Cyberpunk 2077, the newest video game created by CD Projekt Red, who has also created The Witcher series, Is one of the most anticipated games of 2020. The R-Rated game is filled to the brim with excellent next-gen graphics, interesting characters, amazing cast and subpar action. It is also one of my favorite games at the moment. Cyberpunk 2077 is basically GTA 5 meets the future, and I think that is a great idea, on paper.
The project itself was a long and almost frustrating experience to go through. From the game being announced in 2012 at a press conference, to It finally being released on December 10th, 2020. In those eight years, the game has made many changes, including story shifts, adding Keanu Reeves into the main game, and graphics being changed as well. Now, I will try my best to explain the basic story of Cyberpunk 2077.
The game takes place in, well, 2077, in Night City, one of the largest cities in the world. The city is full of rich people, robotic freaks, cyborgs, criminals and more to count. You play as V, an outsider trying to make it big in the city. The game gives you options on where to start at, such as in the deserts as a nomad, a street kid and being raised in violence and the corporate life, being a businessman and having loads of money. In each choice, you make new enemies, allies and gain a wanted or unwanted reputation.
The larger story itself is deep with many themes. When I played this game the day of writing the original review, I only had played the first 7-8 hours. I should have included the rest of my experience, which was rather bleak. At the final cutscene of the game, it felt boring. After a while though, I replayed it, to get the best ending, and did. It was much more richer and rewarding than I remembered. I felt invested in the main character, V, and his struggles with Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves) inside his head. Silverhand was one of the highlights of the game, being played excellently by Keanu Reeves. He starts as an arrogant hothead, only wanting to use V’s body, but he changes from that to a genuine friend to V, helping him through the many instances of V’s mind fading away. It is ultimately your choice whether to leave Johnny in a cyberspace, or for you to let Johnny take your body, and become you.
The other characters in this game are also well developed. Jackie Welles, V’s partner in crime, is crucial to the beginning 6 hours of the game. You and Jackie do a heist that results in Jackie’s death. The scene is tense, and it is surprisingly realistic. His death in the game sticks with V throughout the story until the bitter end. Another character of interest is Panam Palmer, a side character that can be a love interest, or a strong partner in a tough situation. Many of the choices you make in the later half of the game, she would either support it, or try to change your choice to a much better choice. She and her gang brings a sense of family in a rather broken world. There are many other characters, some of which I will not get into, because I want the viewers of this page to see these characters for themselves.
The next positive aspect of the game is it’s soundtrack. There are many music genres in this weird cyberpunk world. The standouts are the Rock/Metal genres and Techno/Pop genres, being heard throughout the gameplay. What stands out the most to me is the in-game soundtrack. The music within the scenes of intensity, grief, fun, and reminiscence are all played beautifully by Composer Marcin Przybyłowicz. I genuinely listen to these tracks all of the time, and it fits with the world that CD Projekt Red wanted to make.
Sadly, all of the praise that I give this game cannot be given to the gameplay/mechanics. Most of the weapons in the game are either overpowered, or advanced NERF gun status. Most of the upgrades are forgettable. The game gets glitchy whenever you want to use these upgrades. The gameplay feels simple and leaves much to be desired. The NPCs around the world are a mess, constantly in fear of any little thing. All in all, it’s just flat out bad.
On the release date of Cyberpunk 2077, the game was released with positive reviews, on PC. On Playstation, It ran awfully, not even running at a solid 20 frames. The Xbox did about the same as the PS4. This launch led Sony to take down Cyberpunk 2077 off of its store, causing more backlash to come flooding towards CD Projekt Red. This all led to CD releasing an apology video, putting the blame on the company, not the developers, and releasing a roadmap of future updates. This did not stop the storm of angry fans from trashing the game. It is very unfortunate to see a game like this to fall back on itself.
The game Cyberpunk 2077 is not a bad game, but it has glaring issues that still need to be fixed. This game had the potential to be the best, but fell short, and stumbled. I was waiting patiently for this game since 2018, with the game trailer being revealed at E3. The story, characters, and soundtrack are perfect, but the gameplay and mechanics are poorly implemented. It pains me to give this game a low score, but the problems weigh over the positives. I am giving CyberPunk 2077 a 6.5/10.
FHS X-Ray 