I genuinely don't believe Cyberpunk deserves all the flak it gets, but it certainly merits some. And I get the impression this feeling of letdown hanging about it comes from two main reasons: a.) Unrealistic expectations people placed on it, as if awaiting some sentient AI messiah to descend from above and enlighten them to the meaning of life... uh, it's just a videogame, guys. b.) CDPR thoughtlessly fueling this hype and repeatedly making promises about what this game will be and will be about, but falling severely short. Yeah, "work in progress" and all that, but... come on. Barely anything seen in the presentations made it to the final game without getting chopped in some way or outright nuked. In the end, Cyberpunk fails not for being a horrendously bad game - it's far from that, actually - , but for the hinted potential that was never fulfilled. The story is a Cyberpunk story, gripping and emotionally engaging, the characters are great and very human - Panam is heartwarming to romance, and hilarious to piss off, for one. Night City looks gorgeous with an amazing atmosphere... an overall excellent cinematic experience. But for every awesome moment, there are several moments of shoddy gameplay and dumb design choices. Skiddy-floaty driving, boring +% type of skill progression, choices not having an impact outside flavor, idiotic menu design, lackluster customization... I mean, you can stick a dick on a chick in the character creator, which I'm sure is very progressive, but you can't change your hairstyle after starting the game. In a world of body-modification fetish. Duuuuuh. As if the game was trying too hard to be Saint's Row, Borderlands, Uncharted and Splinter Cell at the same time... it should have just been Ghost of Tsushima. Ultimately, it's like the promise of Night City itself. Big dreams and illusions... but what you're looking for is just not all there. The saving grace being the hot nomad chick riding shotgun in your tank on the way out.
A solid Dark Souls-esque roguelite with Metroidvania influences and a good overall atmosphere, but not without flaws that require patches / fixes. - Solid progress You progress through a dungeon defeating enemies and bosses while managing resources (consumables, faith, etc.), swapping out weapons you find. You lose your equipment on death, but some the items are perma-unlocked when picked up, available for crafting at the hub each time before setting out. The paths the player can take are branching and once a path is taken, there is no turning back. Runestones grant perma-upgrades when found. Permanent passive skills can be purchased with essence collected from defeated enemies. The dungeon is handcrafted, therefore it can be learned (no procedural bullshit). - Tight core gameplay, responsive controls Spacing and learning enemy attack patterns is crucial to survival, as well as keeping an eye on the stamina bar since that's the resource all attack moves use. Timing rolls is also essential, as they cancel out any action and quickly become the fallback escape move. There is no jump button. - Neat visuals, good atmosphere Doesn't burn your retina away with visual effects, so props there. Animations are fluid, weapons have weight and impact, boss telegraphing can be registered and learned. Backgrounds aren't the most detailed, but they work well enough. Music and ambiance is also fitting, if nothing spectacular. The writing is... well, really not needed in a game like this. The stuff that needs attention: - Controller support is iffy and may not work (fully playable with keyboard and mouse, but I can understand this is an issue for some) - No sound options - Some skills don't seem to work at all or their description doesn't explain their function - Controls cannot be remapped Recommended? Yes, but be aware of what you're getting into. It's fun, but unlikely to blow your mind away. 3.5 (if the issues listed above get properly addressed, an easy 4)
I've been waiting for a game like this since 1999. Finally, proper Battletech action! You get to control 'Mechs again on the strategy end of the spectrum! ...or you would, if the damn thing didn't crash all the f*cking time. I mean, seriously? This is the final product? I've played barely more than an hour, had to mess around with processor and driver settings to even make it run, had one freeze, two hard crashes just to make it past the very first tutorial mission... this is what people get for 40-50 bucks nowadays? Should I buy my games on Steam so I can refund useless crap like this? If this was a 'Mech, the way it's cobbled together, it'd fall apart before taking a single hit... While they patch it up (if they patch it up at all), I'll just... go and play through again what seems to remain the undisputed king of Battletech strategy / tactical games: MechCommander.
