A relatively fresh take on a pretty overused concept.
I first played the demo, not really knowing what to expect, and found myself being sucked into the gameplay real quick. It's not really a game that challenges the life simulation genre with new twists and turns but it does offer some features that I didn't know I wanted until I got to experience them. One of these features is the holiday system, I think it's so much more interactive than in games such as Stardew Valley and I liked that they included some holidays I haven't really seen before. I also really appreciate the friendship/dating system that allows you to meet with villagers for a rendezvous and do different activities together or, if you're really close, take them for a ride or walk around town. It made me more interested in befriending others and I always looked forward to these little meetings.
The town feels alive, with NPCs following their daily schedules and having their own little social circles and backstories, I often was surprised by the amount of things I was able to learn about each villager just by talking to them.
The social events and quests are often a delight, though some might feel repetitive, others really challenge you and how much you can produce in your workshop. I was glad to learn that farming is not mandatory in this game because it really is one of my least favourite aspects of any life sim and it's not very fleshed out in this game either.
Personally, I enjoy this game just as much, if not more, as other, well established life sims and if you can get it cheap, you should definitely consider trying it. Now, it's not completely bug free and some gameplay aspects, such as combat and mining, are less desirable in my opinion, but if you're able to overlook these points, you'll have a sweet, fulfilling little game that might end up keeping you busy for months.

This game has been an absolute surprise to me. I adore CD Project Red's Witcher series, so when I first heard that they're planning to develop this game, I wasn't very happy about that. I wanted more Witcher games, not some random future thing.
When they released the first 45 mins gameplay trailer, I was impressed but i still didn't really care. I didn't have much interest, I never even heard of Cyberpunk before, and i felt that even though the game had a beautiful presentation, it would probably not be that special. I continued following the development and there were a lot of things I didn't like, just judging from their marketing. One of my biggest issues were the general tone of the in game dialog and that they casted Keanu Reeves' face into the game. Did not like that at all but I still kept my eyes peeled, I started to get the feeling that it might still turn out to be interesting at the very least. So, as you can tell, i wasn't part of the hype but i trusted CDPR and that they'd deliver a game as impressive as their Witcher games, at the very least. Then, the game released and everyone just lost their shit.
I gotta be honest, i thought it was hilarious, the glitches and bugs, it was a delight to see all these YouTube videos bashing the game. However, i felt a little disappointed. I actually thought, they'd make something competent. Who knows what happened during development and what possessed them to release the game in such state but it was not something I'd expected CDPR to deliver. So I decided to wait and see once again. A year later, the big 1.5 patch wass released and I decided now was the time. All I can say is something in the lines of "oh my fuck".
This game has been the most impressive, thought-provoking and unique experience I've ever had the pleasure to encounter. Not only is the story out of the mind of a cyborg madman, the characters, the city, the tone and presentation, it all comes together beautifully, immersing you into this strange yet familiar parallel universe where corporations rule the earth with iron fists and people live their lives, knowing that someone might kidnap them to steal their brainchips or robot arms on the way to the corner store.
The story kicks off with a slow day in Night City, just trying to get by in this strange new world, and with each mission, everything just gets weirder and weirder until you're not even sure what you really want anymore. Survival? Principles? Friendship? Or nothing at all?
I could go on and on about how impressed I am but obviously, there are also downsides. It is not a perfect game and even after a year of bug fixes, there are still plenty of issues. I personally experienced mostly visual glitches, which, to be fair, are still pretty funny but it did take away from my immersion. My love interest was absolutely broken (I went for River) and I couldn't even interact with him after his quests, making me feel robbed of any meaningful interaction with him.
That being said, even if the game ran as intended, I felt like there was a deep issue with Night City itself. There is this huge, bustling city you find yourself in and you can barely do anything. No clubs, no pubs, no restaurants, no animations for eating or drinking unless it's scripted, no cinema or any other form of entertainment. Sure, there are some food stands, a few clubs you can actually visit because of some quest givers, and some buildings that are available thanks to gigs but I often found myself wishing that there was just a bit more to experience than work and the main quest. Even if it's shallow, it would have been better than nothing. That and the fact that the main story line is actually pretty fucking short made it still feel like a bit of a let down.
If you don't want to play this game, that's absolutely cool. CDPR fucked up and they should pay the prize for that. But you can also tell that the people working on this game are absolutely talented and passionate and despite its shortcomings, they still managed to create something I've truly never seen before. Cyberpunk is what you want it to be, if you're willing to give it an honest shot, you might fall in love with it or hate it, but i think it deserves a second chance simply for being so strange and special, and truly one of the funniest botched releases of our time.

The thing I like the most about this game is the historical context. I just recently learned that it's (semi) based on real events and that made me appreciate the game a little more than before.
The artstyle is absolutely gorgeous, I personally love the look of all the characters, and the writing is fairly decent. There are some minor spelling mistakes here and there, nothing too terrible. The story lines are alright for the most part, though I personally found it kinda hard to get through the first few chapters. There is little romance until the very end and the main character is just so incompetent. I often wished that she could just learn how to fight or do anything helpful besides standing around and crying.
Is this game a must-play though? I don't think so. It's a very popular franchise and I do think that people who generally enjoy Otomes will have a fairly good time but I also think that there are better games out there.

I have a pretty straightforward relationship with Pokémon, generally speaking. Old games, good, new games, bad, so when i saw the trailer for Scarlet and Violet, i scoffed. I don't usually buy the new games. I borrowed Shield from the library and even that was too expensive in my book. What a waste of life, i thought. I'd rather play anything else.
Ultimately, i heard of the multiplayer function in Violet and since i found it relatively cheap online, i did end up giving it a go. And man, I'm glad i did. This game is so much fun!
It's very obvious that Gamefreak was "inspired" by Breath of the Wild and while you'd think that this concept would start getting old by now, it actually does wonders for the gameplay. The world feels so large and i just can't stop exploring. I love how you can hang out with your Pokémon at any time, i love to picknick with them, i love to take a spin on my mount and just see what's next. Which pokémon i can catch, what trainers i can fight or what shops i can go check out.
What's not so great are the performance issues and graphics. Nothing new for the series, i know, but annoying nonetheless. The game also doesn't feel very challenging. There are people who hate that, i personally think it's not that big of an issue, just don't expect a long and difficult experience.
All in all, it's decent. I almost feel like I'm playing pokémon ruby on my sky blue GBA, back when i was a little baby, not quite sure what to expect next in my grand adventure but eager to find out.