You think you are starting a beat'em up, and you end up questioning what it means to have a conscience.

The community's first instinct, when it picks on gut feeling: NieR: Automata sits ahead of 94% of games. And the detail backs the instinct. For the desert island, it is the very top, ahead of 99% of titles. Connection, rediscovery, art direction, soundtrack, all of it lands in the very top of the board, above 97% of games. The only criterion that dips a little is pure fun, the session you cannot put down, likeable but not at the summit. Controller feel is high too, to confirm on few votes. No tension here: what you love on instinct, you also love on close inspection.

In the landscape of Japanese action, few games combine the sharpness of PlatinumGames combat and an emotional weight that haunts you. Many bring one or the other. This one holds both.

So, who is it for? For you if you want a game that stays with you long after the credits, a soundtrack you replay, a world that dares to ask big questions. Much less if you just want a Sunday-night stress release, with no intention of leaving a piece of yourself behind.