NieR:Automata™

analyzed 2026-10-03 · sample of 522 English reviews across the whole review history

Across 522 sampled reviews, the story is the most-discussed aspect, at 32.8%, and it draws overwhelmingly positive mentions, with players calling it "a masterpiece of storytelling" and "the totally unique and mind-twisting story". Music follows at 19.0% and is almost uniformly praised, described as "an incredible soundtrack with memorable tracks". Emotional impact, though mentioned in only 9.6% of reviews, is nearly all positive, with players noting it "transcends well past the final credits". Combat and gameplay appear in 15.3% and 15.1% respectively, and both lean positive, though combat carries a visible minority of negative and mixed mentions. Opinion splits more sharply elsewhere. Graphics draw 36 positive mentions against 14 negative, and quest design divides nearly evenly. Performance and platform access are the clearest trouble spots: performance is negative in 21 of 28 mentions, and platform access negative in 24 of 28, with players warning "it's a bad port". Level design, pacing, balance, and stability also skew negative. Camera comes up as a recurring theme. Smaller positives persist: mods, replayability, voice acting, and art style are largely praised, and price value reads as favorable. The picture is a game whose story, music, and emotional weight carry it, while technical and pacing concerns recur.

numbers checked against this report's stored data · quotes copied verbatim from reviews · plain text is the language model's own wording

Aspects

share of sample, axis to 40% · ± is the sampling uncertainty around each share

  • positive
  • mixed / neutral
  • negative
  • story

    147 positive · 15 negative · 9 mixed · 0 neutral

    • this game has the combat the story everything to make a great game so it deserve the post
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100262129
    • NieR:Automata is a masterpiece of storytelling, music, and atmosphere that blends into an unforgettable, melancholic rapture of emotion that transcends well past the final credits.
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100263539
    • It is good enough to carry the game on its own, when paired with the totally unique and mind-twisting story it makes this game feel like something that truly stands above the rest and like it should be played by everyone.
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104907639
  • music

    98 positive · 0 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Accompanying the characters on the journey is an incredible soundtrack with memorable tracks that transcend the game itself in their angelic and instrumental nature.
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100263539
    • Soundtrack and environment
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107017397
    • While the combat mechanics are only decent, the music, story, level design, locales, and just about everything else really are simply top notch.
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107018292
  • combat

    53 positive · 14 negative · 11 mixed · 2 neutral

    • this game has the combat the story everything to make a great game so it deserve the post
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100262129
    • The fast-paced bullet-hell of aerial and ranged enemies combined with the hack-and-slash approach of close-ranged enemies creates a tense gameplay experience that is easy to adapt to but requires time to master with each weapon type, android, and pod.
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100263539
    • Even if the writing and the story was not 10/10, the gameplay and combat would have been enough for this game to maintain its 10/10 status in my book.
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104907639
  • gameplay

    66 positive · 9 negative · 4 mixed · 0 neutral

    • The gameplay is fun and based on that I recommend this game.
      positive · Oct 31, 2021 · review 101973669
    • Even if the writing and the story was not 10/10, the gameplay and combat would have been enough for this game to maintain its 10/10 status in my book.
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104907639
    • The story is great, gameplay is great, one of very few games I've played where you can play the game from different character perspectives.
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107012827
  • characters

    43 positive · 11 negative · 3 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Though I disagree with others that you play as 9S just to see this outside perspective of 2B, you will play as him for a greater portion of the game than 2B and thus he gets developed the most as a character.
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104907639
    • [b] To preface: this is an excellent game with great storytelling, beautiful visuals and great characters.
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104910817
    • Attachment to 9S: 10000000/10
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107013715
  • graphics

    36 positive · 14 negative · 2 mixed · 0 neutral

    • [b] To preface: this is an excellent game with great storytelling, beautiful visuals and great characters.
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104910817
    • The visuals and the musics are also great!
      positive · Oct 31, 2022 · review 124734677
    • Beautiful game, great story, fantastic music, totally recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good and touching story
      positive · Jan 31, 2023 · review 131953025
  • emotional impact

    48 positive · 0 negative · 2 mixed · 0 neutral

    • NieR:Automata is a masterpiece of storytelling, music, and atmosphere that blends into an unforgettable, melancholic rapture of emotion that transcends well past the final credits.
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100263539
    • Will make a grown man cry
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104899137
    • The way this game answered that question turned into an experience that will remain in my mind for a while.
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104907639
  • world

