Cyberpunk 2077
#17
A not-great RPG makes a pretty great experience! Now that it's 2.0 at least...
The Good:
-The shootin! I used shotguns most of the game and oooo they feel good. Also quickhacks are a fun 'magic' that I wish there was a bit more of!
-Cast of characters are all good-to-great. Johnny, Takemura, River, Judy, Panam... even when they're annoying or assholes they're FUN assholes '
-Phantom Liberty is DOPE but that gets its own review
Side quests are shockingly good. Silverhand narrating a noir novel? Heck yeah.
-Art style is off the damn charts, graphical presentation too.
-When the writing hits hard, it HITS. Calling Jackie's phone after he passes, talking with Johnny at the oil field, laying down with the BD hooker to get an outrageously good soul vomit...
The Bad
-As is usual with CDPR - the roleplaying is just... lacking. Good gameplay variety but with such good writing I expect the character RP to be much much better. Fixed somewhat in Phantom Liberty but that doesn't affect the base game. Normally in CDPR games this goes in the 'meh' column because in that we're playing a well-established character: Geralt. There's not a ton of wiggle room there with who he is. But V can be anyone, quit trying to make me one specific lady
-The open world mechanics are ehhhh. Driving is whatever, there's very little open level design... Just ugh
The Meh:
-As mentioned, the driving. You have to do a lot of it and it is rarely enjoyable but on a motorcycle it aint too bad
The Hmmm
-Why can't I use slomo aaaaand use quickhack powers????
A solid step-down from CDPR's previous Witcher games, a great RPG is ultimately held back by both the studios lack of skill in making a proper ROLE PLAYING game + a near-useless open world that hinders the level design of even the good parts of the game. Strong performances from the cast, excellent side missions and satisfying gunplay + leveling make it a fine experience overall.
Final Grade: B+
#17
A not-great RPG makes a pretty great experience! Now that it's 2.0 at least...
The Good:
-The shootin! I used shotguns most of the game and oooo they feel good. Also quickhacks are a fun 'magic' that I wish there was a bit more of!
-Cast of characters are all good-to-great. Johnny, Takemura, River, Judy, Panam... even when they're annoying or assholes they're FUN assholes '
-Phantom Liberty is DOPE but that gets its own review
Side quests are shockingly good. Silverhand narrating a noir novel? Heck yeah.
-Art style is off the damn charts, graphical presentation too.
-When the writing hits hard, it HITS. Calling Jackie's phone after he passes, talking with Johnny at the oil field, laying down with the BD hooker to get an outrageously good soul vomit...
The Bad
-As is usual with CDPR - the roleplaying is just... lacking. Good gameplay variety but with such good writing I expect the character RP to be much much better. Fixed somewhat in Phantom Liberty but that doesn't affect the base game. Normally in CDPR games this goes in the 'meh' column because in that we're playing a well-established character: Geralt. There's not a ton of wiggle room there with who he is. But V can be anyone, quit trying to make me one specific lady
-The open world mechanics are ehhhh. Driving is whatever, there's very little open level design... Just ugh
The Meh:
-As mentioned, the driving. You have to do a lot of it and it is rarely enjoyable but on a motorcycle it aint too bad
The Hmmm
-Why can't I use slomo aaaaand use quickhack powers????
A solid step-down from CDPR's previous Witcher games, a great RPG is ultimately held back by both the studios lack of skill in making a proper ROLE PLAYING game + a near-useless open world that hinders the level design of even the good parts of the game. Strong performances from the cast, excellent side missions and satisfying gunplay + leveling make it a fine experience overall.
Final Grade: B+