I wanted to replay 2017’s NieR Automata ahead of this year’s NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… to reacquaint myself with director Yoko Taro’s broken, “meaningless” world, that actually lot of meaning.

Android soldiers comprise YoRHa, an organization dedicated to taking back the planet from the machines for the humans who had fled to the moon. Their motto: “glory to mankind.” The machine lifeforms that YoRHa units 2B and 9S encounter are a malevolent, uncountable force. They battle hordes of machines — but something is amiss: the machines are beginning to imitate aspects of humanity. Below, a machine waving a white flag belonging to an “un-networked” faction hurriedly guides 2B and 9S to their village of pacifists.

Well… until my hand slipped.

As their mission continues, an uncomfortable question arises. Androids that simulate humanity and machines that emulate humanity ask: “what defines or delineates humanity in the first place? Can these traits be considered wholly unique or meaningful?”

Ultimately, I think the game does point you to an answer (which I think is worth discovering on your own), but to ponder these questions is part of the joy in digging deep into Automata. It puts you in that kind of headspace — not necessarily good nor bad, but one that helps you parse what’s actually meaningful in a meaningless world.

Below, you can catch our full 9-part playthrough of the game: