NieR Automata’s recent rating on Steam is shrinking as user score occurs due to the Microsoft Store port

Over the past few weeks, Microsoft has made a number of surprise announcements of several role-playing games that will hit the Xbox Game Pass service, including a Octopath Traveler port, next door Yakuza 6, several Bethesda titles, as well as EA Play which finally comes to Game Pass for PC. NieR Automata arriving at the Microsoft Store on March 18 initially looked like a small footnote in a deluge of high-profile titles on Microsoft’s subscription download service; it was originally released on PC via Steam the same month as the global release in 2017, and has been available to play for years.

However, a surprising lack of parity between the new version of the Microsoft Store and the original Steam port has made original buyers feel a bit rejected.

A failed port without support

First, a little history lesson. The original port of NieR Automata on Steam was (and still is) a mixed bag, at best, with players reporting trapped mouse cursors, scrupulous cutting scenes, bug fixes, stuttering, and a lot of it. other problems. Fortunately, shortly after the launch, the Kaldaien community modder launched the Fix Automata Resolution solution, or FAR modification, aimed at solving these numerous problems. At the time, Kaldaien had already created fan-patches for PC ports, such as Tales of Berseria, which used their Special K modding framework, and is currently looking at the next NieR Replicant port.

Square Enix themselves initially promised to investigate the reported issues and asked users to stay up to date at the time:

Thanks to everyone who supported NieR: Automata.
We are happy for many to enjoy the game. We want to let you know that we appreciate all of your comments and that we are investigating the issues that have been reported.
Stay tuned for updates.

However, apart from some news posts urging gamers to update their graphics card drivers, solutions were never reached. Even a 2019 update with the release of the “YoRHa Edition Game” provided no relief. If you wanted to play NieR Automata on Steam, you used the FAR mod, so it was and was.

A Comes QLOC

Last week, NieR Automata was also available in the Microsoft Store and also as part of the Microsoft Pass Game for PC subscription. The same day, the Polish gatehouse QLOC reported that it had worked on the new port for the 4-year-old game. QLOC, previously credited to the Yakuza series PC ports alongside Mortal Kombat 11 and Dark Souls Remastered, did not work on the original Steam version of the game. For the new version of the store, QLOC supported the new port with borderless video settings, FidelityFX and HDR support, and 4K-modified UI textures. Players who tested the new port also reported significantly fewer problems in terms of stuttering and spicy frame rates. I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard that the taskbar icon in PC games doesn’t matter, because in this case it certainly does.

This was obvious, of course, with Steam players barring the store page due to the lack of support they were denied, as a better product appeared without warning several years later. Review bombings have been the subject of several controversies before, of which Valve has had to intervene to declare certain raids “off-topic”, such as the case of Borderlands 2 when Gearbox announced a period of exclusivity in Epic Games Store for and Borderlands 3.

So far, the Nier Automata review bomb has not been marked by review activity outside of the Steam theme and for a seemingly good reason. A quick review of recent negative criticism was said to be severe disapproval rather than absolute rage. “While I love the game, I can’t recommend the Steam version.” one review regrets, another states, “I can’t recommend it in its current state. Right now, you shouldn’t install any modifications just to fix basic frame rate issues.” A third party is simply pleased to point out to buyers the new version of Microsoft with a simple statement: “Don’t buy this version. Get the GamePass version.”

Of course, the era of NieR Automata on Steam means that the current port has been wrapped, embedded, and erased for years, and Kaldaien himself admits that the new version of the Microsoft Store is not perfect, especially in terms of post effects. -processing such as bloom and occlusion environment. In addition, existing texture modifications and other alterations make that, combined with the FAR mod, the Steam version of the game is definitely what you get if you don’t mind playing a bit. As it is, the new Automata port isn’t working, and I understand the frustration Steam owners have felt about having to tweak the game themselves since 2017, just to know that being on the lookout hasn’t paid off yet.