Developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix in 2010, Nier opens in the year 2049. Amidst what looks like a nuclear winter, is a father and daughter doing their best to survive. While the young girl is ill and rests inside a broken down convenient store, her father fights off creatures know as “Shades”. The Shades sprang up after the cataclysm that has left the fallout across the planet. The game then cuts to 1,312 years later, to a very different world; a more or less pre-industrial world that has risen from the ashes of the past. The player also seemingly finds the very same father and daughter from 2049 in this time. The girl is sick and the father, known as Nier, must find a cure for her terminal illness that has been caused by the Shades. Playing as Nier, the nature of the Shades, his daughters sickness, who is behind the Shade scourge itself, and the explanation behind the 2049 prologue, are all revealed over the course of the game. Nier presents one of the best, most intriguing tales I have ever encountered in gaming. It’s moving, thrilling, and absolutely captivating.