It's true this game had a very bumpy start, However the studio and the devs didn't give up on it. They kept their word and continued to work on improving the game. They have listened to all of the critism both good and bad and have made major strides towards creating a fantastic game. They have addressed and resolved so many of the negative complaints of the game that it almost feels like a new game all together now. The game isn't perfect, but the studio is standing by it and they continue to improve it with every patch. To this day they are working on more patches and DLC. Fans of CD Project Red who didn't enjoy the game at launch should really try it again, and anyone who has been on the fence should go ahead and jump on over now.
I really really want to like this game, but it feels all-too-much like an abusive relationship.
When it's good, it's pretty flippin' good! When it's bad, it's really BAD!
Bad:
As of 1.6 the game is now unplayable for me. It will not go over 28fps under any configuration - Low 1080p, or Ultra Ray Tracing at 4k. Prior to this patch, I was getting a pretty solid 55fps using DLSS on "Performance".
This is not the first time a patch has rendered the game unplayable for a good portion of the player-base. If it's not performance issues like mine, it's corrupted save files, crashing, and visual bugs.
The actual game itself is about a 6.5/10 - it's somehow not quite as "alive" as Skyrim and suffers from a lack of core, meaningful content. Also, since many of the themes are nihilistically forward about your characters lack of agency, and kind of an a**hole about it at times, I found myself not drawn into the world as much.
Good:
Combat is good. Nothing groundbreaking like melee systems like Chivalry II or unusual projectile weapons. Combined with the unique moves from perks/upgrades, it's got a satisfying progression.
Graphics are 10/10 gorgeous - when they work...
Mod support is getting better, and the mod community is coming along nicely.
While most of the story is flawed, certain side stories like the Panam and Judy arcs are excellently written, engaging, and memorable.
A decent enough crafting system that's not too cumbersome to use, but still falls into many tropes typical of that system. Expect to be picking up everything for use in crafting no matter how small/unimportant.
A stealth system that deserves more stealth focused levels.
Conclusion:
It's a good game at it's core, but I'm starting to doubt they'll ever get to a "stable" endpoint. This game has become unplayable recently just as I was growing to like it. It's kinda heartbreaking - and that's all too common. If you don't like heartbreak, perhaps consider other games.
Cyberpunk 2077 running on Patch 1.6 is a wonderful Deus-Ex like RPG that I can only recommend. I can also recommend browsing nexusmods for useful additions and/or fixes. The game still has some minor bugs but I am glad that CDPR decided to keep on working on this game which shows!
Game has been fixed enough so that you can play with all the way through with minimal problems. However at the end of the day it has fundamental issues with the story. Your choices don't matter and your ending is just choosing a different flavor of getting manhandled by one of the game's factions. Some minor quests stand out as fun but overrall it's just a shallow experience. Game looks pretty though but after awhile that glow fades after you seen the 30th civilian glitching through a car or wall.
I waited almost a year for a lot of bug fixes and patches before I picked it up and this probably helped me have a better attitude to this game. I put a fair amount of time into a couple of playthroughs. There are aspects of this game that I really enjoy, even love. But there are parts that just kill off that joy as well. (driving, the lack of replay-ability, the staggering crashes at just the wrong time)
Overall it is fine, I felt a bit confused at times but enjoyed the gameplay. If it had a non-story mode, where I could just play missions and wander the city I would probably play that over and over. As it is the story is dominiering and gets in the way. Once you've done it once it fades fast; each play through is the same as the last. If I could restart and just be a street samurai or do a new game+ without the rest of the core story package I could play this over and over.
