After 100+ hours, this is my Honest Review of the Game.

[Ryan]

Before I start the review I'd like to clarify a few things:
- My system specs: Intel i7-8700 / RTX 2070 8GB / 16GB RAM
- This review is only for the PC (Steam) version of the game.
- I bought and played this game on Launch Day and this review is based soley on my experiences so far.

After playing over 100+ hours, completing my 1st playthrough of the Main Story and starting my 2nd playthrough, I feel I am now ready to provide my honest review for this game.

I'll start by saying Yes, at launch, the game is definitely buggy, but other than Animation / Texture bugs and a few random CTDs, I haven't encountered anything major and did not lose any major progress. For me, the game ran almost perfectly. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

The Graphics for the game is fantastic and mindblowing, and based on some Youtubers comparison of the E3 Reveal Demo and Retail, the retail version actually looked much better, so kudos to that. Again, like CDPR's earlier game Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that you would buy to show off your new PC or Graphics Card.

The Music soundtrack is another Masterpiece. From the non-vocal themes to the cool electro punk / metal tunes on the ingame Radio, to the rediculous crazy ingame Advertisements, all of them do a really good job in immersing you into the world. Gun sounds, and Sound Effects in general are equally good.

The whole game is an open-world not unlike the GTA series where you can roam about doing whatever you want, jack whatever vehicles you want and tackle whatever side quests you want with a main story at the background. The only difference is, the setting which is of course a near-future Cyberpunk world.

This game is how I felt Deus Ex Human Revolution should have been. I liked that CDPR took the time to consider how a Cyberpunk City would look like not only at Night, but also Daytime. I especially love the Rural Badlands outside of Night City that are filled with Junk and Garbage bags that you can actually explore. The world is so beautifully crafted with attention to detail, its insane!

One very important thing I need to mention is that almost the entire game is played in 1st Person View and while I initially did not approve of this direction, I wasn't actually bothered by it at all when I actually played the game. In fact some scenes in the game actually worked better for 1st Person View. Still, I would not mind if a 3rd Person View mode is included.

On top of all this, it is a full fledged RPG with a proper character creation, leveling systems and perk trees, and your dialogue choices actually do matter. Despite it being an RPG, combat feels smooth and all damage calculations are done in the background. If you want to be Guns Blazing, using only Violence to resolve situations, you can do it. If you want a No Kills No Guns using only Stealth and Hacking, the game allows you to do that too. I'm not kidding. On my 2nd playthrough, I have not shot a single bullet nor thrown a single punch, and the game is still perfectly playable. This is how flexible the game system is.

The main story in my opinion is well-crafted and well worth your time. It has a certain urgency to it, but there are no time limits in completing it. The story isn't all punk and violence, and as a Gamespot Reviewer mentioned it has some beautiful scenarios in its quieter moments. Every voice-actors does a good job and its really fun to play the game alongside Keanu Reeve's character Johnny Silverhand who acts like a 2nd Protagonist. While the player is certainly important, personally I feel the main story is more a story about Johnny, and your character is just the player's eyes into this world. And yes, you can still continue to play the game after the Main Story has concluded.

I also liked that the optional Romance Sub-Quests were surprisingly beefy with their own lore and some of them actually takes you to very different areas in the game and out of the Night City urban environment. Not only that, some of them actually do have an impact on the Main Story.

Now on the the sections that I did not like:
As good as the game is, there were parts where I felt CDPR had cut or shortened the content. The most jarring one is a "6 months timeskip" cutscene right at the beginning of the Prologue. I was really disappointed we were not given the chance to play this out as this would've made some scenes later in the game that much more impactful and emotional.

Another gripe I had was that Jackie was your starting companion for all lifepaths. I mean he was fine for probably Nomad and Street Kid, but he looked totally out of place in a Corpo Life Path. I wish they at least had a different starting companion for each of the Life Paths.

The AI for NPCs needs alot of work. Sometimes they are brain-dead, sometimes they cheat. (Especially when you're sneaking around them)

There are no vehicle customizations or even an option to change your appearance after character creation which felt very strange considering how much the ingame universe puts a heavy emphasis on being able to modify your body to whatever you desire. Jacking vehicles while fun, aren't of any use when there is no garage to keep them.

