Cyberpunk 2077 Review

Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG developed by CD Projekt Red. This game is also the highly anticipated follow-up to the company’s hugely successful 2015 game The Witcher III. As you can imagine, the buzz around Cyberpunk 2077 has been strong, and players have been eagerly awaiting its release for years.

With so much hype surrounding this game, has it lived up to the expectations of players? Or has something else given this title a tinge of infamy already?

The obvious issues of Cyberpunk 2077

To be blunt, Cyberpunk 2077 released as a buggy mess. These issues exist primarily on current generation consoles, but each version of the game has flaws. Playing on a base PlayStation 4, I experienced no less than six crashes, countless graphical bugs, and some issues with controlling my character. However, it should be noted that the 1.04 patch released for Cyberpunk 2077 has improved the experience significantly.

That being said, the game is still highly unpolished and messy. While I have never been one to let a buggy game disappoint me, I can absolutely understand and expect others to be upset with the state of the game. For that reason alone, I have a hard time recommending Cyberpunk 2077 in the state that it launched in.

However, I can say that I did enjoy my time in Night City. As someone who grew up playing bug-riddled RPGs, such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3, I felt right at home. Naturally, that isn’t a praise for this game, as it should never have released like this. Although, I will say that I can imagine some hardcore Bethesda RPG fans having a great time with this game in the years to come.

The spirit of Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is not simply the name of a franchise. It is primarily a genre that is identified via specific world elements. In this genre you will find dystopian futures, as well as overpowered corporations with unnerving depictions of poverty to contrast them. These themes are typically complemented by dreams of futuristic technology and rebellious attitudes toward authority.

Unsurprisingly, you’ll find all of this within the setting and story of Cyberpunk 2077. Oddly enough, though, I can’t shake the feeling that it has all been done better in other examples of the genre. Cyberpunk 2077 has a lot of stiff competition in this regard, but I expected it to at least rank somewhere near the top.

The Cyberpunk elements of the game seem to be whispered over the course of the adventure. You can clearly see them in the aesthetic of Night City. However, the game seems to be more interested in pushing dated humor and edgy “coolness” that seems pretty strange to find in a 2020 release. It’s as if in an attempt to be super mature and shocking to players, the game has given itself a distinct stench of immaturity.

For example, conversations occasionally allow the player to use skill checks when speaking to other characters. One conversation allowed me to use the “Cool” skill that I had built up. Of course I wanted to say something cool, so I chose this dialogue option. The resulting line that was apparently “cool” was a really lame joke about suicide prevention hotlines. At least when Grand Theft Auto does it, it seems like clear satire.