"But does it appeal to everyone?"

Regarding this specific sentiment, no, and thank goodness for that. When anyone developing or creating some sort of entertainment for the masses, audiences are going to have different tastes. When someone tries to get the largest proportion of an audience, content is inevitably dumbed down to try to be accessible to everyone, and that's when we get Jerry Bruckheimer movies, Call of Duty games, and McDonald's "restaurants." I know when I watch a David Lynch movie it's not going to appeal to the majority of people, and I'm thankful for that because I doubt it would even be something I'd want to watch if it was catered to the lowest common denominator. To each his own if you enjoy those sorts of things, but it's not for me. There is nothing wrong with a few niche games existing alongside all the blockbusters.

It's an opinion piece. Everyone relax.

The only problem I ran into was running out of endings. Main story endings aside, I normally rarely go after optional endings and while I got a lot by accident this game was just so fun I had to go out and get the remaining endings.

Nier Automata is a brilliant game with very deep and unconventional narrative and style but it's not for everyone and none should feel bad for not liking it or enjoying that's why we have so many games to choose from... but don't kid yourself this games is amazing...

I only really hated the multiple endings, I don't know where I'm at in the completion but at some point I quit.

the only two things wrong with the game are a few small issues with the pc version and the lower than expected performance all around on ps4 and pc. Still the game is playable and fantastic.

A few I agree with, but seven of them just seem like desperation to make a click bait article.

The intro for starters. No saves until you beat the first boss... not sure whose bright idea that was.

Problems with the game according to the writer: It's not Bayonetta.

So, since I have played this game, many times, I will offer a rebuttal to the arguments listed.

1: Doesn't grab your interest immediately. Well, for the writer it didn't. I found that a ravished earth dominated by robots immediately had me asking questions, and seeking answers. As for the gameplay bit, the writer seemed upset this wasn't Breath of the Wild, saying the first major battle you undertake is boring. Didn't really feel that fighting a robot that was literally hundreds of times my size.

2: Odd tone. This complaint is that the game is too serious, and that the small bits of levity sprinkled throughout are awkward. The issue here is that the awkwardness is kind of the point. Fate of mankind level seriousness, coupled with what start as completely serious characters aren't going to be witty and wise cracking every 3 minutes. The humor interspersed is a brief respite in an otherwise serious matter. It is supposed to seem trivial and odd considering what is happening in the world.

3: Fast travel takes too long to unlock: Anyone aside from me play games when fast travel just wasn't a thing? Granted the author says this is a pet peeve, but it's a pet peeve of mine to complain about something being in the game that honestly isn't needed. It isn't as though 2B is required to walk from New York to L.A.

4: Controls. The main gripe here is that you need to press more than one button to win. I too found the combat controls odd at first, but after maybe 10 minutes of play, I was having no issues whatsoever. Maybe our author is missing fingers? That would surely make the game more difficult.

5. Getting skills. You get a certain number of slots (128 I think with all upgrades) and each skill, or chip, takes up a given amount of slots. Simple mathematics. This system of skills was neither clunky or difficult to understand. I want skill x, but need 13 slots, I only have 5 slots available, what skill can I do without that will free up at minimum 8 slots? The idea is that you're an android with a chipset, and can only run so many different chips at a time, some being more intensive than others. This was a breeze compared to other games (Disgaea) and their stat and skill min/maxing.

6. Enemies are boring. Well, their robots, and they are supposed to represent that they are all unthinking, uncaring, and exactly the same with no personality. This is known as "theme". The game pulls this off well, and explores that theme as you progress.

Overall, it feels like the author played Nier for a few hours, maybe 2 or 3, saw that 2B wasn't Bayonetta or Link, and gave up.