SMALL WORLD

Nier‘s cast is relatively compact, but even the side characters make an impression. If the missions rarely involve more than ‘go here, fight this, get this, come back’ (sometimes with a few more steps, occasionally fewer), the questgivers and their stories stick in the mind. Take, for example, the old man, distraught over his missing dog; his tale might have a grim end, but it’s a touching and human one nevertheless. Then there’s the curmudgeonly woman in the lighthouse, to whom your magical companion Grimoire Weiss doesn’t take kindly – nor she to him. Indeed, Weiss remains arguably the game’s MVP – the sarcastic tome regularly delivers the kind of self-mocking humour we’ve seen in dozens of games since, but with his withering, Alan Rickman-style sneer, actor Liam O’Brien makes it work brilliantly.