Cyberpunk 2077

Story and world are interesting but it still needs more work for sure. i wouldn't say it's unplayable but i won't argue against it.

The game clearly states in its minimum requirements that it will run on Windows 7 or Windows 10. It also says that it requires DirectX 12, though if you attempt to install DirectX 12, you will find that it is not supported on Windows 7. Now most users probably won't check the DirectX number, and will simply see Windows 7 is supported. Also, the game will run the menu and character creation on DirectX 11, but seems you cannot play the game as it crashes seconds after loading the initial game world. That isn't Windows 7 support in my book, thus is false advertising. Now I have seen one person who said they were able to run the game on DirectX 11 by deleting some files though I was unable to find out which files. Also there is tell that CD Projekt Red is working with Microsoft to enable DirectX 12 support for Cyberpunk 2077 as they did with World of Warcraft last year. So this may change over time, or there is perhaps already a fix and I simply haven't been able to find it. That being said, I've watched enough videos of people playing the game to be quite certain it'll be a rather enjoyable experience. I have full confidence that all of this will be sorted out in time. If you are unable to play the game currently, PLEASE have patience and do not beg for a refund mere days after the release. As far as gameplay is concerned, there appear to be numerous possibly-exploitable graphical glitches as well as an abundance of very-exploitable item and skill balancing issues. I chalk this up to the rushed release, and fully trust that these, too, will be fixed in time. Since it is a single-player game built for mature players, I think we can all feel free to choose either to intentionally break the game (and have fun doing so), or avoid the broken mechanics and choose a playstyle which won't ruin the challenge. It's a great game and an excellent vision of a grey transhumanist future.

Don't consider this a full review. Consider these impressions from 16 hours of gameplay. I feel that is a decent chunk of time to get a sense of the game's mechanics, combat, crafting, driving and narrative. The worldbuilding is incredible. Night City is a lavishly detailed and rich environment to explore full of things to see and do. Side gigs, jobs, and tasks have some interesting variety.There is usually some element of story to them. One of the most notable ones I had without giving spoilers was just taking a moment to sit and talk out some issues your neighbor is having. It was a pretty compelling little side 'quest' and it had quite a bit to say despite being fairly short in length. The main story then is the meat and potatoes and where your going to be spending a lot of your time. CDPR's storytelling is firing on all cylinders here and they are able to make even ancillary NPC's feel like tangible people that have their own motivations. Mechanically? The game is fine. Gunplay is serviceable and melee combat is ok, but could perhaps be a bit tighter. Punching in particular feels unwieldy. The driving itself again is serviceable. I wasn't able to really discern the various vehicles feeling differently as they might in say GTA. Maybe a motorcycle will. There is a plethora of options for allocating perk points and you have various stats to assign and invest points into. The crafting then allows you to craft weapons and upgrade them. Clothes too. There is a lot to experiment with here. Weapons and clothes can be dismantled as well. It's unfortunate then that the game has quite a number of bugs. Textures that are slow to load. Objects floating and clipping. I had one where Jackie is supposed to remove a chip and it's a gun instead that clips through his head. I also had audio/sound failing to play during a sequence. I would recommend waiting for a few more patches. If you have it already, be sure to update your drivers before playing.

So here we have it: after 8 years in development (and another 17 since I first laid eyes on the 2020 rule-book), Cyberpunk is finally out and -- woah -- is it one bear of a game. Game-play like Deus Ex on steroids, amount of content like an Ubisoft wet dream, and sheer scale unlike anything I have ever seen (and, okay, bugs like an old Bethesda release, but, hey -- nobody's perfect). I wish the game wasn't so combat-centric and the other archetypes got their fair shake (basically, no matter how you spec your character -- you're a Solo); the Netrunner bits were more Netrunner-y (in the RPG, it was the one class who didn't have to get their hands dirty and could distance themselves from the gunplay); and, yeah, that the gorram engine didn't crash every couple hours (although a few hours at a stretch beats the heck out of the few minutes, pre 1.04 hotfix); but, to me, this game finally showcases the world that Mike Pondsmith conceived of 32 (!) years ago. And, whatever its teething problems, THAT it does in spades. Like we've seen with the Witcher releases, CD Projekt Red's good about ironing out the bugs eventually. If you like Deus Ex game-play, all things cyber or just great games period, do yourself a favor -- don't pass this up. Maybe give it a few months to get fixed up proper, but definitely check out this game.

I just love it and will enjoy seeing it improve with time. Go CDPR, rest of a good year, we all deserve it! Congrats and thanks for your efforts, your game is beautiful!