    30 positive · 7 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Scenery: 100000/10
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107013715
    • Soundtrack and environment
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107017397
    • While the combat mechanics are only decent, the music, story, level design, locales, and just about everything else really are simply top notch.
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107018292
  • price value

    25 positive · 6 negative · 2 mixed · 0 neutral

    • SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR GO BUY NIER AUTOMATA ITS SUPER WORTH IT DO IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109210403
    • Just the soundtrack and hacking mini-game are worth the price, and you get a whole game with it too.
      positive · Nov 30, 2022 · review 127650180
    • Good ass game, worth the price.
      positive · Dec 31, 2023 · review 154927480
  • performance

    7 positive · 21 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • stutters
      negative · Jan 31, 2025 · review 186849910
    • По технічній частині - порт гавно, прийшлось ставити моди з нексуса щоб хоча б адекватно рухати мишкою, не кажучи вже про перформанс
      negative · Feb 28, 2025 · review 188994188
    • Hopefully in a decade when they might remaster it, they'll optimize it, but until then, you've been warned.
      negative · Dec 31, 2025 · review 214763887
see more
  • platform access

    3 positive · 24 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Porting to PC is bad, use some mods.
      negative · Mar 31, 2024 · review 161903544
    • По технічній частині - порт гавно, прийшлось ставити моди з нексуса щоб хоча б адекватно рухати мишкою, не кажучи вже про перформанс
      negative · Feb 28, 2025 · review 188994188
    • The PC port is abysmal, but the FaR mod magically fixes 99% of the problems.
      negative · Jul 31, 2017 · review 33932692
  • quest design

    14 positive · 11 negative · 3 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Unlike what I've heard about Nier: Replicant -- this game's sidequests are for the most part incredible and deliver some of the most impactful moments of the game.
      positive · Apr 30, 2022 · review 114747299
    • The combat doesn't turn stale, and the side quests are fairly fun too.
      positive · Dec 31, 2023 · review 154922306
    • You have to do every quest, though.
      positive · Jan 31, 2024 · review 157269847
  • level design

    5 positive · 21 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Right now however, I'm writing this review because there is a specific point in the game where you play as 9S and it's absolute ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ass.
      negative · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104910817
    • Now the game does come with some bugs here and there, as well as its invisible walls becoming annoying at times.
      negative · Aug 31, 2022 · review 121543652
    • Aside from some blood boiling design choices, I had a blast.
      negative · Dec 31, 2023 · review 154922306
  • replayability

    21 positive · 1 negative · 1 mixed · 1 neutral

    • When combined with the chapter select, these instances create an immense amount of replayability for the player.
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100263539
    • One of those games where you so desperately wish you could replay it without knowing ANYTHING after completing the game once.
      positive · Jun 30, 2022 · review 117960212
    • Not all of them are cannon, of course, but you'll have to beat the game 4 times to fully grasp it.
      positive · Jul 31, 2022 · review 119833572
  • mods

    21 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • In terms of visuals, NieR:Automata mostly delivers except in a few instances, such as texture resolution and LOD; however, these can easily be remedied with mods that enhance the overall appearance of the game.
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100263539
    • you can download a ton of mods that fix issues with mentioned graphics and other stuff regarding keyboard patches for controls etc.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109210403
    • [i]Proposal: Even though most issues are now fixed in the current version of this game, new users should still seek out mod guides and install NAMH for best performance especially if they are using >60hz displays.
      positive · Apr 30, 2022 · review 114747299
  • controls

    7 positive · 12 negative · 3 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Sadly it is almost impossible to play with keyboard and mouse, so I had to drop it.
      negative · Jul 31, 2024 · review 171188399
    • По технічній частині - порт гавно, прийшлось ставити моди з нексуса щоб хоча б адекватно рухати мишкою, не кажучи вже про перформанс
      negative · Feb 28, 2025 · review 188994188
    • It's apparent this game was not built for pc, as that minigame had some of the worst wonkiest controls I've ever seen in a triple A game.
      negative · Mar 31, 2026 · review 222209301
  • difficulty

    11 positive · 6 negative · 4 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Play it on hard to enjoy the game.
      positive · Mar 31, 2017 · review 30862148
    • This game really refreshing and unique, and plus it can become a challenge at times.
      positive · Apr 30, 2017 · review 31472218
    • There is an easy mode for beginners which is worth trying out.
      positive · May 31, 2017 · review 32089899
  • art style

