I only played CP2077 in may 2021, at this point most game-breaking bugs were polished out. CP2077 is a PC/console adaptation of the pen and paper game titled CP2020, which I actually played as a teenage boy. I'll make several comparisons to the tabletop, because CP 2077 is advertised as an RPG and makes claims to the same IP. The first noticeable thing in character creation and the prologue is the absence of character classes, which is also reflected by the combat-oriented trailers and screenshots. The original tabletop had 9 character classes, two of which were heavily combat-oriented. Well in CP 2077 most of what you do is combat. Speaking of combat it's your usual dopamine-driven looter shooter deal. Drops are RNG-generated, they're carbon copies of a few models of clothing and armament. Enemies, even common street thugs are bullet sponges. Gunplay is about dumping dozens of rounds into your enemies and spamming healing items. Tactics are of limited use, because they offer no means to quickly end an otherwise protracted gunfight. Inventory and the upgrade system are just bad. First of all, all items equipped count towards defense. You'll probably end up looking like a hobo or a pimp, because that dirty tracksuit or sleeveless that a thug dropped is better than your leather jacket and denims. The upgrade system is the same as in AC: Origins and Odyssey. Here's your item, you can slightly increase its stats by throwing money at it, or using up ressources and doing it yourself. Meanwhile there are countless shooters that allow deep customization of your firearms with parts and accessories. Character development is a hybrid of classic XP and passive leveling. You level your skills and get skill points to spend wherever you want (you can spend points into hacking by leveling up your pistol skill), which is a lazy cop-out, since most of your XP will come from kills. You can also add a point into a stat and a skill with each level of experience. Cheap and lazy.
This game was very ambitious, but it failed to deliver. First of all it suffers from an affliction all too common in RPGs: exposition dumping. Maybe it's bad storytelling, maybe it's a story overdependent on themes that require explanation. Either way you're constantly being treated to walls of text. And there's the other problem: the narration and dialogues in the game are just uninteresting. The game lacks a meaningful plot, but you can't really feel attached to any of the events. Gameplay is innovative... in intent. There's a large variety of gear, spells, mechanics. It's overwhelming, and not really important for gameplay. The game uses a complex leveling system, with many possible builds, that suffers from the usual Ye Olde Schule vom RPG. Spells are memorized during rest and usable a limited number of times between rests. This hinders spellcasting builds because of their rapidly draining number of spells. To "balance" this out, fighter builds suffer from intentionally hindered skill progression. You'd like to enhance your weapon proficiency? Good, now choose between one of the several focuses, that are TECHNICALLY universal, but practically hindered by the fact, that the weapon proficiencies they improve are not synergistic with one given type of weapon (there are skill bonuses for one handed+shield, two handed, and double wielding). The worst part about this game which has no redeeming quality is level design. Levels are nice, and huge, and empty, and prepare for a lot of backpedaling and many many many loading screens.
At the time of writing the review, I have 1361.1h of playing it at steam. It is not without significant flaws. Strong points: -Realistic combat: you will die a lot, you won't one hit kill any enemies, you'll have to git gud -Varied approach: you don't have to be a fighter, the game has a wide array of skills to suit multiple playing styles -Organic skill system: TES-like, skills improve with use. New skill levels unlock new perks. Some perks are mutually exclusive, others are synergistic -Immersion: it feels clunky, you have to eat, sleep, tend to your wounds, repair your stuff. It feels real though, and it is realistic. -Historical setting: no exposition spamming here, you're just another commoner living in 1403AD Bohemia, no dragons or werewolves, you'll get a nice glossary with historical data concerning medieval life to help you make sense of the setting. Weak points: -It feels clunky -Saving: forget spamming saves, you can use mods, but by default you need to drink a specific alcoholic beverage to save, or use an owned/rented bed, improves your immersion, but you will swear a lot and throw objects as well. -Being made by a small studio: it's very ambitious, but with limited time and resources it is far from perfect. By 2020 most bugs are gone, but it's clearly unfinished. There's no skill for polearms, and you're one of the VERY few people riding a horse. -Combat is clunky, sometimes outright unfair: following a certain patch enemies go to extreme lengths to surround you, hilarity ensues, and you'll get angry (and dead) -There are some hidden mechanics that will make you rage quit when you discover them. The game is hard, it's realistic, it's fun, It was made by a little studio with no money, so it's far from perfect, but definitely worth the money and effort.
