...Cyberpunk 2078. Disclaimer - I will not comment on the launch of the game but on its state as of December 2021. I have also purposefully avoided any news about it prior to launch in order not to be hyped. I wanted to rate it on how the game is instead of how it was marketed or the vision I created in my head prior to release. This game screams potential. Unfortunately it also whispers "unfulfilled" . It is atmospheric, the characters are well written. Main and side quests are really interesting and well thought-thru (with the exception of River Ward questline). Albeit, main quest is too short. The mechanics allow for different approaches to each situation and there are a lot of playstyles that are viable. There seems to be more grind than in Witcher 3 though. Driving is a bit clunky and bike physics are really crazy, but in the latter case I think it is by design - it is not a driving game, vehicles are there mainly to allow you to get to places faster. As of December 2021 I noticed little to no bugs. The "unfulfilled" part though is a really big one. Basically all the gangs we see deserve a long quest line from the perspective of that gang. I would love to see more inner workings of Maelstrom or Voodoo Boys, understand their ideology and culture better. Maybe see a developing cyberpsychosis in a main Maelstrom character and be able to help him/her or allow it to take its toll with a significant impact on how the gang operates and the game world works / appears. Maybe a questline where Voodoo Boys' activity brings a rouge AI into Night city and you can help it cause rampage or contain it with various positive/negative outcomes for the game world connected with each choice. All in all, it is a good game (now) and an 8/10 is deserved. I wish all the mechanics and plot points, choices and consequences get polished in the next part of the game that will hopefully come in the future. And I really hope it will not be overhyped as this one was.