There are many other such examples that seem common place in other Open-World games, that are strangely absent in this game. Hopefully a DLC or a QOL Patch will bring these in later.

Overall Rating: 9 / 10
Despite it's buggy launch, this is a very ambitious game and is very well made. Had it not had such a bad launch, it would have been the Gold Standard by which Future Open-World Cyberpunk games would be compared to.

If you don't mind enduring some bugs, I highly recommend to buy it, especially if you enjoy Sci-Fi or the Cyberpunk genre. If you enjoyed Deus Ex Human Revolution, you will enjoy this game. (Note: Your experience may be very different from mine depending on the specs of your computer.)

If not, I would recommend to wait a couple of months until it is better patched before you delve in. Either way, do not miss this game. It is a Masterpiece!

[katzenkrimis]

Originally posted by Ryan:

It is a full fledged RPG.

You were going okay for a while, until you said that.

You've got a lot to learn about video games. You must be young to be making comments like that.

Too many console games while you were growing up.

[Archform]

Originally posted by katzenkrimis:

Originally posted by Ryan:

It is a full fledged RPG.

You were going okay for a while, until you said that.

You've got a lot to learn about video games. You must be young to be making comments like that. Too many console games while you were growing up.

Its an RPG like FF15 is a JRPG.

[Ryan]

Originally posted by katzenkrimis:

Originally posted by Ryan:

It is a full fledged RPG.

You were going okay for a while, until you said that.

You've got a lot to learn about video games. You must be young to be making comments like that.

Too many console games while you were growing up.

I'm so sorry, did your dog just die?
My condolences for your loss. :(
It's ok to hide behind your profile and rage, i understand the stages of grief you're going thru. Let it all out. We're here for you. :)

[C+E]

Originally posted by Ryan:

Fully agree with you on this.

The Higher Managements at CDPR F**K it up by trying to release it early obviously to cash in on the holiday sales and also to grab whatever cash they could from existing PS4 and Xbone owners. Not to say the utterly scummy move they did to hide the last gen performance.

The developers on this game on the other hand did a fantastic job on this and I just want to let them know that some people like me do appreciate what they have done. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of crunch they suffered to get this game out. They deserve a good rest, and come back fighting to patch this game up to its full potential.

Yes, the game needed prolly another 1 or 2 more years for it to reach its full potential.
But even as it is right now, its still very good and i'm proud to own it for my collection.

I'm watching them on their DLC because they can add features that got cut and continue the story (with more side quests and stuff) like they did on TW3's DLC. But now, it doesn't seem to be good for them.

[young dead starving©]

LOL: katzenkrimis is level 0 troll.

Don't feed the troll

[Oo]

Originally posted by Ryan:

Originally posted by katzenkrimis:

You were going okay for a while, until you said that.

You've got a lot to learn about video games. You must be young to be making comments like that.

Too many console games while you were growing up.

I'm so sorry, did your dog just die?
My condolences for your loss. :(
It's ok to hide behind your profile and rage, i understand.

His attitude was agressive , you are are right. Nvm it. As a person who started playing games from early ages i just also could not swallow RPG elements in Cyberpunk 2077, as i could not get used to changes in Final Fantasy XV and returned to old JPRGs...

[Birmingham Chuck]

Nice review my dude. Well thought out and well written. Good job.

[Ryan]

Originally posted by Alia:

I'm watching them on their DLC because they can add features that got cut and continue the story (with more side quests and stuff) like they did on TW3's DLC. But now, it doesn't seem to be good for them.

All they can do right now is to focus on patching the game up I guess.
Actions speak louder than Words right now.
My guess is it will probably take them another 6 more months at the fastest.

[firesharklp]

Good review. I mostly agree but would be a touch harder on it. I think the game is close to a masterpiece in some areas, but overall, it's a little too rough.

You really should have mentioned the AI for the police at least as a major downside to the game.

I've seen the random NPCs do some really cool things, most of it is very subtle animations and stuff, but it feels very real, at least for a moment until they walk away and despawn or a clone of the same NPC you liked appears right behind them, lol. You can tell they put some real work into it, but again, things are rough around the edges.

