If you weren't sucked into the hype machine, you are probably having a good time. The story and writing are as excellent as ever and the world is simply magnificent, at least visually. It is not a game that will give you tools and tell you to go "entertain yourself" on meaningless, repetitive content. It is a highly directed experience, but 100% of it is good. Every single task has a purpose, a small shard of world-building and some in-game reward. Is it an open-world game then? Well, in the same sense as Witcher 3, it is: the world is open, but that's about it. I guess some people might have a problem with it, your typical Minecraft/Fortnite/RDR2/Skyrim/Shadow of War crowd might be disappointed and I can see why. But come on, they have three Ubisoft releases every year doing the same thing over and over again with their "systemic designs", and I am glad Cyberpunk is different, with actual wiritng, story, characters and gameplay. So, if you liked Witcher 3, you will definitely feel at home in terms of what to expect. It didn't set the bar much higher, unfortunately, but it is Witcher 3 with: 1. Much prettier world, that is optimized almost perfectly. If you think it's not true, just think of the complexity on the screen. For example, RDR2 has much less geometry at any given time and half the screen being skybox and it still runs and looks worse than CP2077. Control is a corridor shooter and while it matches visual quality, it is also not as ambitious. 2. Better gameplay: shooting is excellent, first-person melee is alright, hacking is fun, if slightly imbalanced. 3. Similar quality story. It is shorter, sure, but that's probably the only thing that is inferior. Personally, I also like the theme better. So, is it the second coming? No, it is the third, because W3 came before.
I've been on the fence about the game for several years and finally pulled the plug a couple of days ago. What followed was a disappointment through and through. 1. The game is dated. It didn't age well and it constantly shows. The animations are janky, graphics are subpar even for the release year. It doesn't look good. 2. The combat is extremely shallow. Maybe I didn't give it enough time to develop, but 4 hours in, as an archer-type character, the only thing I was doing is holdinh one button to aim and hitting the other repeatedly to shoot. It is not engaging, it is not smart and the enemy AI is easily abusable. It is only marginally better than what you get in Skyrim, but it isn't a tall mountain to climb. 3. Pawn System. It is... interesting, but it doesn't really make up for everything else. The first time you get to play with it, it looks like something very cool and the way you can get other player's pawns is also pretty neat, but at the end of the day, it is NPC companions that don't have much in terms of character or personal stories. As a sandbox mechanic it is pretty innovative and enjoyable. As a replacement for fully-written companions you get even in mediocre RPGs like DA:I, it is not up to the task. The end result is janky, poorly aged, boring action-RPG which doesn't even get the action part right. If you are a fan of exploration or other things people often highlight in games like Skyrim, you might actually like Dragon's Dogma. If you like a different type of RPG, with interesting characters, great story and a less button-mashy and more decision-maky combat, I can't recommend this game. If you like action-RPGs like Dark Souls, Nier:Automata or Shadow of War, I also can't recommend this game. At least these games get the action part well and either require some skill or just look bloody amazing. Hopefully my review will help you make a good decision for yourself and maybe thing I see as negatives will be seen as positives by you.
I remember this game from when I was a child. It has an amazing atmosphere and is beautifully hand-drawn. The puzzles are amazing: challenging, but solvable. I had this game long before I had internet, so there was no way to find the solutions. Was actually stuck on the "Room with a Fridge" level for almost a week. If you liked Deponia or Sam&Max you should definitely try this game out - straight from the golden era of first graphically appealing Adventure games. It is worth its price!
