I have put off this review for a VERY long time, because i will get emotional every single time i tried to write it.

You guys have NO IDEA how much this game meant to me. I played this game shortly before i got Nier:Automata, and back then i haven't even known about Drakengard 1/3. And now i am probably among the biggest fans of this entire franchise.

Nier:Replicant, the original one (yes, i played the original one, the JP version and not Nier:Gestalt, the global version, with an EN translation patch) was already one of the best thing i've ever played. But this remake, not only lived up to the hype, that being, everything i wanted from N:A gameplay-wise, but enhanced visuals, cutscenes, feels, from the original game, and i have to say now.

Nier:Replicant ver1.22474487139 is MY FAVORITE VIDEOGAME OF ALL TIME. The remake made it official. I freaking ADORES this game.

The gameplay is a bit ♥♥♥♥. But it is kind of intentional, and i know how pretentious that sounds. But this is the case with all Yoko Taro games, and as fond as me talking about him, I have to admit the barrier of entry into his games is very... complicated. You kinda have to take the bad with the good, and if you have already played Drakengard 3 or 1, you will see what i meant. Usually you will hear people said that about Nier:Automata, that the story is so good that all the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ aspects of gameplay kinda got justifiably overlooked. But to me, N:A is still beneath this game. You will find that the excuse is especially true with this game, as the "bad" gameplay (which is not even that bad, it's just a very mid action gameplay system mixed with some RPG elements) is bad to convey something, always within the context of the game.
Without spoiling anything, you will see that even the "repetitive sidequest design" which consists only of fetchquests are also intentional, as it is within the context of the game's story itself.

The story. Man. The story.

While i am not bashing the story of Nier:Automata one bit, i actually really like N:A story/lore, i have to say people oversold its story too much. Everybody thought that N:R was the bastard child, while it is the story of this game that made the Drakengard-Nier fanbase fell in love with the series before Nier:Automata brought mainstream gaze into it. Mind you, the original Nier:Replicant came out before Drakengard 3, made this game the 2nd official entry in the series game-wise, meaning during the time when people didn't really know "what is a Nier" the fanbase had already laughed, cried, squealed alongside Nier, Kaine, Emil and their adventures in saving Yonah.

No, i will not spoil the story of this game because 1) GO PLAY THE DAMN THING, THIS GAME IS A MASTERPIECE and 2) i would get too emotional to not spoil everything this game has. But what i can say is that, if you liked N:A story but felt like it got too philosophical:

This game is very simple. Just the story of a brother trying to save his sister.

This game is purely emotional. Every single story beat packed with emotions and memories.

This game would not let you rest. Major events after major events, you will feel like you cannot stop crying.

Yet, it IS a Nier game, in every sense of the word. This is the story of Nier, the protagonist. This is the story of "Nier", the protagonist. You'll see what i mean.

This is ofc a 100/10 recommendation. I wish i could buy it again 10x more times.