I'd rate it an 8.5 and with no bugs, a 9. If the police had been fully functioning and there had been more customization and maybe a few interesting side activities, 9.5.

[Stray952]

Originally posted by RIVEIR:

Originally posted by Ryan:

I'm honestly surprised at the replies so far.
Thank you guys for not trolling.
Yes the game is definitely buggy, but yes it is also good.
CDPR definitely screwed up the launch, but i have faith in them doing whats right.

The problem is they haven't done what was right to begin with therefore trust is broken you can't blame folks for being skeptical.

So sick of hearing this. Gamers will eat ANYTHING. So sick of hearing people whine like abused girlfriends who are already talking themselves into staying.

Just get the refund, bounce, and stop posting to a forum about how agrieved the community is, it’s pathetic. All this emotive language doesn’t mean anything, it’s just people trying to control other people and bitterly trying to trash a piece of art they don’t like.

[RIVEIR]

Originally posted by Stray952:

Originally posted by RIVEIR:

The problem is they haven't done what was right to begin with therefore trust is broken you can't blame folks for being skeptical.

So sick of hearing this. Gamers will eat ANYTHING. So sick of hearing people whine like abused girlfriends who are already talking themselves into staying.

Just get the refund, bounce, and stop posting to a forum about how agrieved the community is, it’s pathetic. All this emotive language doesn’t mean anything, it’s just people trying to control other people and bitterly trying to trash a piece of art they don’t like.

You work for CDPR steam level checks out? Sick of hearing people be real and have opinions? Differing points of view? Your response here lacks imo and quite honestly you can go ahead and exit the forums. I'm here. Get over it.

[Ryan]

Originally posted by orhanozdiler:

His attitude was agressive , you are are right. Nvm it. As a person who started playing games from early ages i just also could not swallow RPG elements in Cyberpunk 2077, as i could not get used to changes in Final Fantasy XV and returned to old JPRGs...

lol don't mind my reply to him. I can't be bothered to talk normal to someone who can't engage in a proper convo. He's just a Maelstrom punk lulz.

I've played RPGs since Might and Magic 3.....god has it been that long lol.
There has been so many of them that came and went.
My favourite is still Ultima Underworld if anyone still remembers that.
The RPG genre will continually evolve. And surprisingly people's tastes change too.

For the longest time I was obsessed with PC RPGs on MSDOS,
then I was obsessed with Chrono Trigger and FF on the SNES
then I went back to Morrowind on the PC and declared my love for it
and at one time I felt Western Open World RPGs were the best because of its non-linearity and open styled approach.

Then I played DQ11 on my Switch and fell in love with JRPGs linearity again lol.

After so many years, my advice is just play whatever makes you happy i guess.

[Ryan]

Originally posted by firesharklp:

You really should have mentioned the AI for the police at least as a major downside to the game.

Thanks. Agree with the AI, maybe i'll add something about it in the review.

[RIVEIR]

Ryan I appreciate your review I don't agree with all of it but thanks for taking the time. I did have that genuine question about how the Witcher 3 launched I was hoping to get answered primarily triggered by the post of the other guy. I guess its not ok for people to comment that the community has a right to be concerned or to have a legitimate conversation regarding it.

[Ryan]

Originally posted by RIVEIR:

Ryan I appreciate your review I don't agree with all of it but thanks for taking the time. I did have that genuine question about how the Witcher 3 launched I was hoping to get answered primarily triggered by the post of the other guy. I guess its not ok for people to comment that the community has a right to be concerned or to have a legitimate conversation regarding it.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my review and I do appreciate you being civil with not agreeing with all of it. This is absolutely true, a game that works for some may not work for others and I totally respect that.

As for your Witcher 3 enquiry, i'm sorry I can't answer that as I bought it way after it was launched so the version i got was relatively bug-free (there are still bugs mind you lol)

And now, i'm gonna take a break from Cyberpunk and focus on something else.
Mandalorian Season 2 just concluded and i think i'll be kicking back and chilling
in that, away from Night City for awhile lol.

This is the Way. :D