"Finally made it to the big leagues!"
Is the quote I think of when it comes to this game. Now I won't be one of those people that may exist that are like "well I actually loved cyberpunk since day 1 blah blah" but I truly did. When this game first cameout I fucking adored it, I adored the world, the story and how it was presented, the amazing and memorable dialogue. Despite all of that though I would say I loved this game but I never recommended it in good faith. The game was in nowhere near of a consistently playable state and had arguably the worst version of a triple A to release on PS4/Xbox one. Plus the matter of the fact that the game was built up by so many expectations just to seemingly under deliver on a lot of promises made. Now after 3 years of update and cleaning up the product and adding to it and making the game they wanted to release 3 years ago, with the inclusion of Phantom Liberty. I can say this is a top 5 game of all time for me.
I wanna start with the gameplay which has only been refined overtime. For my recent replay in the buildup to Phantom Liberty I decided to try out a throw build which is a new weapon archetype that was added post launch and man. This is the the most fun I've ever had with the gameplay of an RPG game ever (despite the fact its more of an action game). The combination of being a netrunner and pulling off covert quickhacks just to pop out of cover and nail everybody you saw with a knife from across the room without being spotted. No higher dopamine rush in a RPG game. Then going loud and pulling out the massive "well fuck it" revolver when the plan goes south and I have to break stealth. Engaging with all the systems in this game creates a flow state that is so rarely achieved by other games. Another spot of gameplay that I need to talk about is skill trees. What a fucking massive overhaul from launch. The original cyberpunk skill trees for the most part where unfortunately just percentage boosts with not a lot of uniqueness to a given tree. Just you do something better in this tree compared to the others. With the 2.0 update they finally made them PROPER skill trees. With each category of your character getting a proper ability addition when you reach the top and even at the mid section of skill trees. The skill tree is only just another great part of the gameplay flow of the whole package. Also I found the added vehicle combat to be actually fun! While can be a little weird to control sometimes (especially on a controller) it was fun to get in car chase shootouts.
Another important part of this package as a whole that is arguably my favorite part is the story of the game as a whole. Not just the main quest. The way you interact with the world isn't the most genre defying (especially with Baldur's Gate 3 coming out recently and being a monumental CRPG that has so many ways you can change the world). The interactions with each character is such a joy to go through when you learn about each character's ins and outs. Night City as a whole is such an oppressive depressing shithole of a city. But the story is about how V (your character) tries to make themselves a legend to remember no matter how they cameup. The set pieces are so amazing and fill you with such awe when you experience them. The side quests that show you so many different parts of the city and how the cast of characters lives change around V and how your actions change the trajectory of theirs. Obviously a high point of dialogue and character interactions is with Johnny Silverhand himself. What may come off as a typical super macho rockerboy that convinced himself that his actions were one of a revolutionary, actually has more emotion past that facade he constantly puts up around everybody but V the deeper you go into the game. I think a big part of the story aswell is the city and how it interacts with you and how you interact with it. With the constant police shootouts happening and the random instances of gangs you can run into that try to goad you into trying something. This game is truly one of the most immersive worlds I have ever had the pleasure to engage in.
A thing of importance I have to state separately is the art design of the game as a whole. Despite how the game is designed and the dialogue being topnotch it would be hampered if the art design of the world wasn't as top of the line as it is. Walking through the streets and exploring the dark dank alleys filled with sketchy figures juxtaposed by seeing the highs of opulence with extremely clean and gaudy environments of the 1% of Night City. The music also elevating all the parts of this game as a whole. Plus the fact that this game is the best looking game out there currently. The technological marvel that is this game just existing is an achievement in itself.
I'll add a note here about the dlc but won't say anything spoiler specific. I really loved the dlc! It was a really good story and I loved the setting of Dogtown and thought Dogtown is just another amazing addition to Night City as a whole. While I think the dlc was amazing and just gave me more Cyberpunk which is what I wanted, it's a bit held back by the general length of it's story so you don't get enough time to properly connect to these characters as you do those in the base game. I love Phantom Liberty but I just love the base game more then fucking anything.
With all that said I just want to say I'm so happy to be able to confidently say that yes I fucking love that after three years of defending this game I can say that I can recommend it to people! It is one of my favorite video games of all time easily. A master-class in multiple categories (but not all). This is the game I am proud to proclaim is a game I love dearly and hold to my heart, and I am so fucking excited for what comes next. I am extremely excited with the fact that the director for Phantom Liberty and who's been leading the development to make Cyberpunk a better overall experience (Gabe Amantangelo) cleary has a vision for the future of Cyberpunk with the sequel. The dev team finally got a director who knows what they want to do with this game. I can't be even more fucking excited for what is in store for this world in the sequel!!! Buy this game!!! I love it so much! This is literally my longest review on backloggd I just want everybody to experience the thing I adore!!!
