Pros: Fantastic campaign and 'new game plus mode' (hardcore mode - removes all unnecessary bloat and ranks up the difficulty - basically makes the game twice as long as the levels change dramatically - and its awesome!!) Perfectly fair and balanced difficulty - never infuriating, but still a challenge Superb polish - no major noticable bugs Great upgrade system Best movement mechanics in any FPS game ever Boss battle no.2 Is incredible Genuinely thrilling - when you pull something off you feel amazing Story and setting are predictable but is still very enaging, with enjoyable characters and great world building The only game that has allowed me to feel MORE bad*ss than the trailers Cons: Final level is a little weak - possibly rushed? Get it if you like Dishnoured (any of them), Doom Eternal, or Hotline Miami For me - GOTY 2020
Jank. really jank. I have no doubt that CDPR will iron these out, and I'm perfectly happy waiting for future fixes, but this is buggier than Skyrim at launch. By far the buggiest triple AAA game I've ever played. Not the most broken in terms of crashing - but just janky in EVERY single way. However, gameplay-wise I can see myself enjoying this for many months, I get strong Skyrim and Fallout NV vibes (occasionally Fallout 4 vibes but thats mainly the bugs). Dishnoured creeps its head in occasionally, and the music is very Doom at times. But unlike dishnoured and doom, the controls and the enjoyment of simple movement and gaemplay mechanics is hampered by horrible controls - not layout - but the actual movement mechanics. Its janky. so very jank. I recommend the devs check out the controls to both Doom and Dishnoured (the first one), including HL2 and other source titles, as these games have super responsive and enjoyable movement and combat mechanics. Responsive is the absolute last word I'd use to describe C2077. So unresponsive it feels like a fever dream sometimes. And unlike skyim and fallout nv, the world so far feels less mysterious, and more like mass effect crossed with sleeping dogs. Season with a little bit of borderlands and you have yourself a Cyberpunk 2077! I can't speak for optimisation as I'm running a 980TI, and its smooth - ish - when set to low. Anything higher will make the input lag horrific. This is the company that brought us my favourite game of all time (The Witcher 3), and whilst that had some issues, none detracted from my sheer enjoyment. But cyberpunk is like a game I designed for fun as a kid - really ambitious and perfect in everyway, but totally unfeasible to complete and refine in any doable time frame. If all of this jank can be ironed out, then CDPR have made 13yo me very happy, with a game that truly captures the feels of some of my favourite games. Also the sound design, music, and sound programming is freakin amazing!
I went into this game expecting a short but satisfying Shooter RPG - what I got was possibly the best immersive sim I've ever played. Many people draw the System Shock comparison - I havent played System Shock yet, but I have played many other games in the genre: Deus Ex 1, HR and MK, Dishonoured 1 and 2, Thief 1 etc. If you like those games, this game is for you. It is Metroidvania-esque in its level design, and has amazing atmosphere and pacing. Exploration deserves its own point as if you don't explore, learning about who and what has been happening on Talos 1, you will have a pretty short and boring game. The beauty of this game are the stories and interactions that unfold as you explore. Never have I seen a game where the characters and the world are so interconnected - you never meet a faceless nameless NPC. EVERYONE has a backstory, so when you read about a character for ages, listen to their audio logs, find their DND character sheets, and then find their mutilated frozen corpse hours later, it hits you hard. Arkane have managed to create a protagonist with a fleshed out backstory, yet be enough of a blank slate for the player in such an engaging way that it never breaks immersion - your story is woven so neatly into the character's narative arch that they are basically inseparable, and everything is explained through time and is developed brilliantly. I played on Hard mode with the Survival options turned On. I highly recommend this to those experienced with immersive sim games - ammo becomes scarce, and entering combat becomes very risky. This game is one of my favourite games in years. It has some amazing moments if you allow yourself to get lost in the amazing world it has created. Music cues are absolutely on point and always elevate the moment (the music is by Mick Gordon - it is incredible). Also, it isnt scary, despite being labelled as horror. I hate horror games, I hate jumpscares. Dont let it put you off, it is more of a thriller. A true gem
This is absolutely incredible fun. I'm saying this as a die-hard fan of Destroy All Humans 2, who was initially disapointed when I first played the original 2005 Destroy all Humans. This remake feels so much better in terms of content, refinement and optimisation and still feels so familiar to a fan such as myself. One or two bugs but no crashes nor game breaking moments, just the odd weirdness in AI or map loading. Amazing fun in an amazing sandbox power fantasy. Pretty easy all the way throughout, until the final boss which is somewhat challenging, but still a really fun boss fight. Movement mechanics are sublime!! Without the jetpack and skate features this game would be far less enjoyable! It feels so good to the race around the streets blowing stuff up! TK powers are great fun and are so underutilised in modern games. Saucer sections are a little off for me (as the sound is quite muffled during saucer sections so it is hard to really hear the impact of your destruction) - that being said sound design is amazing in every other aspect of this game!! I love the sense of humour - then again, this series defined my sense of humour so it may be a bit odd for some people. Graphics are fantastic and fit the aesthetic so damn well. Great progression system and sandbox maps - everything feels far more fleshed out than the original. Amazing mouse and keyboard support, although the gameplay controls do show their age at times (button mashing moments). A really unique game at its original launch and it remains unique to this day. Now I just desperately wish for a rerelease of Destroy All Humans 2, because that is a better game in almost every single aspect (I admit I'm biased). Path of the Furon is also worth a rerelease as that was a insanely fun yet buggy mess at launch. Big Willy doesn't exist so dont bother with that one... For fans - an absolute MUST-BUY For non-fans - well worth your time and money if you like quirky fun and destructive sandbox games.
