NieR Automata mobile fangame almost looks like an official port
Yoko Taro’s masterful hack-and-slash RPG NieR Automata is making its way to Nintendo Switch. As a much less powerful device than many modern phones, many hoped that NieR Automata mobile would be a reality.
Unfortunately that is not the case for us. However, one fan has taken it upon themselves to recreate the game on Android. But is it as good as the original console?
NieR Automata mobile almost looks great
Posted reddit, a short clip from the mobile fan game NieR Automata has made the rounds. The video shows an impressively accurate recreation of the game running on mobile. If we didn’t have our glasses on, we’d say it was a native port.
Instead, the developer has ripped assets from the game’s PC release and ported them to a new Unreal Engine project for mobile. This means that textures, animations and map data are all there. However, it is far from perfect.
In the video you can see a recreation of the entire opening area, complete with its cute robot enemies. In their proper place, the adorable Stubbies attack a masterfully animated 2B.
The only major problem seems to be the combat. While most of the animations look as they should, the brilliant Platinum Games combat system is certainly not included.
Fighting is far from the smooth, graceful experience of the original. Instead, it’s clunky, with short animations and characters sliding all over the place. However, it’s better than nothing.
Read more: Google Gaming Dashboard may no longer be a Pixel exclusive
Should you play this version?
Well, the thing is, we can’t recommend NieR Automata mobile. Downloads are only available, though it’s rather sketchy, and the developer’s name isn’t listed, so we can’t check the source. Furthermore, who knows what the app does on your device.
There is also the fact that there are much better ways to play NieR Automata on mobile. For example, if you have access to decent internet, you can stream the actual game using services like Nvidia GeForce Now. It may have some delay, but it’s the actual game.
Nevertheless, this is a cool quirk that is now available if you want it. However, we do not recommend it! That’s our disclaimer! We are not liable for whatever happens!
