There isn’t another setting in gaming that left an impact on me the way that Nier Automata‘s amusement park did. It’s not like we haven’t experienced dreary or spooky amusement parks in countless media before, but the way that this title inverts the trope is nothing short of perfect. Not to mention the game’s soundtrack as a whole is in the running for the best OST of all time.
What would be a typical run-down park is contrasted with warm muted colors, pink glows, lamps, lights, fireworks in a permanently overcast sky. There are energetic robot attendees, and all of them are in the shape of an enemy which you have slaughtered by the dozens. Unlike those enemies, they fire harmless rainbow confetti from their arm-cannons while inviting you to join in the fun, dancing uniformly with stilted movements. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the eerie vibes that pervades every aspect of exploring this section of the game world, especially after what the previous areas in the game did to set up my expectations. Protagonists 2B and 9S are the only ‘human-likes’ there, and despite the machines trying their utmost, the whole place remains feeling isolated and lonely.
The soundtrack captures the mood and feeling just as flawlessly. Not quite derelict, but not quite ‘dead’; a litany of robots emulating what should be happy and thrilling activities, yet instilling the exact opposite emotions in their efforts. The bells and harpsichords that you would expect in a funfair theme are played in minor keys with unsatisfying resolutions, driving in how the purpose of all these elements are being missed entirely. The invented ‘future language’ used for the song’s lyrics just adds to the detached, faraway feeling of the world. It’s all very alien and unsettling, in the best way possible. And perhaps the most impressive thing of all is that the game manages to achieve this effect over and over again through the course of its runtime.
Sometimes I wonder if I should have a separate blog series for all the drearier music I come across. Despite my own rules for these, I’ve been veering away from highlighting songs on the more grim and gloomy side. After all, doesn’t it seem weird to praise a song by talking about how discomforting it is? Maybe, maybe not. Since Nier Automata‘s 8th anniversary happened last week, it’s a good excuse to break the mold a little. I hope one more person can find enjoyment in what the Nier series has to offer; I can promise it’s worth all the existential dread that’s served along with it.
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