Along with the announcement of the Nier Replicant remaster, we also discussed Nier Re[in]carnation, the upcoming mobile game in the Nier series.

At the time, all we had was a short teaser showing some game environments, with a reference to a place called “the Cage” that is presumably the game’s setting, and a few quotes from producer Yosuke Saito and direction Yoko Taro about their goals for the game.

Of course, the use of “reincarnation” in the title has let to theories about what the story might involve.

We still know very little about Nier Re[in]carnation, although a new Famitsu article confirms that it will have gacha. Here’s hoping the gacha elements aren’t too intrusive.

(I can’t see the typical character-collection sort of gacha game working for this game, anyway.)

This new detail accompanied the first actual gameplay footage, which shows the player using a virtual joystick on the touchscreen to control a girl running through a castle-like area while accompanied by a floating creature.

The girl, who was also shown in the art when the game was announced, is most likely the protagonist. Although no details about her have been confirmed yet, some fans believe she’s a young Kaine. It’s hard to get a good look at her face, but I can see how she would fit with the themes mentioned in the initial reveal trailer (memories, longing, solitude, and salvation).

Of course, people have already jumped to the conclusion that since this is the first gameplay video shown, it must be the only gameplay and therefore it will be a walking simulator. Personally, I find it hard to believe that there will be no gameplay beyond what’s shown in the video (although I do wonder how those people think gacha would come into play). They probably just wanted to showcase the general tone and feel of the game.

It looks pretty good for a mobile game to me, and the music is great.

There has been no word so far about localization. What do you think of Nier Re[in]carnation?