The "objective review" does not exist.

There's an ongoing debate about whether or not the current cycle of praise for Cyberpunk 2077 is blatant revisionism or valid. Either the game was always good or it was always sucked. The game's in a better state, no doubt. But it's still unpolished in really small ways that add up to a greater whole. There are still no gender-neutral options, and while the one trans character in here is well-written, the in-game ads are still a bit tasteless to anyone not comfortable with that line being crossed. If you want to spark a divisive conversation with your friends, talk about Cyberpunk 2077. If this review brings those same responses out of the woodwork, so be it.

I really, really like Cyberpunk 2077. About a year ago, I called it a diamond in the rough; "the best damn 7/10 I've ever played." The issue with that statement is that it's misleading. If review scores are subjective, what good is a 7/10 if the game you're giving it to is something that's earning high praise from you? Cyberpunk 2077 is a diamond in the rough, no doubt. But it's the kind of scratched-up jewel that still holds beauty to me.

Underscoring its bleak world and grim atmosphere, there's a beating heart inside Cyberpunk 2077. For a game that has most of its side-quests involve killing people, it's a game that treats the individuals at its core like people. Whereas most games of this sort would cut the fluff and get straight to the killing, there are several side-stories here that just involve... talking. Two out of my three siblings practically dropped this game because they got sick of skipping dialog, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Pyramid Song, the quest where you uncover a sentient vending machine, hell, the five minutes you spend fixing a roller coaster in Pacifica so you can ride it are among some of my favorite gaming memories from the past five years or so, and those are all small fish in comparison to the much larger questlines stuffed in here. Most of it is, at the very least, intriguing. As for the quests that involve fighting people, I actually enjoy the combat here. I love the way Double Barrels knock people on their asses, the feeling of a rip-roaring machine gun in my hands, piercing through walls with a charged shot to deliver a killing blow, and slicing and dicing my way through a crowd with a katana. I love the dynamic that hacking brings to the party and all of the unique ways you can play the game just by saving your money to chrome up. Double jumping around Night City is the sort of fun very few games capitalize on. Seriously, try turning off your mini-map so you can get to your objectives by jumping around. It's a delight that rarely gets old. I swear to god, I'm not bootlicking here. I just really can't get enough of how much fun this game is to play.

And yes, it is buggy. The police system is barely there. You can chalk that up to the hilariously absurd solution they have cooked for that in there currently. But while I've praised this for being a very fun time, its mild GTA-flavoring belies that a lot of what's adjacent in here feels like it's been included out of obligation and not desire. The police system is a great example of that, but I'd also argue that the ability to steal cars is also indicative of this. Unlike GTA, you almost always have a car in your possession that you can have spawned right next to you at any time. You can technically level your specs high enough to steal some of the most debonair cars in the city, but by that point, you've probably unlocked a few of those from sidequests. Likewise, while I'd argue that unlocking the cars of certain characters by doing quests related to them is a delicate touch, the fact that you can't customize any of the cars you own makes it so a few of the cars you unlock feel obsolete past a certain point. But the kicker is this: if you want a decent example of what this game succeeds at, it's the gigs. They can start to feel like a case of quantity over quality at a certain point. But a majority of them stress the far less linear aspects of this game to the point where they almost make this feel like it's as much of an immersive sim as it is an Open World Crime Game in the Wake of Grand Theft Auto III™. I wouldn't say it excels at being an immersive sim; owing to the linearity of its main quest and a few areas where the player's agency is reduced outside of it, going into Cyberpunk expecting Deus Ex will only yield disappointment. But it apes the basics successfully enough for me to say that the bulk of what makes this a great experience outside of the story-centric quests are those gigs. It's a bummer that that's not the exact impression many had going into this, and it's a huge stinker that that's the way they marketed this, but that's that. I hear they're patching this to include a better police system and drive-by mechanics, which is neat enough for me to maybe reconsider my stance on this when it drops. Until then, though, don't think of Cyberpunk as a Grand Theft Auto and Blade Runner crossover if you want to value your experience with it.

However long it takes for CD Projekt Red to make a sequel, I will try my hardest to be here. As long as the developers are treated right and the game isn't rushed out the door in a questionable state, and they hone in on the very obvious immersive sim inspirations more, Cyberpunk 2 could have some serious heat attached to it.

And yeah, I thought Edgerunners was cool.