Cyberpunk 2077 review

Recommended

by Flermilyxx

'Cyberpunk 2077' is a game which has had an enormous impact on the gaming industry. That be its initial announcement back in 2012, the famous Keanu Reeves reveal at E3 2019, or its three major delays throughout 2020. The game also experienced a huge amount of negative press on launch in December 2020 with its many issues, bugs and glitches, ultimately resulting in Sony removing the title from its very own Playstation Store.  A game like this only comes every so often. The last title I can think that had such an impact is most likely 'Red Dead Redemption II' or 'Grand Theft Auto V'. 

Regardless of what events came before or after the release of 'Cyberpunk 2077', the most important thing the game needs to demonstrate is that it is worth playing. To put it simply, yes this game is worth your time. It is also a game that has been significantly hyped, and for the quality of a game it is, I can confirm that this game does not meet the hype it had generated. 

Let's start with the good things 'Cyberpunk 2077' does as there are many outstanding features which the game has to offer. Firstly, the open-world environment of the game is truly incredible. The verticality of the city and its design is something I have never quite seen before. Highways dominate the streetscape, above and below, skyscrapers tower over the city and create this ultra-dystopian world where social class can clearly be seen by who occupies the high and low regions of the game's world. It was awesome to see so many buildings in the game be completely accessible by the player. Likewise, it was very impressive to see how the richness of every interior and exterior environment in the game. Markets, for instance, were always buzzing with food, people and activities. People in these environments interacted and ultimately made the world of the game feel incredibly real and liveable. It was also great to have such variation in the environments you could explore in the game. No one area felt the same as the other. I should also mention the level of detail put into the lighting featured throughout the game. Spaces are lit with a huge selection of stunning colours and shades. It is honestly remarkable the level of detail 'Cyberpunk 2077' has to offer. The strong graphics in the game reflect this level of detail extremely well. In particular, facial animation and character models were very well done. Even for NPC's that were just walking around in the world. This is without a doubt a next-generation game, similar to the way 'Red Dead Redemption II' was when it released back in 2018. 

Secondly, the score of 'Cyberpunk 2077' is absolutely awesome. Marcin Przybylowicz, P.T. Adamczyk and Paul Leonard-Morgan do a remarkable job at creating this vibrant and powerful soundtrack that enhances the experience of the game in every moment. A highlight for me was the track titled 'The Rebel Path' which is a song full of heavy synth layers side-chained by ultra-strong percussive hits and kicks. As a fan of electronic music, I had a great time listening to the IDM/EDM styled soundtrack of the game, even in its more ambient moments. 

Thirdly, the gameplay of 'Cyberpunk 2077' had a lot of strong points to it. The weapons felt powerful and very fun to use in the many combat scenarios the game offers to the player. I also found the few boss battles in the game to be very enjoyable, and at times, somewhat challenging. Vehicle handling, from my experience, was well done. I loved the motorcycles you could drive and found that they handled very well. 

Finally, the narrative of the game was fairly well done in my opinion. The main story had a few compelling characters, which through side quests and other activities, grew on me and allowed me to be invested in their contribution to the game's story. The voice acting was very well executed, especially in the supporting characters in the game. V's voice acting I found was compelling and versatile. Johnny Silverhand, voiced by Keanu Reeves, on the other hand, was less compelling, despite having a couple of moments where Keanu's voice acting was well done. 

Now, unfortunately, there were some not so good things about the game. The most obvious of these is the game's large quantity of glitches and bugs. Bugs I experienced included subtitles freezing, music being stuck on repeat, not being able to un-zoom my character's focus, and a couple of others as well. Never have I played a game with so many obvious glitches and issues, which is crazy seeing I've played numerous Ubisoft titles and not even they were as buggy as 'Cyberpunk 2077'. It does ultimately make the game feel rushed and unpolished which is a huge shame considering how amazing its world and environment is. 

Another area of the game that felt a bit lacking was its crafting and progression system. The UI for crafting was confusing and something I never used. Similarly, the progression tree in the game offered nothing that offered anything new or drastic to the game's core gameplay. Looting weaponry and gear was the only method I used to grow my character as in stores these items were way too expensive; often for no real reason. 

Ultimately, despite its clear faults, I found 'Cyberpunk 2077' to be a solid game that I can find myself returning to play in the future. I do feel that the game could have offered so much more, especially in its main narrative which for felt honestly too short clocking in at just over 17 hours. Having played 'Red Dead Redemption II' (which is my favourite game of all-time) and having similar expectations that 'Cyberpunk 2077' could be at the same level, I do believe it falls short. Similar to games like 'Just Cause 3' or 'Assassin's Creed IV', 'Cyberpunk 2077' is enjoyable and well-made but it does come as close to the masterpiece I believed it would be. It has all the elements it needed to be that game, I can see it just by playing it, however, it never leaps to those heights. It always feels like it is lagging behind its best elements. That to me is something I felt throughout the entire experience of playing the game, the feeling that "wow this is good, but I kinda wish this was better than good." Nonetheless, I had a good time with 'Cyberpunk 2077'.