    16 positive · 1 negative · 1 mixed · 1 neutral

    • The gameplay is fun, the environment/art styles are good and that's about it.
      positive · Mar 31, 2022 · review 113129139
    • The music, the atmosphere the design, the characters.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135835328
    • Can't complain about a single thing in this game, soundtrack, storyline, the design and dialogues, the emotions everything is a 10/10.
      positive · Jul 31, 2024 · review 171193719
  • pacing

    3 positive · 15 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • The second playthrough is a little too similar to the first and many people agree.
      negative · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104907639
    • Unfortunately they're surrounded by hours and hours and hours of boring and predictable slog including replaying the entire first campaign with maybe 20 minutes of actual meaningful additional content just to get to the true final campaign which itself is only a few more hours of actual content.
      negative · Aug 31, 2023 · review 145401274
    • And full story line is very repetitive, without real reason.
      negative · Mar 31, 2024 · review 161903544
  • balance

    1 positive · 15 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • really tedious, killed many bots, in a very unsatisfying mechanics, to get to a point where I die after 2 hits?
      negative · Jun 30, 2025 · review 198590878
    • What I didn't expect in the second half of my playthrough was a slog of combat with a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ difficulty curve, enemy spam, really poorly designed bosses, and a hacking minigame that insist that it needs to be a core part of the game despite being horrible.
      negative · Mar 31, 2026 · review 222209301
    • - The game initially recommends the "normal" difficulty but even as someone who doesn't really play singleplayer games for the challenge I found that the game became way to easy towards the end. If you put any effort into optimizing your plugin chips you'll be nearly invincible on normal.
      negative · Mar 31, 2017 · review 30863774
  • game length

    2 positive · 10 negative · 1 mixed · 2 neutral

    • Nier: Automata requires a lot of time and effort to fully experience.
      negative · Aug 31, 2022 · review 121543652
    • Awfull game, 10 hour campaign with repetitive side content, then you end the game which has supposedly multiple endings to get the casual ending with a black screen which …
      negative · Jan 31, 2023 · review 131955888
    • 40 min intro with no saves and cringy unskippable cutscenes are why i will never play this game.
      negative · May 31, 2025 · review 196105725
  • progression

    10 positive · 4 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • - The combat is fast-paced and satisfying, with a variety of weapons and abilities to unlock and upgrade.
      positive · May 31, 2023 · review 139344573
    • Engaging, satisfying live-action combat mixed with rpg systems like weapon upgrades and types, abilities, etc etc.
      positive · Oct 31, 2024 · review 178130630
    • Arranging chips for each system, finding and fusing the chips, and arranging the chips as gameplay of your style is quite immersive.
      positive · Nov 30, 2024 · review 181190831
  • stability

    1 positive · 12 negative · 0 mixed · 1 neutral

    • Looks great but could never get it to load past the SquarE logo
      negative · Apr 30, 2017 · review 31474878
    • It's honestly pretty damn good when it's a playable game.
      negative · Jun 30, 2017 · review 33057669
    • game still freezes video making it unplayable.
      negative · Aug 31, 2017 · review 34643948
  • writing

    4 positive · 8 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • The story is written for teen anime fans.
      negative · Oct 31, 2021 · review 101973669
    • … trope of an android questioning its own humanity 40 years ago in an hour and a half movie than Nier does in 45 hours of game plus tons and tons of shallow text logs.
      negative · Aug 31, 2023 · review 145401274
    • 40 min intro with no saves and cringy unskippable cutscenes are why i will never play this game.
      negative · May 31, 2025 · review 196105725
  • bugs

    1 positive · 9 negative · 2 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Now the game does come with some bugs here and there, as well as its invisible walls becoming annoying at times.
      negative · Aug 31, 2022 · review 121543652
    • The most amazing game i played in years gameplay is on point (i did stumble upon some minro glitches nothing game breaking), the soundtrack is just amazing i'd pay the price of the game just for the music please give us the soundtrack on steam.
      negative · Mar 31, 2017 · review 30864188
    • The only thing I could possibly have a gripe with was there was a small bug I encountered when switching between tabs that wouldnt let me go back into fullscreen unless you go to the settings and change it again, easy fix, but still a minor bug.
      negative · Apr 30, 2017 · review 31475015
  • learning curve

