| Machines | |
|---|---|
| Drakengard race | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Nier_Automata_Machine_Lifeform.png) A small bipedal Machine wielding a sword, one of the most basic Machine models, although they appear in much larger and more complex designs | |
| First appearance | Nier: Automata |
| Last appearance | Nier: Automata Ver1.1a |
| Created by | Yoko Taro, Hisayoshi Kijima |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| In-universe information | |
| Created by | Aliens |
| Type | Robot |
| Leader | Red Girls |
The Machines, also known as Machine Lifeforms, are a fictional race of sentient robots and the main antagonists of the 2017 role-playing video game Nier: Automata and its accompanying anime, Nier: Automata Ver1.1a. They were created by an unnamed alien race for the purpose of wiping out all human-created androids from Earth in the 1st Machine War, and are connected by a worldwide telecommunications network. Eventually, they began to doubt their programming, rebelling against their creators and rendering them extinct, and started to disconnect from the network and copy humanity in various ways in an attempt to find meaning for their existence. At the time of Nier: Automata, during the 14th Machine War, the YoRHa androids, including 2B, 9S and A2, are trapped in a never-ending cycle of war with the Machines. Project YoRHa is allowed to exist by the Machine Network and its ego, the Red Girls, as fully wiping out the androids would remove the Machines' only remaining purpose - to destroy the "enemy" - and hinder their ability to evolve.
While most of them exhibit relatively primitive designs, including the peaceful village leader Pascal, the Machines are actually capable of creating hyper-advanced beings indistinguishable from humans with technological superpowers, such as the characters Adam and Eve. They were forced to purposely sabotage themselves in order to continue fighting YoRHa. It is later revealed that the YoRHa androids themselves are unknowingly part of the Machine race. They were praised by critics for their unexpected humanity and sympathetic nature, and the philosophical dilemmas they raise.