I gave the game a try for a couple of hours on the PS5 5-hour trial, and I was definitely not hooked. The only thing that seemed interesting back then was Night City itself; it had a solid identity, attitude, charm, and was full of details. But it wasn’t enough; the progression system and combat didn’t click, and the ‘street kid’ background combined with a male V felt very generic.

After the 2.0 update I decided to give it another chance; choosing a ‘nomad’ background and a woman V. I guess this combination of things was the perfect chemistry because I was quickly hooked and enthralled in V and her supporting characters and stories.

There were some minor bugs here and there, and one sudden game crash. Not ideal of course, but given the scale and ambition of the game, it’s not a deal breaker for me overall.

I’ve had a blast with Cyberpunk 2077. I love how every single side gig, no matter how small, it’s filled with details and backstory; none of them have felt generic or repetitive. The city is fantastically realised and diverse; I prefer to drive everywhere and I disabled the mini-map because I love riding through the city and taking in the scenery.

Combat is always satisfying - the music is amazing and takes the fighting energy to the next level, and the variety of possible approaches to combat makes it always fun.

Finally, the story and characters are super captivating and memorable. I love immersing in a story and this one grabs you from the start and never lets go.

Obviously the game has the baggage from its crappy state at launch, which understandably burned lots of people, and some of those rough edges are yet to be polished, but the game I experienced is an outstanding package - an all-encompassing high-end adventure.

It's been long enough since I first played Inside that it felt right to experience it again (but mostly it was super cheap on Steam's Autumn Sale).

The atmosphere is perfectly dark and tastefully unsettling. The environmental storytelling is gripping and the platform and puzzles are air-tight.

A truly memorable title.

(Now I'm wondering, what happened with Playdead?)