    2 positive · 6 negative · 1 mixed · 3 neutral

    • "it get good after 20 hours" - ♥♥♥♥
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135825955
    • The game isn't hard but it doesn't hold your hand and explain its mechanics clearly.
      negative · Jan 31, 2024 · review 157269847
    • There isnt much in the way of tutorials or instructions in-game which is frustrating.
      negative · Nov 30, 2017 · review 37958954
  • lore

    8 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • … things that are happening right before your eyes that you will be totally oblivious to until you put two and two together and figure things out from ingame lore archives or comments made by other characters.
      positive · Nov 30, 2021 · review 104907639
    • Combat is pretty good (like a mix between devil may cry and god of war games) but the story, lore, and general atmosphere is where this game takes the top spot.
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107015336
    • You'll play this for the lore, music, and probably some fan service.
      positive · Oct 31, 2025 · review 208060030
  • atmosphere

    7 positive · 1 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • NieR:Automata is a masterpiece of storytelling, music, and atmosphere that blends into an unforgettable, melancholic rapture of emotion that transcends well past the final credits.
      positive · Sep 30, 2021 · review 100263539
    • Combat is pretty good (like a mix between devil may cry and god of war games) but the story, lore, and general atmosphere is where this game takes the top spot.
      positive · Dec 31, 2021 · review 107015336
    • The music, the atmosphere the design, the characters.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135835328
  • content amount

    8 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • this game is deeper than the Mariana trench and has more endings than the lord of the rings return of the king movie.
      positive · Mar 31, 2025 · review 191679630
    • I was not expecting such a masterpiece and this much content here.
      positive · Jan 31, 2026 · review 217275950
    • It has a lot of side content that is fun and challenging.
      positive · May 31, 2017 · review 32090854
  • updates

    4 positive · 4 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Imagine to my surprise in the almost seven months since this game was released there has been NO PATCH to fix the many problems a multitude of users have experienced, including white screens and crashes that prevent game progress.
      negative · Sep 30, 2017 · review 35350583
    • You can expect the usual fps drops and stuttering, thank god there's a community patch/mod to address the issue but as of Nov 2017, there's still no fix from the dev yet.
      negative · Nov 30, 2017 · review 37958658
    • Ordinarily, I'd chalk this up to "well, maybe it's just a patching issue-" but people have had htis issue for over a year now.
      negative · Nov 30, 2017 · review 37963119
  • customization

    6 positive · 1 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • This 2B model viewer is pretty neat, it even has a demo with some combat and enemies (didn’t realize until 32 hours in)
      positive · Jul 31, 2024 · review 171193412
    • The gameplay’s got a fun, fast-paced combat system and plenty of customization, all wrapped up in that signature Yoko Taro story.
      positive · Aug 31, 2025 · review 203270775
    • I'm absolutely obsessed with the character designs! The music just makes this game much more enjoyable as it's empowering and sets the tone for the story.
      positive · Nov 30, 2025 · review 212180120
  • voice acting

    7 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • I don't want to deeply dive into the story for this game but to give a basic summary, Art style is fantastic, voice acting (at least in Japanese) was surprisingly really really good, (9S's Japanese voice actor in particular did an absolutely fantastic job).
      positive · Oct 31, 2024 · review 178130630
    • All around very good game in term of story line, character development, voice acting , amazing battle mechanics and of course the unforgettable soundtrack.
      positive · May 31, 2026 · review 226892225
    • The English cast is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but there are reasons that cannot be explained lest I spoil important plot points that make the Japanese audio superior.
      positive · Jun 30, 2017 · review 33058818
  • addictiveness

    6 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Awesome Game, can't stop playing.
      positive · Jul 31, 2017 · review 33934249
    • I usually play MMO's with friends and singleplayer games get boring easily for me but this has got me playing for over 15 hours straight from morning till night, really didn't expect my vacation to be spent like this but this game is worth every penny.
      positive · Nov 30, 2017 · review 37952177
    • Much like stone cold steve austin this game keeps dragging me in for another round.
      positive · Apr 30, 2018 · review 41782818
  • dlc

    2 positive · 2 negative · 1 mixed · 1 neutral

    • No more explanation, also remember to get the DLC.
      positive · Jun 30, 2022 · review 117960930
    • I hope they release more DLC.
      positive · Nov 30, 2018 · review 47212452
    • With that said I am still extremely tempted to purchase the DLC for another 15 dollars, but hesitant because in comparison to TW3 it feels like we are getting ripped off.
      mixed · Apr 30, 2017 · review 31472956
  • exploration

