Cyberpunk 2077 Redeems Itself By Becoming The Great Game It Promised To Be Years Ago
When Cyberpunk 2077 was released two years ago, to massive hype, it was seen as a letdown. But make no mistake, Cyberpunk 2077 was not an awful game back then, merely a very good game that failed to promise to be a great game.
Two years later, with CDPR refusing to give into the negative press and call it a day, buckle down to make what they felt they should have released, eerily similar to The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. The result isn’t as night and day as their first break out title, but it’s noticeable enough to push it from a very good to a fantastic game.
This review won’t go in-depth into the changes, instead looking at it as if this was the first time someone played Cyberpunk 2077.
When it comes to presentation, Cyberpunk 2077 does a great job. Night city shows one side of the glitzy and glamorous city it prides itself on being as well as the dark and grimy (arguably the true version of Night City) thanks to excellent use of colours and shading, some really imaginative art and varied NPCs. It also helps that level design is pretty solid with very few locations looking the same.
So its a good thing that this all runs without having to need an ultra-expensive PC. There’s many graphical options that you can adjust so while some will need to sacrifice a few things, you can still get a good looking game that will play very smoothly. There is some odd bugs here and there but nothing game breaking and it’s doesn’t happen enough to factor into the game’s enjoyment.
The main cast is really well rounded, with excellent voices that really help show how they view their lives and Night City and they look pretty damn good (except for the feet. For some reason we’re still barely above 32-bit era in that regards) with the animation being on point, with the surprising highlight being their facials. This isn’t exaggerated gaming facials but ones that really do a solid job of just showing what the character is feeling about the moment or what has been said. And their personalities really do shine through, even with the ones you only interact with for a short moment. And the romance is really well done, feeling like it’s natural instead of rushed.
The music is excellent. Stand out is “Never Fade Away” by Samurai but there’s an excellent mix of genres (with many songs being a satirical stab at said genres) and the atmospheric pieces are perfect too. The ambient sounds are well done to.
Finally, it should be no surprise that CDPR have banged out a fantastic story with a lot of excellent world building via all kinds of missions and other side stuff, as well as the advertising and news bulletins you get and interacting with characters. No one is a saint but there are those who, even with selfish motives, are decent people at their core. To talk about it in-depth is potential for spoilers but one should not jump to assumptions about any situation or character until everything is played out.
So presentation is great, the story is fantastic but what about the gameplay?
Well thankfully it holds up well alongside the graphical and audio side. It’s nothing revolutionary and you don’t quite have the power fantasy element of say Skyrim but the fact you can switch around perks allows for a LOT of experimentation (tempered by the fact you can only switch stats around once) and also to somewhat undo a build you think isn’t working.
For those who like to be gung-ho, the combat itself is very fun with a fast pace that encourages you to be aggressive but also allows you to be mindful of your health and current situation and allow moments of retreat or to gather breathing room. You can even be an aggressive hacker. Stealth also allows various options and you can either be aggressive or take your time and slowly and carefully take enemies out without alerting them.
Overall you feel the power of becoming a legendary merc, who’s one man heroics feel earned as you continue to play and build up V.
Other good stuff include the photo mode being pretty damn good. It has odd hiccups and can be a bit fiddly to get the angle if your using the drone view but otherwise its really fun to capture what you view are key moments (or great views).
Also its neat that many missions are named after famous songs or other pop culture references.
So how about the negatives. Well they aren’t deal breakers more like “I wish…” kind of things.
It’d be nice if there was more romance options. The fact your choice is even more limited by your gender kind of sucks too. People may feel that quality over quantity would mean having more choice would dilute it, but CDPR have shown they are great at writing major and minor romances.
Vehicles are a missed opportunity and it would be great if there was more to do with them. The moments where you get to control a flying tank (The Basilisk) are few and far.
Another missed opportunity is lack of viewable fictional BD’s (at the very least being moddable.) There are many that are advertised but its a shame you can never view them.
The Wardrobe function is really nice but it is a bit finicky and the limited slots as well as you can’t change it on the fly is a bit restrictive. It can be fussy to create your ideal outfit as well. Still its a welcome addition
It would be nice if there was more ways to finish a main mission or side gig. Talking your way to completion would be really fun.
Crafting is pretty limited. Unless you really go out of your way, it’s really better to either loot or just do missions, where you will see that you will find or be rewarded some of the best stuff
A way to distract people without having to rely on a netrunner’s skills would be ideal as well.
At the end of the day though, these are very minor niggles that annoy you for a moment but disappear as you come to realize that Cyberpunk 2077 is a worthy Open-World game that fans of the genre should get to playing. Is it a masterpiece after all these years? Not quite but it’s been elevated to a great game and one of the best comebacks since No Man’s Sky.
