Half of me thinks it deserves a 2, half of me thinks it deserves a 4. I saw this game described somewhere as something like “pretty good for a game comprised entirely of problems,” and I think that’s pretty spot on. Basically everything in Cyberpunk 2077 is broken in some way. I actually despise most of the gameplay mechanics, which all feel bad (except the Witcher Sense reskin dubbed “quickhacking,” which is how I did basically everything). Keanu sounds positively bored to tears in the vocal studio most of the time. I had a key character’s apparent demise interrupted by them floating off the screen in a T-pose, which honestly was hilarious but probably isn’t the intended experience. Oh, and don’t forget I bought this game (technically as a gift, but one which I had access to) as a preorder on Xbox One years ago, only to find it an unplayable catastrophe on Day One. Blah blah blah. If you want to read the laundry list of criticisms this game has very rightfully earned, type “Cyberpunk 2077” into any search bar ever and read away.
My experience playing Cyberpunk led me to find the game is more than the sum of its parts. By the end, I was invested in a few characters. The aura of Night City invades every element of the game—for instance, many features which would exist in a hard-to-rationalize menu in other games (you have a GPS in the top right corner of your vision in The Witcher, people) make perfect sense as a Kiroshi Optics overlay. I was never fully committed to the universe, but I can’t help but be thankful that it exists and I experienced it. It’s a gnarly place! I wanted to help some, hurt others, and wield what little agency I had earned as V to make my mark on the City (though V’s goal, being remembered or whatever, never aligned with what I wanted, and I probably should’ve internalized his goal more while playing whoops). I think the story, which is strong in broad strokes though weak in some details, really tees players up to believe that they did earn that agency and should be able to do what they please with it. Let’s just say the ending I reached wasn’t what I expected, seemed to rob me of that agency, and certainly taught me the bigger lesson CDPR was shooting for there. After researching other possible ends, I’m pretty confident that the game was mostly punishing me for my choices, rather than stealing my power as the protagonist. Fair enough, though I wish I’d felt more compelled to do basically anything off the main path to help get to better ends. Despite that, I was surprised at how manicured and polished the end was after playing a buggy, chaotic mess for the first 23 hours. It’s a good wrap!
So, what? I think as a game, it deserves no respect. Developer hubris led to this being a bloated, half-baked gameplay experience. Playing Cyberpunk sucks, man. But when I take my video games hat off and get a bit less critical, I had some good fun along the way and appreciate much of the story and world which actually exists in that game. I’ve never felt so polarized in giving a game a single score, but I think 3 stars is the average of my experience.
Sorry to my sister, who wholly adores Cyberpunk and would give it 10 stars if possible. Your favorite game is a weird one, but I’m glad I finally played it.
My experience playing Cyberpunk led me to find the game is more than the sum of its parts. By the end, I was invested in a few characters. The aura of Night City invades every element of the game—for instance, many features which would exist in a hard-to-rationalize menu in other games (you have a GPS in the top right corner of your vision in The Witcher, people) make perfect sense as a Kiroshi Optics overlay. I was never fully committed to the universe, but I can’t help but be thankful that it exists and I experienced it. It’s a gnarly place! I wanted to help some, hurt others, and wield what little agency I had earned as V to make my mark on the City (though V’s goal, being remembered or whatever, never aligned with what I wanted, and I probably should’ve internalized his goal more while playing whoops). I think the story, which is strong in broad strokes though weak in some details, really tees players up to believe that they did earn that agency and should be able to do what they please with it. Let’s just say the ending I reached wasn’t what I expected, seemed to rob me of that agency, and certainly taught me the bigger lesson CDPR was shooting for there. After researching other possible ends, I’m pretty confident that the game was mostly punishing me for my choices, rather than stealing my power as the protagonist. Fair enough, though I wish I’d felt more compelled to do basically anything off the main path to help get to better ends. Despite that, I was surprised at how manicured and polished the end was after playing a buggy, chaotic mess for the first 23 hours. It’s a good wrap!
So, what? I think as a game, it deserves no respect. Developer hubris led to this being a bloated, half-baked gameplay experience. Playing Cyberpunk sucks, man. But when I take my video games hat off and get a bit less critical, I had some good fun along the way and appreciate much of the story and world which actually exists in that game. I’ve never felt so polarized in giving a game a single score, but I think 3 stars is the average of my experience.
Sorry to my sister, who wholly adores Cyberpunk and would give it 10 stars if possible. Your favorite game is a weird one, but I’m glad I finally played it.