Cyberpunk 2077 has an engaging main story line with some standout characters and neat moments (virtual reality segments are especially well done), but it falls completely flat in terms of its world and the quality of its side content. Night City is so empty and superficial that it resembles more the annual versions of Far Cry or Assassin's Creed rather than any of Rockstar Games' works from the past years. In fact, GTA 3 (released in 2001) had more advanced simulation systems in many aspects than this game. While the main story deserves praise, it is also important to note that due to the incoherent experience that you get out of your time in Night City as a whole, Cyberpunk becomes a far cry (no pun intended) from truly exceptional story-driven games from the recent past, such as The Last of Us, God of War, Control or Quantic Dreams' surprisingly strong and coherent Detroit: Become Human. Bugs and terribly shading marketing aside, Cyberpunk just does not live up to the lofty standards CDPR set for the game. There is definitely fun to be had here, but it is high time gamers stop treating this studio as the sacred cow of the gaming industry and that gaming outlets provide honest and straightforward criticism instead of vacuous hype - which has definitely been the case leading up to this lackluster game.
This game is a gem (albeit unpolished upon its initial release and plagued by many bugs) of the RPG genre. Although a decade old, Vampire Bloodlines remains one of the wittiest and most atmospheric modern PRGs to this day. The amount of different dialogue choices and their outcomes depending on your character class and stats are staggering in a game that includes so much fully-voiced dialogues and unique quests. On top of that, the writing is excellent, making for one of the wittiest and most subtle experiences you can get in an RPG. The game has many good things going for it, but it is probably its soundtrack that stuck with me the most throughout the last ten years. Rick Schaffer's score is staggeringly atmospheric, something that in my oppinion even the best of today's RPGs can hardly match. Dark, heavy on guitar riffs and ambient effects, it elevates the relatively small but rich hubs of this game to a new level. I heartily recommend everyone to listen to the score - it's a textbook case of overachievement in the genre. P.S.: Don't forget to install the community patch upon playing. For new players, I recommend the ones that only fix bugs and restore original content, not altering the game in any other significant way. It's the closest you can get to how the now-defunct Troika Studios imagined this game should be played.
