Nier: Automata is one of my favorite games in recent memory and I’m excited to engage with anything related to that or Nier. I recently went to a Barnes and Noble for the first time in years because we were stopping at a nearby store, so I went to browse. They had a small section for gaming-related books, which was mainly tabletop stuff, but there were a few books on games. Lo-and-behold, I found the Nier: Automata World Guide, so I absolutely had to pick it up.

The Nier: Automata World Guide is a gorgeous art book published by Dark Horse Books, providing a mix of illustrations, screenshots, character bios and lore. This is actually “Volume 1” of the World Guide, though the second volume currently isn’t in reach.

The official illustrations are just gorgeous to look at. There are frequent pieces of art showing the characters observing the world at a distance; destroyed buildings mixing with overgrown plant life that feels beautiful, yet lonely. There are also plenty of aesthetically pleasing screenshots of the game for when the book goes more in-depth with an area. It also shows off the game’s bosses to give you a good idea of what these places and enemies are all about. Toward the end of the book, there’s also concept art for the game’s enemies, which feels like a gift to people that like to look at drawings of machines and mechs. There’s even a horrifying illustration of a machine lifeform without its outer shell. Thanks, I hate it.

The World Guide also lives up to its name by being somewhat of a guide in that it provides maps of most of the major areas in the game. These maps include in-character annotations of 9S and his pod, showing their observations of events in the game to go with the small bits of lore written alongside the art. These bits reveal small stuff like specialty androids doing laundry in the Bunker and 9S’ speculations on what a building used to be. To be honest though, it isn’t much, because 9S is already pretty honest and outright with what he thinks in the game. The maps also tells what kinds of fish you can catch in that area, which is a bizarre addition, but hey, Yoko Taro likes those fishing minigames.

There are also two short stories in the World Guide, penned by Jun Eishima. The first one is a bit of a slice-of-life, showing going-ons at the Yorha bunker that makes for a cute read. The second one is much more serious, regarding 2B and 9S’s expedition to the Barren Temple from the original Nier, which quickly turns sour for reasons that are complete spoilers. It gives a good glimpse at how things were before Automata‘s story properly started, giving a sad look at 2B under her serious, professional exterior. I honestly just expected this to be an art book with some bits of lore, but these short stories were great additions.

My verdict? It’s an art book and the art is really good. If you aren’t into art books, you probably won’t like it because besides the short stories, the lore isn’t anything huge. It’s one of those things you can’t really rate because it’s one of those things that are just for a specific audience; in this case, art book lovers and Nier: Automata fans. This was a pretty pricey find at $39.99, but personally, I thought it was worth it.

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