CDPR promised us the moon and back, but delivered solely on graphics (when they aren't bugged) and story. The most egregious lie of Red's was the sudden shift from RPG to FPS GTA. Choices mean little, and only result in surface level changes. Even as a GTA style open world it fails, as the NPCs barely react to your presence. Drivers don't care about their cars being shot, people running from gunfire will just stop in place and cower. Sometimes they won't even do that, instead opting to passively watch their friends be blown to pieces right next to them. Actions have no consequence in the open world. The police, the pillars of what are supposed to be keeping the player in check, aren't even programmed to follow you if you enter a car. Every crime, outside of the story, goes completely unpunished due to cops never caring. Even crimes against cops that warrant the most heat will be immediately forgotten if you run a block or two away. The only positives I can give this game are that the art design and level layouts are jawdropping. The story is also pretty good, with the side missions being a standout. The most dissappointing part for me is the lying on Red's part. There have been some shady things CDPR has done in the past, but the fact that they were willing to hype this game up mercilessly, and release it in this state, really lifted the veil from my eyes. If CDPR had been upfront initially about this being a GTA style game, maybe this would have been more palatable. As it stands it's like I'm watching Anikan strangle a bunch of little kids, and it kind of sucks. Crunch is almost always a sign of mismanagement, but the released game is exhibit A.
