 The game opens with a prologue during the summer of 2049 in a snowstorm . In a modern , broken @-@ down grocery store , Nier fends off attacks from ethereal monsters to protect his sick young daughter , Yonah . After defeating the monsters , he checks on Yonah , who has begun to cough badly . The game then cuts to 1 @,@ 312 years later , where the player sees what appears to be the same two characters , now living in a village built upon the ruins of an old town . The low @-@ technology village is one of several , and is surrounded by more modern ruins such as the remnants of train tracks and industrial machinery . The areas between towns are filled with monsters known as Shades that attack travelers . 
