As a player who thoroughly enjoyed NieR:Automata and the philosophical ideas it explored, I can't recommend following up that game with this one enough. While both games stand alone, it is enjoyable learning about the origins of Emil, the significance of the Lunar Tear, and the true identities of the twins Popola and Devola for those interested in the lore. I might even argue Replicant has a better story and cast of characters than Automata.

Like Automata, there are 5 endings, so if you are interested in experiencing all of them like I was, I recommend reading about those online in advance since there is a sequence to them and not all are obvious in how they are unlocked, so they can be missed. My biggest criticism is in part how the player has to unlock all of these endings, which requires a significant amount of time replaying the same story events 2, 3, maybe even 4 times with such slight re-contextualization or differences to warrant the effort. Automata is more successful in this regard since similar story events and locales are experienced with 3 different playable characters, while Replicant is always from the same perspective with the exception of the final ending route where Kainé is briefly playable. I really wanted more time with her character's mechanics. I think this aspect of the game would have been much more interesting and enjoyable if Kainé and Emil were playable for routes 2, 3, and 4, or at least sections of them.