Recent reviews by BryceCubes

Absolute gem of a game. I took a long break from this game when it was in early access because there just wasn't enough to do but man these updates have been great. This game is just constant good vibes and fun exploration. The mechanics are pretty simple, the UI is minimal but functional which is perfect to appreciate the beautiful style. My only gripe with this game is the lack of save control with no autosaves and no easy way to go back to old saves. If you make a mistake and accidentally save after by entering a vehicle you just need to deal with that mistake. These can really hurt because the game will occasionally hard crash for me and my last save may not have been for a while. Once I learned to just save more often this wasn't really a problem and the rest of the game is so charming that I have to forgive it

Not a perfect game by any means. A lot of bad business led to a lot of empty promises and a whole heap of bugs and performance issues. This game did not fully follow through on the promise of being a sim and immersing you in the game world, but there is so much more that IS great in this game that is being overshadowed by all the bugs and missed opportunities.

The main reason this game lands for me is the characters and their writing. This game did a fantastic job making me relate to the characters and feel for them and their struggles in the world they created. Some reviews criticized this game for not diving deep enough into some of the struggles that are unique to a cyberpunk environment, but I actually like that it was grounded to mostly very human struggles and interactions that I could empathize with. The setting provided some unique opportunities and posed some interesting questions, but the game didn't talk down to the player about the answers and seemed to focus on the individuals.

The relationships were also handled very well. It wasn't just a bunch of flirting that leads up to a grand sex scene. I really connected with them and our relationship matured in a way that felt very dynamic and continued after the sex scene through other interactions even if there weren't any further quests besides the epilogue. The romance stories and friendship stories looked very similar because your partner is also your best friend.

However, this is still a game and I think the gameplay is getting more flak than it deserves as well. When I first got into a car to drive it felt awful. When I first got into a gun fight it felt clunky. There are slight improvements they can make to change that, but I think the driving and combat both got significantly better as the game went on. The driving simply improves as you get a bike or a better car and you learn how to drift (the game does not teach you this well). The combat will improve in different ways depending on how you want to build you character.

As you level up your options get much more varied in combat. I personally had a lot of fun playing stealthy and hacking my way through situations where I could. I would frequently find that there were a huge number of ways I could approach missions, and even more once I unlocked double jumping (I could explore a lot more with double jump as well). I wish there was an easier/clearer crafting system so I could hold onto gear that I really like instead of needing to ditch it for the next thing I find, but that is very tweakable and didn't drastically affect my enjoyment since I did like trying new outfits and guns.

All of the shortcomings that I see in this game can be fixed, a lot of cut content can be added in later. However, even now this is a great game worth playing. I just finished my first playthrough and I fully intend to come right back in a couple months after some fixes and DLC and do it all again. My V may be roaming free in the desert now, but I will be back in Night City again soon to reconnect with some old friends.

Witcher 3 is definitely one of if not the best game I've ever played. They crafted a truly beautiful and immersive game that I can lose myself in for days at a time. This game sets a new standard for open world games.