10 NieR: Automata Characters Who Feel Completely Different After a Second Playthrough

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Published May 1, 2026, 2:25 PM EDT

Daniel Trock is a Writer at DualShockers specializing in PC games, lists, and reviews. He has been writing professionally since 2018 and covering games since 2020, with previous work spanning guides, news, lists, and reviews across multiple publications.

Before joining DualShockers, Daniel contributed guides to GamerJournalist and lists to TheGamer. He currently covers tech topics for SlashGear and BGR. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Marist College and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing from Western Connecticut State University.

NieR: Automata is a fantastic open-world action game, of that there can be absolutely no doubt. While I do love the game’s gameplay, though, I don’t think it’d be unreasonable to say that its story is what really helps the whole thing stick in your head. Naturally, the focal point of that excellent story is the characters on both sides of the Android and Machine Lifeform conflict, each of whom go through their own severe trials and tribulations.

By necessity, Automata has you play through certain events several times over the course of its main routes, albeit from different perspectives that gradually reveal more of the story and individual character motivations. You start getting major revelations as soon as the second route begins, but it’s only when you’ve played through all the major story routes and gained a more-or-less complete picture of everything that’s happening that you start to feel the full weight of 2B, 9S, and A2’s respective journeys. If you start a new playthrough from scratch (and if you’re a good person, you have to), you’ll get a whole new appreciation for everyone’s circumstances and motivations.

Major spoilers for NieR: Automata!

10 2B

The Reluctant Executioner

Our main lead, 2B, initially comes off as very cold and aloof, particularly to 9S, frequently reminding him that YoRHa units aren’t supposed to express emotions and trying to keep them on task. It might seem like she’s just kind of rude, but actually, that couldn’t be further from the truth. 2B is an exceptionally kind person, and it’s that kindness that makes life so painful for her.

“No. 2 Type B,” as in “Battler,” is not 2B’s actual designation. Rather, her real type is “E,” as in “Executioner.” While she can be deployed for regular battler unit purposes, her first and foremost programmed priority is to execute her companion scanner unit in the event that he learns the secret behind YoRHa. 2B has done this before to 9S, many times, in fact. This is why she’s so distraught after the Black Box reaction at the start of the game; it was just another instance of her having to give up her relationship with 9S for her mission.

The whole reason 2B keeps telling 9S to clamp down on his emotions and acts cold to him is because she’s both trying to keep a handle on his curiosity and keep her distance so it doesn’t hurt as much when she inevitably has to kill him. Neither works. Ever.

9 9S

The Cat Curiosity Killed

9S, Nines to his friends, is one of YoRHa’s many scanner-type units. Rather than direct combat, his job is to hack, scan, and fish for information in machine systems. Not unlike being a real-life hacker, it’s a line of work that requires a very particular mindset prioritizing curiosity and out-of-the-box thinking, one that comes pre-programmed into all scanner units. Unfortunately, it’s that curiosity that keeps proving to be 9S’s undoing.

As I mentioned, multiple times prior to the start of the game, 9S has successfully hacked into YoRHa’s systems and discovered the truth of the Council of Humanity and the proxy war, usually losing his marbles in the process. Every time this happens, 2B kills him, and his memory gets a factory-reset. No matter how many times this happens, though, it always happens again, thanks to 9S’s insatiable curiosity.

This dreadful cycle is a reflection of the greater cycle both the Androids and Machines find themselves embroiled in. It seems like a forgone conclusion, and no matter how hard 9S tries to break out of it, it all just happens all over again.

8 A2

Searching for a Purpose

Attacker No. 2, A2 for short, is an early model of YoRHa combat Android who defected from the organization at an indeterminate point in the past, battling Machines on her own and occasionally hindering YoRHa operations. Upon her first meeting with 2B and 9S, she seems cold and cruel, even moreso than 2B, suggesting that they should be wary of YoRHa command.

According to supplementary material, A2, originally just “No. 2,” was one of the first YoRHa Androids deployed near the start of the war against the Machines as part of an experimental unit. Unfortunately, said unit was doomed to die from the start, something A2 learned after surviving the encounter that killed all of her comrades and prompted her to go rogue.

A2 has no particular beef with individual YoRHa units, but she refuses to be part of the vicious cycle that Command perpetuates or the cynical world that permits it to happen. Underneath her gruff exterior, though, she is a caring person, which is how she ultimately gets roped into the final conflict at the central tower, surviving the Logic Virus due to having been long-disconnected from the Network. No matter how hard you try to stay out of the world’s nonsense, sometimes, you just have to wade into the muck for what you believe in.

7 Commander White

The Puppet Commander

Commander White is the de facto leader of YoRHa, the highest authority issuing commands to all units via the Bunker. It’s on her orders that 2B and 9S undertake their missions, all allegedly with the blessing of the remnants of humanity on the Moon. Of course, there are no remnants of humanity on the Moon, and by unfortunate necessity, Commander White is very aware of this.

As one of YoRHa’s oldest units, it is Commander White’s explicit directive to preserve the illusion it perpetuates at all costs. She takes no joy in sending her soldiers off to their deaths for what is effectively a lie, but she also understands that if the Androids were to learn of humanity’s extinction, exponentially worse consequences would follow, so she’s resolved to shoulder that burden all by herself.

As with so many other unfortunate individuals in this story, the Commander’s resolve was ultimately meaningless, as even she didn’t know about the backdoor in the YoRHa system that would result in everyone’s infection with the Logic Virus. Rather than fight her fate upon being infected, the Commander sends 2B and 9S off from the Bunker as it self-destructs, once again resolved to go down with the proverbial ship.

6 Simone

The Desperate Admirer

Simone is one of the most notable Machine Lifeform bosses fought by 2B and 9S over the course of the game, presiding over a stage at the center of the ruined amusement park. The first time you encounter her in the initial route, it just seems like she’s screaming nonsensical static, controlling fallen Android bodies with the intent to do you deliberate harm, but all of this dangerous behavior has a root cause.

Simone was originally a normal, stubby Machine who developed a fondness for the Machine "philosopher" Jean-Paul. Eager to make Jean-Paul notice her, Simone traveled far and wide, combing old human data for attractive concepts like fashionable appearances and captivating skills like song and dance. No matter how much she attempted to beautify herself, though, Jean-Paul remained uninterested.

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Simone gradually became desperate, even going so far as to follow a ridiculous rumor that devouring an Android would somehow make you eternally beautiful. While it’s an extreme example, it’s a very clear illustration that Machines are far more sapient than initially depicted.

5 Pascal

Pacifism Over All

Pascal is the head of a Machine village in the forest region who, upon 2B and 9S’s arrival, immediately begins waving white flags of surrender to show they bear no hostility. Out of all the Machines in the game, Pascal is one of the most expressive and erudite, advocating for peace between Machines and Androids and teaching the villagers about pacifism.

As elaborated upon further in the Automata anime, Pascal was originally a regular Machine footsoldier, but as his personality began to awaken, he realized that all of his comrades were dying around him, and he became afraid of both dying himself and losing more people he cares about. This is why he teaches the concept of fear to the villagers, because it is, to him, the best way to ensure their safety and survival.

Unfortunately, this stance of absolute pacifism doesn’t hold up when the villagers are assaulted by the Logic Virus and begin devouring each other. Pascal manages to keep a small group of them safe, going as far as breaking his pacifism to fight off attackers with A2, only to find that his wards have taken their own lives, utterly consumed by the fear he taught them. It’s a vital lesson: pacifism is a good moral stance, but you can’t live a life consumed by fear.

4 Adam

A Scholar Without a Framework

After 2B and 9S encounter a cluster of Machines in the desert, the Machines go wild and form themselves into a makeshift cocoon, giving “birth” to a new humanoid-type Machine named Adam. Adam is barely sapient at first, but his immense ability to learn from his surroundings allows him to swiftly become indistinguishable from an Android, though his real dream is to emulate humanity.

While Adam explores the world, he takes particular care to study the leftover works of humanity, especially the Bible. This is why he dresses himself head-to-toe, eats a lot of apples, and leaves several dead Androids crucified in his Copied City; he’s absorbing the knowledge, but not really grasping the actual meaning or purpose behind any of it.

Adam wanted to be as close to humanity as realistically possible, hence his desire to find the alleged human colony on the Moon. The whole reason he disconnects from the network before fighting 2B for the last time is that he’s interested in the human fear of death, again not really understanding that death is terrifying because it is final.

3 Eve

A Newborn Grasping for Purpose

When 2B and 9S battle Adam in the desert, after dealing him a critical injury, he suddenly begins spontaneously replicating himself, creating a nearly-identical humanoid Machine that he names Eve. Adam adopts Eve as his brother, and Eve is happy to follow Adam’s lead.

Unlike Adam, who is obsessed with Adam and engaged with the war, Eve doesn’t particularly care about either. He just admires his brother and wants to spend more time with him, going along with his plans because it’s a good opportunity for them to hang out. He’s rather childlike in disposition, only doing the studying Adam assigns him on the promise they’ll pal around afterward.

Ironically, Eve ends up becoming closer to humanity than Adam ever did, as upon Adam’s death at 2B’s hands, he flies into a blind rage at having lost the only person in the entire world who meant anything to him. His grief is so overpowering, it affects every other Machine on the network, which also finally gives the Androids a distinct edge in the war after his defeat.

2 Emil

The Last Man Standing

2B and 9S discover Emil’s rolling head in the abandoned shopping mall, a mysterious entity that’s neither Android nor Machine. Emil is, of course, the Emil from the original NieR who fought alongside that game’s hero and Kaine long ago, now an amnesiac storekeeper who greets all potential customers with a friendly smile.

By tracking down Lunar Tears for him, Emil gradually regains his memories of the past: when the Aliens first invaded Earth, Emil volunteered himself as its protector, using his immense magical powers to fight both them and their Machines. He even began duplicating himself en masse to create a literal one-man army; the Emil we meet isn’t even the original, just one of many copies.

When he fully regains his memories, Emil is saddened, not by being a clone or the fact that his original’s actions alongside his friends were ultimately meaningless, but merely by the fact that his friends aren’t around anymore. Even so, he’s resolved to keep a stiff upper lip, knowing that even if it was all for nothing, Nier and Kaine wouldn’t want him getting all mopey and stagnant over it.

1 Pods 042 and 153

The Silent Vigils

The Pods are 2B and 9S’s partners, with 042 following 2B and 153 following 9S. Their purposes are to provide firing and logistics support, as well as ensure the Androids follow proper mission protocol. Neither of them have much in the way of overt personalities, as they don’t really need to, but that gradually starts to change over the course of the game.

Both Pods are gradually shaped by the more emotional decisions made by 2B, 9S, and A2 during the story, especially in the last stretch when things reach their most dire state. At multiple times, 042 makes cold, yet efficient suggestions to 2B, which she usually ignores in favor of following her gut. 153, meanwhile, becomes concerned for 9S’s safety, trying and failing to keep a lid on his curiosity in a similar vein to 2B.

When everything is said and done, both Pods are expected to follow their directive and erase all YoRHa data. However, 042 and 153’s newly-acquired emotions help them discover a contradiction: if the YoRHa protocol is to erase all YoRHa data, the protocol is meaningless, and so they are free to make their own decisions. There is always a way to break a cycle, and it only takes a tiny spark of insight to find it.