To anyone thatwants to bear Emil's cursed visage from NieR: Replicant 1.22474487139, their time has come. A limited-time Instagram filter is letting fans of the upcoming Nier: Replicant v.1.22 don the iconic face of Emil, one of the series' recurring characters, tying in with the upcoming release of the remastered version of the first NieR title.
The creepy, semi-skeletal smiling face of Emil is an iconic symbol of the NieR series first revealed in 2010's NieR, featuring in both versions of the title. Western audiences are much more likely to be familiar with NieR Gestalt, which features a different protagonist to the Japanese release NieR Replicant. Both titles are otherwise much the same and follow on from the same immensely confusing Drakengard ending.
Simply use the QR code on Instagram to enable the face-changing filter, to look like a cursed, immortal child (and part-time shopkeeper). NieR director Yoko Taro is also famed for wearing an Emil mask much of the time at events, piling on yet more mystery to the man behind the convoluted, yet deeply emotional, stories found in the NieR series. Those who have played the smash-hit NieR: Automata will immediately recognize the cheerful shopkeeper, a character first seen in NieR: Automata's prequel.
The original release of NieR was somewhat of a sleeper hit, but the sequel NieR: Automata truly blew its predecessor out of the water in terms of sales and recognition, rocketing the series from a cult classic to an iconic franchise. NieR has since become an ace-in-the-hole for Square Enix, with Automata receiving its fair share of rereleases, such as the Become As Gods edition that made its way to Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam.
Even for those that haven't touched a NieR title, it's possible for players to have come across the series in other games. From SoulCalibur 6 introducing NieR: Automata protagonist 2B as a guest fighter to MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 including an entire raid questline featuring characters from the series, Square Enix has been keen to get NieR into the hands of more and more players.
With NieR: Replicant v.1.22 confirmed to be released near the end of April, those looking to get their hands on the remastered form of the original NieR title have little time left to wait before they can get stuck into the new game. Even the game's mega-fans will have reason to dive back in, with confirmation that Nier: Replicant v1.22 will contain content cut from the original game, as well as fully remastered audio and gameplay to bring the 2010 title up to modern standards.
Nier: Replicant 1.22474487139 will be released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 22 in Japan, and April 23 for the rest of the world.