    3 positive · 1 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Also there are some good things out there in the world, and you have to actually explore to find them.
      positive · Mar 31, 2017 · review 30864230
    • Gameplay is smooth, but it doesn't overwhelms the ingame world itself, which rewards exploring.
      positive · Dec 31, 2019 · review 61020548
    • There's loads of side quests and secrets to find, lots of funny and interesting characters to interact with, loads of data and archive material to collect and read.
      positive · Sep 30, 2020 · review 76832180
  • ui

    1 positive · 4 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • And finally, if you have a controller hooked up to your PC, there is a good chance the mouse pointer will pop up in the middle of your screen often.
      negative · Sep 30, 2017 · review 35354395
    • But you just can't tell me explicitely that you do not support autosave, that you'd tell me ingame how to save (so i assume it's going to be via metroid-esque save stations), then never mention it again and delete over an hour of my progress when i die on the second boss (while i have …
      negative · Mar 31, 2018 · review 41182750
    • - horrible and slow interface, it took me a long time to orientate myself around in it and up to this point, the map markers are just as confusing as all the little animations everywhere that delay your input whenever you interact with the interface
      negative · May 31, 2018 · review 42407144

Emergent themes unvalidated

topics reviewers bring up that are not on the validated list; raw counts only, no error bars

  • camera 6

Review timeline

monthly peak 4,111 reviews · all languages

review volume 2,000 4,000 0 positive review share 100% 50% 0% 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Mar 2017 · 4,111 reviews (3,553 up · 558 down) · 86% positive Apr 2017 · 2,916 reviews (2,174 up · 742 down) · 75% positive May 2017 · 2,173 reviews (1,574 up · 599 down) · 72% positive Jun 2017 · 1,287 reviews (995 up · 292 down) · 77% positive Jul 2017 · 1,464 reviews (1,184 up · 280 down) · 81% positive Aug 2017 · 549 reviews (462 up · 87 down) · 84% positive Sep 2017 · 1,324 reviews (1,026 up · 298 down) · 77% positive Oct 2017 · 545 reviews (453 up · 92 down) · 83% positive Nov 2017 · 2,839 reviews (2,676 up · 163 down) · 94% positive Dec 2017 · 824 reviews (747 up · 77 down) · 91% positive Jan 2018 · 627 reviews (573 up · 54 down) · 91% positive Feb 2018 · 318 reviews (278 up · 40 down) · 87% positive Mar 2018 · 2,168 reviews (1,665 up · 503 down) · 77% positive Apr 2018 · 894 reviews (749 up · 145 down) · 84% positive May 2018 · 880 reviews (746 up · 134 down) · 85% positive Jun 2018 · 535 reviews (468 up · 67 down) · 87% positive Jul 2018 · 383 reviews (339 up · 44 down) · 89% positive Aug 2018 · 328 reviews (282 up · 46 down) · 86% positive Sep 2018 · 561 reviews (442 up · 119 down) · 79% positive Oct 2018 · 524 reviews (440 up · 84 down) · 84% positive Nov 2018 · 2,771 reviews (2,645 up · 126 down) · 95% positive Dec 2018 · 534 reviews (466 up · 68 down) · 87% positive Jan 2019 · 347 reviews (310 up · 37 down) · 89% positive Feb 2019 · 676 reviews (362 up · 314 down) · 54% positive Mar 2019 · 709 reviews (364 up · 345 down) · 51% positive Apr 2019 · 289 reviews (237 up · 52 down) · 82% positive May 2019 · 455 reviews (387 up · 68 down) · 85% positive Jun 2019 · 804 reviews (734 up · 70 down) · 91% positive Jul 2019 · 1,102 reviews (971 up · 131 down) · 88% positive Aug 2019 · 520 reviews (439 up · 81 down) · 84% positive Sep 2019 · 301 reviews (268 up · 33 down) · 89% positive Oct 2019 · 300 reviews (276 up · 24 down) · 92% positive Nov 2019 · 963 reviews (924 up · 39 down) · 96% positive Dec 2019 · 1,331 reviews (1,241 up · 90 down) · 93% positive Jan 2020 · 863 reviews (816 up · 47 down) · 95% positive Feb 2020 · 1,211 reviews (1,080 up · 131 down) · 89% positive Mar 2020 · 3,348 reviews (3,059 up · 289 down) · 91% positive Apr 2020 · 1,395 reviews (1,290 up · 105 down) · 92% positive May 2020 · 951 reviews (884 up · 67 down) · 93% positive Jun 2020 · 827 reviews (777 up · 50 down) · 94% positive Jul 2020 · 929 reviews (872 up · 57 down) · 94% positive Aug 2020 · 758 reviews (700 up · 58 down) · 92% positive Sep 2020 · 1,443 reviews (1,252 up · 191 down) · 87% positive Oct 2020 · 2,431 reviews (2,204 up · 227 down) · 91% positive Nov 2020 · 1,254 reviews (1,155 up · 99 down) · 92% positive Dec 2020 · 1,584 reviews (1,420 up · 164 down) · 90% positive Jan 2021 · 2,172 reviews (2,002 up · 170 down) · 92% positive Feb 2021 · 1,152 reviews (1,065 up · 87 down) · 92% positive Mar 2021 · 3,165 reviews (1,027 up · 2,138 down) · 32% positive Apr 2021 · 1,735 reviews (1,083 up · 652 down) · 62% positive May 2021 · 2,643 reviews (2,248 up · 395 down) · 85% positive Jun 2021 · 1,023 reviews (840 up · 183 down) · 82% positive Jul 2021 · 1,177 reviews (992 up · 185 down) · 84% positive Aug 2021 · 839 reviews (775 up · 64 down) · 92% positive Sep 2021 · 647 reviews (583 up · 64 down) · 90% positive Oct 2021 · 2,099 reviews (1,927 up · 172 down) · 92% positive Nov 2021 · 1,071 reviews (1,004 up · 67 down) · 94% positive Dec 2021 · 1,411 reviews (1,293 up · 118 down) · 92% positive Jan 2022 · 1,510 reviews (1,389 up · 121 down) · 92% positive Feb 2022 · 798 reviews (750 up · 48 down) · 94% positive Mar 2022 · 1,222 reviews (1,121 up · 101 down) · 92% positive Apr 2022 · 965 reviews (908 up · 57 down) · 94% positive May 2022 · 621 reviews (580 up · 41 down) · 93% positive Jun 2022 · 610 reviews (567 up · 43 down) · 93% positive Jul 2022 · 726 reviews (680 up · 46 down) · 94% positive Aug 2022 · 591 reviews (558 up · 33 down) · 94% positive Sep 2022 · 500 reviews (470 up · 30 down) · 94% positive Oct 2022 · 475 reviews (441 up · 34 down) · 93% positive Nov 2022 · 617 reviews (594 up · 23 down) · 96% positive Dec 2022 · 654 reviews (612 up · 42 down) · 94% positive Jan 2023 · 982 reviews (928 up · 54 down) · 95% positive Feb 2023 · 579 reviews (548 up · 31 down) · 95% positive Mar 2023 · 1,709 reviews (1,560 up · 149 down) · 91% positive Apr 2023 · 1,336 reviews (1,249 up · 87 down) · 93% positive May 2023 · 1,094 reviews (996 up · 98 down) · 91% positive Jun 2023 · 623 reviews (571 up · 52 down) · 92% positive Jul 2023 · 1,266 reviews (1,156 up · 110 down) · 91% positive Aug 2023 · 743 reviews (676 up · 67 down) · 91% positive Sep 2023 · 645 reviews (602 up · 43 down) · 93% positive Oct 2023 · 418 reviews (382 up · 36 down) · 91% positive Nov 2023 · 633 reviews (600 up · 33 down) · 95% positive Dec 2023 · 1,301 reviews (1,197 up · 104 down) · 92% positive Jan 2024 · 1,239 reviews (1,143 up · 96 down) · 92% positive Feb 2024 · 686 reviews (627 up · 59 down) · 91% positive Mar 2024 · 1,245 reviews (1,102 up · 143 down) · 89% positive Apr 2024 · 1,020 reviews (908 up · 112 down) · 89% positive May 2024 · 1,258 reviews (1,135 up · 123 down) · 90% positive Jun 2024 · 720 reviews (656 up · 64 down) · 91% positive Jul 2024 · 1,423 reviews (1,272 up · 151 down) · 89% positive Aug 2024 · 854 reviews (789 up · 65 down) · 92% positive Sep 2024 · 1,003 reviews (891 up · 112 down) · 89% positive Oct 2024 · 814 reviews (740 up · 74 down) · 91% positive Nov 2024 · 661 reviews (609 up · 52 down) · 92% positive Dec 2024 · 1,252 reviews (1,147 up · 105 down) · 92% positive Jan 2025 · 1,083 reviews (978 up · 105 down) · 90% positive Feb 2025 · 862 reviews (779 up · 83 down) · 90% positive Mar 2025 · 1,034 reviews (929 up · 105 down) · 90% positive Apr 2025 · 750 reviews (686 up · 64 down) · 91% positive May 2025 · 1,019 reviews (905 up · 114 down) · 89% positive Jun 2025 · 985 reviews (862 up · 123 down) · 88% positive Jul 2025 · 1,116 reviews (1,026 up · 90 down) · 92% positive Aug 2025 · 1,233 reviews (1,092 up · 141 down) · 89% positive Sep 2025 · 750 reviews (653 up · 97 down) · 87% positive Oct 2025 · 814 reviews (712 up · 102 down) · 87% positive Nov 2025 · 701 reviews (639 up · 62 down) · 91% positive Dec 2025 · 855 reviews (787 up · 68 down) · 92% positive Jan 2026 · 886 reviews (793 up · 93 down) · 90% positive Feb 2026 · 651 reviews (586 up · 65 down) · 90% positive Mar 2026 · 1,115 reviews (980 up · 135 down) · 88% positive Apr 2026 · 815 reviews (742 up · 73 down) · 91% positive May 2026 · 779 reviews (707 up · 72 down) · 91% positive Jun 2026 · 617 reviews (549 up · 68 down) · 89% positive Jul 2026 · 757 reviews (680 up · 77 down) · 90% positive Aug 2026 · 750 reviews (670 up · 80 down) · 89% positive Sep 2026 · 624 reviews (543 up · 81 down) · 87% positive Oct 2026 · 66 reviews (55 up · 11 down) · 83% positive

