We're a few hours into exploring the world of this game and it has already captivated our attention, fascination, whimsy and intrigue. The humour is spot on and the FMV videos are endearing and well filmed. Beyond all this, despite the comedic whimsy of the game, the environment feels like a believable ecosystem in that all the fauna and flora have an evolutionary mesh to them - this game deserves to have a higher player review score and I think is most worthy of your time, energy and essence... it'll reward you with untold, unlimited Grob! ;D
While its launch may have been rocky, by the conclusion of the game and its narrative (version 1.31) this is truly one of the greatest video games ever made. The gameplay, its interplay of mechanics and the world itself is sublime; Night City is a marvel to walk about and breathe its very atmosphere in. The narrative is inexorably gripping and entices throughout. I do wish, as a single entity, that the main story arc were a touch longer (as a side mission completionist this offset this to a degree), yet, despite this, it is engrossing and more so, it is human and questioning and searching of our corporeal condition. A special note must be made of the writing in Cyberpunk (the wonders of the mechanics aside); I don't think any AAA RPG before has managed to imbue so much real pathos into characters as the writers and actors and all the talent behind Cyberpunk were able to into this title - there is a scene at Clouds which will remain etched in my memory forever, as much as any silver screen of the cinema could offer. Beyond all this, it is the characters that are the driving force in this game, the relationships that you as V form with them and around them. Again, I do wish, in 120 hours of gameplay, that there was a bit more interaction with your relationship partner, but the arc (for the ending I obtained... 2nd time around) was perfect and I wouldn't change it for the world. There were a few side quests that were a touch too repetitive, although they were in the minority; by and large, they were brilliant, and like 'Clouds', several of them will stick with me. The omnipresence of Johnny was a masterstroke, and the lack of an overarching, moral judgement system was perfect; allowing the player, allowing V, to be the arbiter of this fused humanist ethics vibrantly and... questioningly - marvelous. While the brilliance of Night City and its inhabitants may be found in failure from great intent; Cyberpunk 2077, as a title, is the zenith of greatness & intent.
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, is, in the truest sense of game design and its genre, a masterpiece. It brilliantly blends Gwent, the card game, with an exceptionally well-written, sensitive, tonally superb narrative adventure; the characters thrum with texture, the world map is beautiful to behold, and the choices claw at your conscience. This is a rare gem, and an exquisite one. It's story sits with me still. It is a masterpiece - I hope we see its like again.