"Will never fade away!"
Is the quote I think of when it comes to this game. Now I won't be one of those people that may exist that are like "well I actually loved cyberpunk since day 1 blah blah" but I truly did. When this game first cameout I fucking adored it, I adored the world, the story and how it was presented, the amazing and memorable dialogue. Despite all of that though I would say I loved this game but I never recommended it in good faith. The game was in nowhere near of a consistently playable state and had arguably the worst version of a triple A to release on PS4/Xbox one. Plus the matter of the fact that the game was built up by so many expectations just to seemingly under deliver on a lot of promises made. Now after 3 years of update and cleaning up the product and adding to it and making the game they wanted to release 3 years ago, with the inclusion of Phantom Liberty. I can say this is a top 5 game of all time for me.
I wanna start with the gameplay which has only been refined overtime. For my recent replay in the buildup to Phantom Liberty I decided to try out a throw build which is a new weapon archetype that was added post launch and man. This is the the most fun I've ever had with the gameplay of an RPG game ever (despite the fact its more of an action game). The combination of being a netrunner and pulling off covert quickhacks just to pop out of cover and nail everybody you saw with a knife from across the room without being spotted. No higher dopamine rush in a RPG game. Then going loud and pulling out the massive "well fuck it" revolver when the plan goes south and I have to break stealth. Engaging with all the systems in this game creates a flow state that is so rarely achieved by other games. Another spot of gameplay that I need to talk about is skill trees. What a fucking massive overhaul from launch. The original cyberpunk skill trees for the most part where unfortunately just percentage boosts with not a lot of uniqueness to a given tree. Just you do something better in this tree compared to the others. With the 2.0 update they finally made them PROPER skill trees. With each category of your character getting a proper ability addition when you reach the top and even at the mid section of skill trees. The skill tree is only just another great part of the gameplay flow of the whole package. Also I found the added vehicle combat to be actually fun! While can be a little weird to control sometimes (especially on a controller) it was fun to get in car chase shootouts.
Another important part of this package as a whole that is arguably my favorite part is the story of the game as a whole. Not just the main quest. The way you interact with the world isn't the most genre defying (especially with Baldur's Gate 3 coming out recently and being a monumental CRPG that has so many ways you can change the world). The interactions with each character is such a joy to go through when you learn about each character's ins and outs. Night City as a whole is such an oppressive depressing shithole of a city. But the story is about how V (your character) tries to make themselves a legend to remember no matter how they cameup. The set pieces are so amazing and fill you with such awe when you experience them. The side quests that show you so many different parts of the city and how the cast of characters lives change around V and how your actions change the trajectory of theirs. Obviously a high point of dialogue and character interactions is with Johnny Silverhand himself. What may come off as a typical super macho rockerboy that convinced himself that his actions were one of a revolutionary, actually has more emotion past that facade he constantly puts up around everybody but V the deeper you go into the game. I think a big part of the story aswell is the city and how it interacts with you and how you interact with it. With the constant police shootouts happening and the random instances of gangs you can run into that try to goad you into trying something. This game is truly one of the most immersive worlds I have ever had the pleasure to engage in.
A thing of importance I have to state separately is the art design of the game as a whole. Despite how the game is designed and the dialogue being topnotch it would be hampered if the art design of the world wasn't as top of the line as it is. Walking through the streets and exploring the dark dank alleys filled with sketchy figures juxtaposed by seeing the highs of opulence with extremely clean and gaudy environments of the 1% of Night City. The music also elevating all the parts of this game as a whole. Plus the fact that this game is the best looking game out there currently. The technological marvel that is this game just existing is an achievement in itself.
I'll add a note here about the dlc but won't say anything spoiler specific. I really loved the dlc! It was a really good story and I loved the setting of Dogtown and thought Dogtown is just another amazing addition to Night City as a whole. While I think the dlc was amazing and just gave me more Cyberpunk which is what I wanted, it's a bit held back by the general length of it's story so you don't get enough time to properly connect to these characters as you do those in the base game. I love Phantom Liberty but I just love the base game more then fucking anything.
With all that said I just want to say I'm so happy to be able to confidently say that yes I fucking love that after three years of defending this game I can say that I can recommend it to people! It is one of my favorite video games of all time easily. A master-class in multiple categories (but not all). This is the game I am proud to proclaim is a game I love dearly and hold to my heart, and I am so fucking excited for what comes next. I am extremely excited with the fact that the director for Phantom Liberty and who's been leading the development to make Cyberpunk a better overall experience (Gabe Amantangelo) cleary has a vision for the future of Cyberpunk with the sequel. The dev team finally got a director who knows what they want to do with this game. I can't be even more fucking excited for what is in store for this world in the sequel!!! Buy this game!!! I love it so much! This is literally my longest review on backloggd I just want everybody to experience the thing I adore!!!
"Will never fade away!"