The Nier: Automata community was sent into meltdown this week when one player finally posted proof that they had managed to access a part of the game no one had ever seen before. While most players have been frantically replaying the game in an attempt to find the hidden door for themselves, others have instead been modding the passageway and the church waiting on the other side into different games.
“Uhhh guys I found the nier church in mario 64,” Reonu_ posted on Reddit (via ResetEra). The clip begins with a sleeping Mario who has been left idle jumping to his feet and finding a hidden door near the back of Super Mario 64's castle in Bob-Omb Battlefield. Once you join Mario in the modded secret room, the plumber drops down a huge distance before traversing through a blinding white tunnel, just like A2 in the Nier clip.
The same ResetEra post shows someone has also managed to build Nier's mysterious door in Minecraft. There are likely more recreations and homages out there, which is where the issue with the discovery comes for some players. Many people remain skeptical of the player's findings, claiming it to be a mod or something they have simply created themselves.
There's a pretty major hole in those accusations, though. The modding tools and capabilities that would allow a player to mess with Nier: Automata in such a way simply don't exist. The player actually reported their findings a month ago wiithout video evidence. They were hounded to such an extent that they disappeared and everyone assumed they were lying or mistaken. Cue their return with a clip proving their claim and it causing the aforementioned meltdown.
Players who have platinumed Automata have been retuning to the game in an attempt to find the door for themselves, only to report back that they can't. As for anyone still doubting its legitimacy, Nier producer Yosuke Saito has replied to the clip on Twitter with “eternal mystery”. Perhaps confirmation that it's real, but also clarification that he won't be revealing how the rest of the Nier community can make it through the door.