Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the first games I played on my brand new Xbox Series X back in 2020. Upon putting a few hours into it, signs were clear that the game simply was unfinished. I uninstalled the game and vowed to come back when it was ready. Three years later (almost to the day) I returned and found the game almost unrecognizable to the version I had played in the past. While it was still not perfect (texture glitches, characters holding items when they clearly weren't supposed to be, etc.), it was much closer to that original gameplay reveal from 2018. If you were waiting on the original vision CD Projekt Red had for this game, this is the closest you will ever get.
The star of the show here is Night City. It is one of the most immersive and constantly interesting game worlds around. You can't walk far without coming across a side quest, gig, vendor, or something that will just make you stop and admire the craftsmanship of this city. Sometimes, just driving around at night in first person was enough to keep me entertained because I loved living here.
The main story is mostly great. Act 2 is by far the best, while Act 1 and 3 are significantly shorter and weaker. I was not fully on board with it until Act 2 introduces your new best buddy, Johnny Silverhand. Moments with him are some of the highlights of the game as you learn his backstory and your opinion on him changes. Other character standouts are Panam, Judy, and Kerry. I did not, however, really get as attached to Jackie as the game clearly wanted me to be. While I liked him, he will be a character I do not think about when I think of this game. Without spoiling anything, the twists this game takes in the main quest were fun and I was hooked after Act 1 (with some endings being much better than others).
Side quests are a mixed bag. Some of them are better than the main questline, while others boil down to "go shoot those guys and get their loot and bring it back to me" with little more story or reward than that. You can't deny the game provides a ridiculous amount of side content with gigs and side missions, but it is impossible to see what kind of mission it is going to be from the minimap before starting it. You can't tell if it is going to be something interesting like the Sinnerman questline or something pointless. Overall, side quests are there if you want them, but not all of them are worth doing. Rewards from side quests were also not worth it the vast majority of the time.
I have to admit, I played this game as a high speed shooter and rarely interacted with the hacking capabilities unless I was forced to. Throughout my time with the game, I used around 9 guns regularly and ended with a surplus of over 600,000 eddies with nothing interesting to buy. Regarding money specifically, I always had enough crafting materials to upgrade anything I wanted, I had my favorite motorcycle within a few hours (side note, using the minimap while driving is truly awful), and I never saw a benefit from buying food. The only thing worth really investing in were cybernetic upgrades with ripper docs. I wish the game gave me more of a desire to spend my money on different things, but upgrading my V's abilities was pretty awesome.
The gunplay is relatively tight, especially for an RPG like this (comparing it to Bethesda shooting mechanics). Credit has to be given to the developers because you really can play this game however you want (with the exception of a few boss encounters where shooting is your only option). I chose to primarily use sniper rifles and pistols, where another player could almost entirely rely on stealth and hacking to get through hostile areas. Player experimentation is at the forefront of almost all combat scenarios, but I just walked in and blasted everyone and still had a great time.
The Phantom Liberty expansion included with the ultimate edition will most likely be the highlight of the game for most people. You get access to it during Act 2 (almost Act 3) so you will have mastered most aspects of the game by this point. It unlocks a new skill tree (which is extremely limited), new main-quest-quality storyline, tons of side content, and a massive new section of Night City to explore. The story was awesome and it includes a new ending for the main game that is by far my favorite and the most fitting for this game world. This expansion feels like how they wanted the rest of the game to feel from the start. You can play this expansion by itself, but it is really worth playing the main game to this point to really have attachments for existing characters that are involved in the story. It easily adds 15-20 hours if you are doing most side content and completing its fantastic main quest. Phantom Liberty is the absolute highlight of this package.
The 65ish hours I spent with Cyberpunk 2077 were mostly positive. Act 1 almost bounced me off, but I'm glad I kept going. The small character moments will be what will stick with me going forward, as the writing for them is top notch. Gameplay (at least what I experimented with) was mostly tight and very fun. Everyone who likes action RPGs should at least give this game a shot, while it absolutely won't be for everyone. I am truly glad I came back to this game years later and even happier CD Projekt Red got to finish their vision for this game, even if it still didn't reach the highs promised in their marketing.
