Nier

Nier is a game that no major studio today would likely greenlight for production, and that's exactly why it's still remembered. The main hero, in a post-apocalyptic world, tries to save someone close to him from a disease that turns people into dust, accompanied by a talking book, a foul-mouthed fighter, and a boy with a troubled past. What begins as an ordinary fantasy fairy tale about killing shadow monsters gradually turns into an uncomfortable story about what it means to be on the right side. The second half of the game literally flips the meaning of everything the player has done up to that point, and the full answer only comes together after several playthroughs, each of which reveals another layer.

The gameplay constantly takes on the shape of other genres. The foundation is third-person action with a sword and magic projectiles, but the game shifts without warning into a bullet-hell shooter, a horizontal platformer, an adventure told only through text on a black background, or a fixed-camera sequence in the style of old horror games. Fishing, growing plants, and classic RPG weapon upgrading are all thrown in as well. Technically, Nier never dazzled on Xbox 360; environments are sparser and texture resolution modest, but the art direction and the oppressive emptiness of a desert or a fog-covered village make do just fine with limited resources. Keiichi Okabe's music, with vocals in an invented language, ranks among the best-rated soundtracks of its time and carries the whole emotional weight of the game.

Reviews were split, many pointing out dated production values, and the game initially sold poorly. Even so, it built a cult following and opened the way for a sequel that later became a major commercial success and made its creator's style famous worldwide. Today Nier is best taken as an experimental work, where the imperfect technology gets a bit in the way, but the story, music, and willingness to switch genres remain exceptional. It's one of the few games worth completing more than once.