As the title implies, I did not immediately love this game. I started my journey as Henry, got the piss knocked out of me by the town drunk, and turned it off. A year or two later, and I tried again. I made it just past the introductioin of the Cumans before quiting again. Another year passes, and I make it to Rattay. ANOTHER year, and it finally clicks. It seems like once that moment hit, this became an over-night obsession. I played through the entire game in a matter of weeks, and immediately jumped into KCD2. Now that I've finished that one as well, I'm coming back around to start Henry's quest at the beginning. It can be brutal, dense, and intimidating, but DAMN is it worth it!
The title says it all.
So let me start by saying that I have been playing the game since its initial launch in 2020. I was one of the poor saps who preordered on last gen consoles, and then immeditaly repurchased on PC. I also have loved this game from the beginning, despite all of its flaws. Of which there WERE many.. But it's only now, 3 years after release, with around 700 hours logged between Xbox and PC, and two 100% playthroughs that I am leaving my review. The reason being that the game finally feels like it is in the state that we were expecting at launch. It's technical state is uncomparable with any other open world on the market, not only in beauty, but in the little details scattered throughout Night City. Try to find Neo ;) The police AI is an awesome addition, though you have to work for it if you want MaxTac to show up. The driving and gun-play feel much more refined, and the perk trees have been completely redone. This isn't even to mention the galore of little changes littered throughout the game. Some things are as small as slightly altered lines of dialouge, and some are as impactful as a full animation up-lift for Johnny Silverhand. Is the game perfect? NO! Is it in a state that I can recommend it to anyone who loves these types of games, genres, or studio? ABSOLUTELY!! The developers have stuck with the game and accomplished a redemption arc that hasn't been seen in the industry since No Man's Sky! If you held off on this for the last 3 years due to the bugs and crtisisms, then now is the time to jump in and test the waters out. I promise that you're in for something truly special.
