let's set aside the awful management and marketing of this game and consider what we actually got on its own. and what we got is not that great! it's a story that rarely develops its characters beyond the absolute bare minimum, rushes its main plot, has little to say about corporate greed beyond "it's bad I guess" and offers almost zero choice beyond who you're having sex with. I started the game psyched to be taken on a fantastic journey in a beautiful city despite a few bugs, and instead got a barebones open world with so much poorly delivered edge it's hard to see what I actually got from the experience. It's such a shame that it's characters were so interesting and well-acted. The city itself is still gorgeous but it felt so skeletal -- other games have perfected the feeling of "living" open-worlds, and so despite the fantastic lighting and architectural design of it, Night City is reminiscent of something from the 2000s rather than the groundbreaking experience we were consistently promised. I'll play it again in like a year.