yoko Taro thinks tech advancements like “AI’s generative capabilities” will see game interactivity “evolve into fulfilling what the players want”

“My producer will get really mad if he hears this”: Nier creator Yoko Taro says “how slow I am” defines his writing style, but he’s “sneaky” enough to get away with the consequences

As Borderlands 4 gets a PC performance-improving patch, creative director promises there’s “more in the pipe” and “we have some great fixes in the console patch” that’ll be released as “soon as it’s ready”

“The most broken weapon in Borderlands 4” is a purple shotgun that makes damage numbers go brrr: “Nothing’s going to take really more than one shot”

Latest in News

When making Nier Automata, Yoko Taro “aimed for a story I’d have trouble grasping myself” and “attempted to make something more confusing” than Replicant

Jason Momoa promises, “There’s no one better to play Blanka” in Street Fighter than Jason Momoa

Stephen King reveals the horror movie that got “its cold little fingers under [his] skin”

Weapons director Zach Cregger gives a disappointing update on his potential DC project: “I don’t think it really fits”

James Gunn says he was told to swap the iconic Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack for “Britney Spears like ’90s songs”

“I knew the PlayStation was much better”: Programmer behind legendary PS1 horror game tried to duck out of Virtual Boy development because he knew the VR console “wasn’t going to sell well”

GAME REVIEWS
MOVIE REVIEWS

Dying Light: The Beast review – “A playful sandbox of horror and mayhem with a surprising amount of depth”

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds review: “Even more frantic than Mario Kart World, this has the mileage to be a karting favorite”

Lego Voyagers review: “A carefully crafted, playful, and earnest adventure”

There’s now a real version of the Witcher Gwent card game, and it’s just as engrossing as the original

Borderlands 4 review: “Undeniably an excellent looter shooter, but one that requires a bit of tunnel vision to fully enjoy”

One Battle After Another review: “One of the best studio movies in years and an instant classic”

The Conjuring: Last Rites review: “Not bold or memorable enough for the Warrens’ final chapter”

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle review: “Roars past Mugen Train as Demon Slayer’s best adventure yet”

The Long Walk review: “One of the best Stephen King adaptations ever made”

Frankenstein review: “A classy, if somewhat safe, adaptation”

Gen V season 2 review: “As strong as the first season, if not stronger”

Wednesday season 2 part 2 review: “Ortega shines, but it’s a zombie who steals the entire show”

Peacemaker season 2 review: “Darker and sadder than the first year, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids.”

Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: “Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots”

Alien: Earth review: “Arguably the franchise’s strongest outing since James Cameron’s Aliens”

GamesRadar+ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Contact Future’s experts

Terms and conditions

Privacy policy

Cookies policy

Advertise with us

Review guidelines

Write for us

Accessibility Statement

Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,

BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait…