 Reviewers were divided in their opinion on the effectiveness of the multiple styles of gameplay presented . Seth Schiesel of The New York Times said that while " there are plenty of games that surpass it in each area , " that Nier pulled all of the styles together into a " coherent , compelling whole " instead of feeling " disjointed " ; he especially praised a section of the game that is presented entirely through text . Patrick Kolan of IGN Australia , however , said that while the different styles were " interesting " and one of the game 's biggest strengths , they suffered from poor execution and cohesion and left the game " with split @-@ personality disorder " . Clements said that " the developers ' ideas sometimes outshine the actual implementation " , while highlighting the gameplay elements as part of what made the game fun . Adriaan den Ouden called out the variety as the best part of the game , likening it to a buffet table , while also acknowledging that none of the sections were " amazing " on their own and could easily be looked upon poorly . 
