NieR: Automata turned out a lot better than many expected it to earlier this year, due to the fact that it was attached to another game that didn’t exactly wow anyone. Nevertheless, the combination of PlatinumGames and Yoko Taro ended up being a brilliant one, delivering a thought-provoking action RPG dripping with originality. Despite earlier reports suggesting we would never get DLC for the game due to a lack of budget, here we are with new content tagged with a very unorthodox title.
The 3C3C1D119440927 DLC seems disposable enough on the surface, as going to the content’s product page will tell you it comes with new outfits, hair colors and battle colosseums. However, the developers managed to fill some of this content with the same interesting characters and situations that one would expect from the main game, making this more than just a pack of new odds and ends.
It’s centered mostly around the three aforementioned colosseums, as it is through completing those where you’ll unlock the new outfits and hair colors. However, in typical NieR fashion, even accessing this content isn’t as simple as one might expect it to be. You need to have unlocked the chapter select function and have access to the game’s open world to even be able to initiate this content, making it something that might make newcomers who just bought this content with the main game a little confused.
That lack of access for newcomers and emphasis more on the hardcore player is only further set in stone with the colosseum challenges themselves. You’ll start off with the first rank of the colosseum having a recommended character level of 25 or so, but there are several ranks that unlock after that that you’ll need to beat in order to truly complete the colosseum. These ranks go all the way up to the point where your recommended level is over 80, meaning that you truly need to be a veteran of this game in order to get through these ordeals.
3C3C1D119440927 offers a slice of thought-provoking stories and fantastic gameplay
However, that caveat aside, they still deliver more of that fantastic Automata gameplay that was so flashy and smooth in the main game and still is here. Hordes of different robots will drop in while firing dozens of giant blobs at you, ensuring that you need to use both ranged and melee attacks while dodging constantly to stay alive. The ante of course gets upped with each rank, and when you finally do complete one of the colosseums you feel like you are now a master at the game. Those who complete them all are even treated with boss fights against the CEOs of Square Enix and PlatinumGames, which is just as awesome and ridiculous as you might expect.
While three colosseums where you just take on hordes of robots may sound like it would get boring, the developers have done their part to try and shake it up a little. One of the colosseums will have a new restriction that you’ll need to abide by for each round, such as winning without using your pod, without dodging or within a certain time limit. Another takes you out of control of the main cast entirely and into the clunky shoes of the robots, which certainly changes the pace. These characters definitely don’t have anywhere near the capabilities of 2B or her allies, making it abundantly clear why these things are no match for the player when you’re otherwise beating them to a pulp.
It’s these machines that provide the narrative backbone of this DLC, as we’re given more of a glimpse into the reality of these ultimately pitiful robots. Despite being hunks of metal, they’re advanced enough to question their own existence and have true feelings, which leads to some pretty emotional moments. They don’t know what they’re fighting for outside of just trying to get stronger, though even that noble mission is something they know won’t get them very far when all is said and done. This is made all the more crushing when you’re shown that many of these machines are being held against their will, forced into the colosseum and then dragged out in pieces when the curtain falls.
The Verdict
NieR: Automata’s 3C3C1D119440927 DLC isn’t the most accessible or substantial DLC you’ll ever play, but it still manages to capture some of that magic that the base game had no shortage of. This world created by Yoko Taro is so unique and intriguing that just being able to see a new side of it for a few hours is a treat, and PlatinumGames did their part to make sure there was fantastic new gameplay to make the ride complete. It’s not an absolute must-have that rivals the monumental heights of the base game, but if you’ve played the base game to death by this point and are looking for more then 3C3C1D119440927 will certainly do the trick.