The star of the show here is Night City. It is one of the most immersive and constantly interesting game worlds around. You can't walk far without coming across a side quest, gig, vendor, or something that will just make you stop and admire the craftsmanship of this city. Sometimes, just driving around at night in first person was enough to keep me entertained because I loved living here.
The main story is mostly great. Act 2 is by far the best, while Act 1 and 3 are significantly shorter and weaker. I was not fully on board with it until Act 2 introduces your new best buddy, Johnny Silverhand. Moments with him are some of the highlights of the game as you learn his backstory and your opinion on him changes. Other character standouts are Panam, Judy, and Kerry. I did not, however, really get as attached to Jackie as the game clearly wanted me to be. While I liked him, he will be a character I do not think about when I think of this game. Without spoiling anything, the twists this game takes in the main quest were fun and I was hooked after Act 1 (with some endings being much better than others).
Side quests are a mixed bag. Some of them are better than the main questline, while others boil down to "go shoot those guys and get their loot and bring it back to me" with little more story or reward than that. You can't deny the game provides a ridiculous amount of side content with gigs and side missions, but it is impossible to see what kind of mission it is going to be from the minimap before starting it. You can't tell if it is going to be something interesting like the Sinnerman questline or something pointless. Overall, side quests are there if you want them, but not all of them are worth doing. Rewards from side quests were also not worth it the vast majority of the time.
I have to admit, I played this game as a high speed shooter and rarely interacted with the hacking capabilities unless I was forced to. Throughout my time with the game, I used around 9 guns regularly and ended with a surplus of over 600,000 eddies with nothing interesting to buy. Regarding money specifically, I always had enough crafting materials to upgrade anything I wanted, I had my favorite motorcycle within a few hours (side note, using the minimap while driving is truly awful), and I never saw a benefit from buying food. The only thing worth really investing in were cybernetic upgrades with ripper docs. I wish the game gave me more of a desire to spend my money on different things, but upgrading my V's abilities was pretty awesome.
The gunplay is relatively tight, especially for an RPG like this (comparing it to Bethesda shooting mechanics). Credit has to be given to the developers because you really can play this game however you want (with the exception of a few boss encounters where shooting is your only option). I chose to primarily use sniper rifles and pistols, where another player could almost entirely rely on stealth and hacking to get through hostile areas. Player experimentation is at the forefront of almost all combat scenarios, but I just walked in and blasted everyone and still had a great time.
The Phantom Liberty expansion included with the ultimate edition will most likely be the highlight of the game for most people. You get access to it during Act 2 (almost Act 3) so you will have mastered most aspects of the game by this point. It unlocks a new skill tree (which is extremely limited), new main-quest-quality storyline, tons of side content, and a massive new section of Night City to explore. The story was awesome and it includes a new ending for the main game that is by far my favorite and the most fitting for this game world. This expansion feels like how they wanted the rest of the game to feel from the start. You can play this expansion by itself, but it is really worth playing the main game to this point to really have attachments for existing characters that are involved in the story. It easily adds 15-20 hours if you are doing most side content and completing its fantastic main quest. Phantom Liberty is the absolute highlight of this package.
The 65ish hours I spent with Cyberpunk 2077 were mostly positive. Act 1 almost bounced me off, but I'm glad I kept going. The small character moments will be what will stick with me going forward, as the writing for them is top notch. Gameplay (at least what I experimented with) was mostly tight and very fun. Everyone who likes action RPGs should at least give this game a shot, while it absolutely won't be for everyone. I am truly glad I came back to this game years later and even happier CD Projekt Red got to finish their vision for this game, even if it still didn't reach the highs promised in their marketing.
saxmaster896
4 months ago