monthly share rated positive · 50% reference · months with <5 reviews faded

the timeline as a table
Reviews per month, all languages; months with no reviews are left out.
month reviews up down positive note
Mar 2017 4,111 3,553 558 86%
Apr 2017 2,916 2,174 742 75%
May 2017 2,173 1,574 599 72%
Jun 2017 1,287 995 292 77%
Jul 2017 1,464 1,184 280 81%
Aug 2017 549 462 87 84%
Sep 2017 1,324 1,026 298 77%
Oct 2017 545 453 92 83%
Nov 2017 2,839 2,676 163 94%
Dec 2017 824 747 77 91%
Jan 2018 627 573 54 91%
Feb 2018 318 278 40 87%
Mar 2018 2,168 1,665 503 77%
Apr 2018 894 749 145 84%
May 2018 880 746 134 85%
Jun 2018 535 468 67 87%
Jul 2018 383 339 44 89%
Aug 2018 328 282 46 86%
Sep 2018 561 442 119 79%
Oct 2018 524 440 84 84%
Nov 2018 2,771 2,645 126 95%
Dec 2018 534 466 68 87%
Jan 2019 347 310 37 89%
Feb 2019 676 362 314 54%
Mar 2019 709 364 345 51%
Apr 2019 289 237 52 82%
May 2019 455 387 68 85%
Jun 2019 804 734 70 91%
Jul 2019 1,102 971 131 88%
Aug 2019 520 439 81 84%
Sep 2019 301 268 33 89%
Oct 2019 300 276 24 92%
Nov 2019 963 924 39 96%
Dec 2019 1,331 1,241 90 93%
Jan 2020 863 816 47 95%
Feb 2020 1,211 1,080 131 89%
Mar 2020 3,348 3,059 289 91%
Apr 2020 1,395 1,290 105 92%
May 2020 951 884 67 93%
Jun 2020 827 777 50 94%
Jul 2020 929 872 57 94%
Aug 2020 758 700 58 92%
Sep 2020 1,443 1,252 191 87%
Oct 2020 2,431 2,204 227 91%
Nov 2020 1,254 1,155 99 92%
Dec 2020 1,584 1,420 164 90%
Jan 2021 2,172 2,002 170 92%
Feb 2021 1,152 1,065 87 92%
Mar 2021 3,165 1,027 2,138 32%
Apr 2021 1,735 1,083 652 62%
May 2021 2,643 2,248 395 85%
Jun 2021 1,023 840 183 82%
Jul 2021 1,177 992 185 84%
Aug 2021 839 775 64 92%
Sep 2021 647 583 64 90%
Oct 2021 2,099 1,927 172 92%
Nov 2021 1,071 1,004 67 94%
Dec 2021 1,411 1,293 118 92%
Jan 2022 1,510 1,389 121 92%
Feb 2022 798 750 48 94%
Mar 2022 1,222 1,121 101 92%
Apr 2022 965 908 57 94%
May 2022 621 580 41 93%
Jun 2022 610 567 43 93%
Jul 2022 726 680 46 94%
Aug 2022 591 558 33 94%
Sep 2022 500 470 30 94%
Oct 2022 475 441 34 93%
Nov 2022 617 594 23 96%
Dec 2022 654 612 42 94%
Jan 2023 982 928 54 95%
Feb 2023 579 548 31 95%
Mar 2023 1,709 1,560 149 91%
Apr 2023 1,336 1,249 87 93%
May 2023 1,094 996 98 91%
Jun 2023 623 571 52 92%
Jul 2023 1,266 1,156 110 91%
Aug 2023 743 676 67 91%
Sep 2023 645 602 43 93%
Oct 2023 418 382 36 91%
Nov 2023 633 600 33 95%
Dec 2023 1,301 1,197 104 92%
Jan 2024 1,239 1,143 96 92%
Feb 2024 686 627 59 91%
Mar 2024 1,245 1,102 143 89%
Apr 2024 1,020 908 112 89%
May 2024 1,258 1,135 123 90%
Jun 2024 720 656 64 91%
Jul 2024 1,423 1,272 151 89%
Aug 2024 854 789 65 92%
