I did not find Nier Gestalt to be worse than any other JRPGs of its era in terms of gameplay, and it had some clever bits like switching between 2D and 3D perspectives as well as game styles. My main complaints were the tedious fetch quests (I completed about half of them before deciding it wasn't worth finishing them all), the fact that the fishing minigame was explained incorrectly, and (slight spoiler) a story that I found to be sad and depressing. Completing multiple endings can be somewhat tedious as well. But the creativity, the atmospheric graphics, and the soundtrack were exceptional.
I think Nier Gestalt and Replicant on the PS3 were underrated (if flawed) gems.
Plus the story of the original game took a looooooong time to get going combined with the ability to lock yourself out of the true ending without knowing or discovering it for like 75% of the game is definitely going to limit the audience.
"Dogshit" might be a bit hyperbolic, but not by a lot.
Nier: Automata is a good (not great) game from Platinum wrapped in a juicy Nier narrative layer that elevates it to a very good game.
It's a 2010 PS3 game with movement and combat and controls that feel like an early PS2 game where they are still figuring out twin stick movement and cameras.
How is "Gameplay" a non-criticism of a Game? That makes zero sense.
Also, that gameplay you are talking about was arguably pioneered by Devil May Cry, which is a Japanese game.
So I don't know what you're on about "Western Gamers"
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/combat-canceled-i-god-of-wa...
As for “gameplay” I’m not going to recapitulate the past decade+ of how we’ve learned to write about games. It’s semantically empty, say what you mean instead.
That leads to poor reviews, which leads to poor sales.