I've been waiting for a game like this since 1999. Finally, proper Battletech action! You get to control 'Mechs again on the strategy end of the spectrum! ...or you would, if the damn thing didn't crash all the f*cking time. I mean, seriously? This is the final product? I've played barely more than an hour, had to mess around with processor and driver settings to even make it run, had one freeze, two hard crashes just to make it past the very first tutorial mission... this is what people get for 40-50 bucks nowadays? Should I buy my games on Steam so I can refund useless crap like this? If this was a 'Mech, the way it's cobbled together, it'd fall apart before taking a single hit... While they patch it up (if they patch it up at all), I'll just... go and play through again what seems to remain the undisputed king of Battletech strategy / tactical games: MechCommander.
Bombshell, Bombshell, what do I do with you? You set me up for a date with this Shelly chick, y'know, the one you get your title from... robot-armed and dangerous? Yep, that's her. And it starts off like a wonder. She's not the busty play-doll type, tell you that. Over the top, tough as nine-inch nails, throws crass humor around (calls her missile launcher PMS, you believe that? Haha!), she even breaks the damn fourth wall a number of times! Easy on the eye, too, she is. Crisp at max resolution, if nothing too fancy. Her choice of music, boom, immediately sweeps me up! Guitar or ambient, doesn't matter, it just fits her whatever pose she strikes. I fall for her very quickly. But... when we start to dance... it goes awry somewhere along the way. Her guns talk sharp and sweet, but she gets stuck in obstacles. Her map disappears. She steamrolls baddies one moment, swatted like a fly in the next... as if outta balance, y'know what I'm sayin'? So we dance and... I'm starting to feel like I don't wanna dance anymore. I try to lead but she's... well, stiff. Has difficulties jumpin', too. Robot arm dragging her down, maybe? I dunno. We dance for a few levels and... I meet her folks. Don't really seem like her folks, honestly. They're just her folks cause... y'know, to have a plot twist there? As it goes on, I wonder more and more often... how did I end up in this mess? Then, the date is over and I'm thinking Shelly will stay with me, guns blazin', fourth wall breakin', robot-armed and dangerous... but only in my dreams. Y'know why that is, Bombshell? Cause I met this chick and I fell for her, she even got a place on my li'l desktop... but you keep throwing pebbles in the way of her and I. Small pebbles, irritating pebbles, but a lot. Most of them are shaped like bugs. Odd, huh? They're not enough to make me hate Shelly, but what they're more than enough to do is... keep me from dating her. Ever again. A real shame... 2.25/5
Whenever I start playing a game, I do so with expectations. That expectation is simple: I want the game to entertain me. To provide me with an enjoyable experience, something I'll carry with me from that game. The obvious question from here on out: does Dex deliver in this regard? Let's see. Present a well-written cyberpunk story, shady, tense, morally confounded? Yes, please. We don't get enough of this sort of premise these days, anyhow. The only real problem I see here are the endings. Which are rather lackluster. Dress it up in beautiful, heartwarming pixel art? Yes, please. That alone creates a wonderful atmosphere, especially for those of us old enough. Though in all frankness, the animation could have been better, smoother. Coat it in excellent voice acting, music and sound effects? Yes, please. Expands the atmosphere the visuals already create, even if some of the characters could use a volume adjustment. Insert a core of 2D beat 'em up / rpg hybrid? Yes, ple... well, depends. While the idea is intriguing, it often comes off as too much crammed in but not enough of anything. The RPG elements should have been either heavier or not used at all. As it is, there's no real difference between “builds”. A fixed, gradually unlocked skill set may have worked better. And for a beat 'em up, combat is way too clunky. It feels like a chore in the early parts of them game, then becomes way too easy about halfway through. These shortcomings are not game-breaking by any means but they will be noticed. The addition of augmented reality and hacking is a nice touch for flavor, though. So, having said all this, did Dex deliver the experience I was looking for? Yes, it did. There are rough edges - some rougher than others - mostly in the gameplay, there's no denying that. But if you play games for and engaging story and/or immersive atmosphere, chances are you'll find Dex to your liking. 3.75 / 5