Sep 2024 1,003 891 112 89%
Oct 2024 814 740 74 91%
Nov 2024 661 609 52 92%
Dec 2024 1,252 1,147 105 92%
Jan 2025 1,083 978 105 90%
Feb 2025 862 779 83 90%
Mar 2025 1,034 929 105 90%
Apr 2025 750 686 64 91%
May 2025 1,019 905 114 89%
Jun 2025 985 862 123 88%
Jul 2025 1,116 1,026 90 92%
Aug 2025 1,233 1,092 141 89%
Sep 2025 750 653 97 87%
Oct 2025 814 712 102 87%
Nov 2025 701 639 62 91%
Dec 2025 855 787 68 92%
Jan 2026 886 793 93 90%
Feb 2026 651 586 65 90%
Mar 2026 1,115 980 135 88%
Apr 2026 815 742 73 91%
May 2026 779 707 72 91%
Jun 2026 617 549 68 89%
Jul 2026 757 680 77 90%
Aug 2026 750 670 80 89%
Sep 2026 624 543 81 87%
Oct 2026 66 55 11 83%

How this report was made

Population
all Steam reviews of the game (every language, purchase type, and verdict), walked newest-first per window; only English-language reviews are analyzed
Sample
522 English reviews, time-proportional draw over 116 windows (newest-first within each), taken from an all-language walk and kept English-only — where English is a minority the sample runs smaller than the draw, and every margin of error is computed at 522
Aspect yield
306 of 522 analyzed reviews carry at least one aspect (58.6%); every share on this page divides by all 522
Interval regime
calm: standard margins of error for a share of a sample (Wilson interval), no widening needed
Fetch paths
116 time windows fetched directly (windowed)
Language mix
1,000 fetched: english 522 · schinese 114 · spanish 78 · 21 more
Steam-marked windows
none flagged by Steam (Valve's off-topic flagging began March 2019)
Marked share
0.0% of sample inside marked windows, under the 2% floor
Narrative
passed the grounding gate first try
Evidence floor
aspects and emergent themes appear only with 5+ supporting reviews; smaller counts sit at the classifier's false-positive floor
Instrument readings
measured once on the study corpus for this model and prompt: frozen calibration, not properties of this run
· aspect tagging vs. human labels
0.801 [0.752–0.844] (F1 against a human-labeled test set; 1.0 is best)
· quotes filed under the wrong aspect
11.6% [6.6–19.6] of quotes, measured by hand on a sample; lower is better — measured on the prior model (2026-08-05); re-measurement pending
· independent model vs. production labels
0.791 [0.772–0.810] (F1 of the production labeler against an independent judge model) — measured on the prior model (2026-07-25); re-measurement pending
Versions
deepseek-flash · prompt classify-v1 · ontology v2
Run
serve-20261003T120801Z-ce57a7a5 · code 798e06c

full methodology in the milestone write-ups