Rating: 9/10
When Cyberpunk 2077 was released two years ago, to massive hype, it was seen as a letdown. But make no mistake, Cyberpunk 2077 was not an awful game back then, merely a very good game that failed to promise to be a great game.
Two years later, with CDPR refusing to give into the negative press and call it a day, buckle down to make what they felt they should have released, eerily similar to The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. The result isn’t as night and day as their first break out title, but it’s noticeable enough to push it from a very good to a fantastic game.
This review won’t go in-depth into the changes, instead looking at it as if this was the first time someone played Cyberpunk 2077.
When it comes to presentation, Cyberpunk 2077 does a great job. Night city shows one side of the glitzy and glamorous city it prides itself on being as well as the dark and grimy (arguably the true version of Night City) thanks to excellent use of colours and shading, some really imaginative art and varied NPCs. It also helps that level design is pretty solid with very few locations looking the same.
So its a good thing that this all runs without having to need an ultra-expensive PC. There’s many graphical options that you can adjust so while some will need to sacrifice a few things, you can still get a good looking game that will play very smoothly. There is some odd bugs here and there but nothing game breaking and it’s doesn’t happen enough to factor into the game’s enjoyment.
The main cast is really well rounded, with excellent voices that really help show how they view their lives and Night City and they look pretty damn good (except for the feet. For some reason we’re still barely above 32-bit era in that regards) with the animation being on point, with the surprising highlight being their facials. This isn’t exaggerated gaming facials but ones that really do a solid job of just showing what the character is feeling about the moment or what has been said. And their personalities really do shine through, even with the ones you only interact with for a short moment. And the romance is really well done, feeling like it’s natural instead of rushed.
The music is excellent. Stand out is “Never Fade Away” by Samurai but there’s an excellent mix of genres (with many songs being a satirical stab at said genres) and the atmospheric pieces are perfect too. The ambient sounds are well done to.
Finally, it should be no surprise that CDPR have banged out a fantastic story with a lot of excellent world building via all kinds of missions and other side stuff, as well as the advertising and news bulletins you get and interacting with characters. No one is a saint but there are those who, even with selfish motives, are decent people at their core. To talk about it in-depth is potential for spoilers but one should not jump to assumptions about any situation or character until everything is played out.
So presentation is great, the story is fantastic but what about the gameplay?
Well thankfully it holds up well alongside the graphical and audio side. It’s nothing revolutionary and you don’t quite have the power fantasy element of say Skyrim but the fact you can switch around perks allows for a LOT of experimentation (tempered by the fact you can only switch stats around once) and also to somewhat undo a build you think isn’t working.
For those who like to be gung-ho, the combat itself is very fun with a fast pace that encourages you to be aggressive but also allows you to be mindful of your health and current situation and allow moments of retreat or to gather breathing room. You can even be an aggressive hacker. Stealth also allows various options and you can either be aggressive or take your time and slowly and carefully take enemies out without alerting them.
Overall you feel the power of becoming a legendary merc, who’s one man heroics feel earned as you continue to play and build up V.
Other good stuff include the photo mode being pretty damn good. It has odd hiccups and can be a bit fiddly to get the angle if your using the drone view but otherwise its really fun to capture what you view are key moments (or great views).
Also its neat that many missions are named after famous songs or other pop culture references.
So how about the negatives. Well they aren’t deal breakers more like “I wish…” kind of things.
It’d be nice if there was more romance options. The fact your choice is even more limited by your gender kind of sucks too. People may feel that quality over quantity would mean having more choice would dilute it, but CDPR have shown they are great at writing major and minor romances.
Vehicles are a missed opportunity and it would be great if there was more to do with them. The moments where you get to control a flying tank (The Basilisk) are few and far.
Another missed opportunity is lack of viewable fictional BD’s (at the very least being moddable.) There are many that are advertised but its a shame you can never view them.
The Wardrobe function is really nice but it is a bit finicky and the limited slots as well as you can’t change it on the fly is a bit restrictive. It can be fussy to create your ideal outfit as well. Still its a welcome addition
It would be nice if there was more ways to finish a main mission or side gig. Talking your way to completion would be really fun.
Crafting is pretty limited. Unless you really go out of your way, it’s really better to either loot or just do missions, where you will see that you will find or be rewarded some of the best stuff
A way to distract people without having to rely on a netrunner’s skills would be ideal as well.
At the end of the day though, these are very minor niggles that annoy you for a moment but disappear as you come to realize that Cyberpunk 2077 is a worthy Open-World game that fans of the genre should get to playing. Is it a masterpiece after all these years? Not quite but it’s been elevated to a great game and one of the best comebacks since No Man’s Sky.
Rating: 9/10