At this point in time, most of the biggest bugs are fixed, but the game is still lacking. A lot of the features promised before release are still not present and will probably never be implemented. There is barely any consequential roleplaying in the game, which is the biggest flaw for me, and the NPC AI is absurdly horrible to the point it's laughable. Night City, while certainly pretty, never really feels alive because of this, which really breaks the immersion.
There is fun to be had, but the more you play, the more the cracks start to show.
The Good
Visually.. wow.
Soundtrack - fantastic.
Story - interesting and engaging (though i really didn't connect with any of the characters)
Main quests & some side quests, unique and typically rewarding
The Bad (aka everything else)
Gameplay - often repetitive and bland (maybe 4 or 5 archetypes of missions.. if you've played Far Cry, you've played this game)
Progression - largely pointless (why bother with a 3% increase to blah - when i can just walk into a room, shoot enemies in the face and heal, get a slightly better gun, rinse and repeat - because the enemies are too dumb to bother with any of the progression items)
Environment - shallow and lifeless. sure, looks beautiful, but after 5 minutes, you release everything in the world is cosmetic. Almost nothing is interactive, charcaters models and objects repeated over and over (and it seems 2 sex workers service the entire city... no thanks, i'll take Judy). The world seems to promise so much verticality.. though almost never leverages it.
AI - oh god. iditotic. NPCs, enemies, police, bosses, friendlies. just look it up on youtube if you don't believe me.
Bugs - everywhere. Sometimes hilarious, in my case, sometimes game breaking (had to reload and repeat a good couple of hours work in one instance)
Despite my long list of negatives, there are certainly moments where the systems click - and fun can be had. But those moments are few and far between. I really hope they double-down on this game, the way that the No Man's Sky team did. It is salvagable.
I was wondering how CD Project Red would deliver their take on a Cyberpunk Scenario. I followed the hype more from a distance, nevertheless followed it since the inital Trailer.
After release, i was first overwhelmed then disappointed and at last a little hopeful.
Did they deliver what was promised? No they didnt. Did they deliver a good piece of Software? No they didnt.
Instead of a expected "Roleplaying Game" like Baldurs Gate or at least in the sense of The Witcher we habe a Shooter with Roleplaying Elements. Also the game screems unfinished whenever i play it.
But i must confess I like to play it, if you take it for what it is, it is quite entertaining. The Story as i have seen it so far is nothing special and the Missions are well a "little" repetitive, but if you are reading all the text in the mission shards, they give quite some flair to the city even if not played out in the game itself.
The Bugs that are in the Game can , if they happen, can be from annoying to gamebreaking, but such things can be fixed. The occurances seem to be diffrent for different computer setup.
The Missing Features could be added as Free or Buyable DLCs. The Lack of mayor diffences in you choices is lackluster as it prevents to give someone the motivation to replay. But with the upcoming DLCs lets see what will be there.
Overall for me this is a rushed Game which had the basics implemented. In my opinion it has alot of potential if the Developer adds depth to the Game but as it is i can only give 3 Stars. Maybe i will revise it in the future if CDPR delivers Contant which does the created world justice.
All
At this point, the game's horrendous bugs and crashes have not only been well documented but also turned into countless memes. Yet despite the game's jaw-dropping software quality (which I do believe will get fixed, given that even Polish government regulators are now on CDPR's tail), in my opinion it is only the tip of the iceberg. The marketing hype of this game led people to believe that it was going to be a GTA5+Witcher 3 hybrid style masterpiece, but while it legitimately showcases top-notch industry-leading achievements in many aspects, I'm afraid it will never evolve into the game the mass public imagined (or CDPR envisioned). There are too many design flaws that are so ingrained into the game that they just can't be fixed without significantly overhauling the game (which obviously won't happen). Not to mention CDPR's sweet, under-delivered/un-delivered promises, which are arguably even greater issues.
For those trusting GOG's refund policies, be aware that their customer support still delays heavily in responding, and in my case when they agreed to refund, they insist on returning my money to my GOG wallet and constantly ignore my repeated requests of refunding via my original payment method with zero explanation. As a result I still haven't got my refund, nearly 2 months after asking for it.
I shall forever cherish the vivid memories of playing the Witcher series. Cyberpunk 2077, on the other hand, taught me to be a fan only of specific products, not entire companies, and never again pre-order games based on pure trust.
For interested customers, I strongly suggest you wait the storm out and try the game after all updates and expansions are out, preferrably in the form of a GOTY version just like Witcher 3. I know you might itch badly, but your patience will be rewarded.
For the frontline grunts of CDPR, I'm sorry and sincerely hope you enjoy a happier career in the future.
For CDPR's execs who are responsible for this mess, go plough yourselves.
One of the most disappointing games I've ever experienced. Not worth the time and/or money. Maybe five years down the road at bottom of the bargain bin prices.
