During Square Enix’s “One Million Shipments Commemoration” live stream, it was revealed that the first downloadable content for NieR: Automata titled “3C3C1D119440927,” will launch on May 2 for 1,500 yen (about $13.77 USD) in Japan and is “coming soon” in North America and Europe.
The new DLC will include three new colosseums to challenge, plus additional sub-quests. Upon completion of these quests, players can earn various rewards, including:
- Costumes from the previous Japanese release, NieR: Replicant, for androids 2B, 9S and A2
- Records that add special music tracks to the players’ jukebox
- New equipment and cosmetic accessories such as hairspray that allows you to change the color of 2B and A2’s hair
- Masks with unique “on equip” effects
- Special bullets that change the appearance of enemy bullets
Gameplay of the new DLC was also revealed:
Here’s a look at the boss fight who appear in the Colosseum and include Square Enix president and CEO Yosuke Matsuda, and Platinum Games president and CEO Kenichi Sato:
Nier: Automata is an open-world action role-playing video game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows. The game was released in Japan in February 2017, and worldwide the following month. Nier: Automata is a sequel to the 2010 video game Nier, a spin-off of the Drakengard series. Set in the midst of a proxy war between machines created by otherworldly invaders and the remnants of humanity, the story follows the battles of a combat android, her companion, and a fugitive prototype. Gameplay combines role-playing elements with action-based combat and mixed genre gameplay similar to that of Nier.
Production began in 2014, with series creator Yoko Taro, producer Yosuke Saito, and composers Keiichi Okabe and Keigo Hoashi returning to their respective roles, as well as Square Enix artist Akihiko Yoshida in charge of character design. The story was based around themes similar to Yoko’s earlier works, such as people’s impulse to kill, while also incorporating issues such as confronting of prejudice and escaping difficult situations. The goal was to make a Nier game true to the spirit of the original, while simultaneously crafting better gameplay combat. As a project entirely new to the developers, the staff at PlatinumGames faced multiple challenges when developing its gameplay and open world environment.
Upon release, Nier: Automata was met with generally positive reviews, with critics praising the game’s narrative, characterization, thematic depth, music design, combat system, and mixture of different gameplay genres, as well as its usage of the video game medium to tell its story. Criticism was leveled at the game’s technical problems, visuals, and repetitive gameplay areas.