Everything was said already by others. I expected much more from you CDPR, hugely disappointed by how the game runs. Next time I wont jump on hype train, its better to wait these days and save money instead. The game might be good, but not now, it needs a lot more work. Shame.
The games story and many of the side missions, not gigs or collectables but the side missions and story are there. Thats where it ends the performance is just awful, just look at the ps4/xbox one version. The ingame AI feels so stupid, I can walk right up behind them in a firefight while they try to take cover or when you notice the driving AI is liteally not in the game. I cant believe they released it in such a state with so many bugs. Id refund if I hadnt spent so much time as it is trying to see of it gets better. CDPR FIX THIS. Really lost a lot of respect from me and probably a lot of others.
so many missing features I cant fit them all in the review heres a reddit post wth basic features lacking in the game
https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberpunkgame/comments/kb22xs/compiled_list_of_missing_features_quality_of_life/
Also AI is nowhere to be seen in the game
https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberpunkgame/comments/kb2jgj/i_just_realized_that_there_is_no_ai_for_driving/
https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberpunkgame/comments/kb7z2e/the_ai_in_this_game_is_nonexistent/
TL;DR:
Cyberpunk fell victim to overhype and simply running out of time. If CDPR had let this game stew just a while longer, polish the gameplay mechanics, squash those bugs, this would've been one to truly remember. As it is, it might be remembered as just another game that promised the world or maybe, it'll just Fade Away....
Long version:
Shooting is not especially exciting with bullet sponge enemies even with level appropriate gear and the bad ragdoll physics take the fun out with enemies mostly just falling over in a t-pose and having very bendy knees. The melee combat is outright horrible, enemies tend to phase through you and react in bizarre ways to being hit and it's almost impossible to stay on target. The double-tap movement keys to dodge makes sneaking around a nightmare when small precise movements are often needed to avoid detection when V flings themselves out of cover and into a wall because you tapped left too quickly.
Hacking is lackluster with only one hacking puzzle type and the combat quickhacks are mostly useless. Why waste time killing the incredibly durable enemies even slower with DoTs?
Also, why not add the ability to edit your character after creation? Not even a barbershop?
The story though is pretty interesting, though the lifepaths at the start feel tacked on, with a very short prologue that always ends in the same place. It doesn't feel like there is much player agency though, and the plot keeps you glued on a railroad. At a certain point in the game you are presented 3 options, and I assumed doing one or two of them would lock out the rest, but no.
The most negative aspect of the game is it's myriad bugs.There are too many bugs in Cyberpunk to count. Hopefully, these will get ironed out later.
8 years I have waited..8 years!!! when Witcher 3 came out I said to friends "THIS (CDPR) is the company who NEEDS to make this game they are the best!! Years go by and they tell us the AI is amazing we can do this we can do that its a RPG. But what did we get? We got a shooter not the RPG we were promised!! We can be who we want?? no you cant after you make your character you are stuck with that look! Our choices matter..no they dont the game is linear but makes you think its not! Where are the promises that were said about cops? about advertisements ? About NPCs??? Look I understand stock holders wanted the game out before Christmas but come on CDPR you ruined your rep now!! Fix the game put what you promised and if IF you are smart you will do something special for your loyal customers.
Flashy trailers, so much Keanu Reeves and that's where it seems they dumped a big chunk of the money. This review is with 50 hrs, storyline ended, and probably around 10 hrs in there of side missions and your now classic grind "kill everyone in here" things around the map that after witcher 3 got popular.
- First and biggest surprise and dissapointment, soundtrack. It just kinda sucks all around, you will get the same or even better experience if you plug your own music, the soundtrack is mainly composed of the most generic and bland synth that you might ever heard of, just plug yourself some carpenter brut or perturbator for the fights and some gunship for the chill driving because the car radio songs are not better than the world ost.
- Marketed as RPG, this is not a RPG, and it would not be a surprise for the people that think the same about Witcher 3, you are given a story, a character with its own predispotition and personality, and a very restrictive and urgent goal and this is shoved from the very early beginning, doing all those chores around the map and side missions and gigs make very little sense from a narrative perspective. And you cannot continue after finnishing the storylane unless you reload a previous save, so all those side content felt wasted, maybe the beginning should have been less rushed. They literally throw you a montage as a way to put you integrated in Night City ready to be shoved to the main plot just after doing your background mission.
Why so much fear of saying it's a story-driven action game? The plot itself isn't bad, I actually enjoyed it more than expected, I liked the the characters and dialog as I expected coming from the same people of the witcher's series.
If you like the cyberpunk setting and a story-driven game, around 30-40hrs without filling, go for it.
Less Keanu, less flashy marketing, and more art next time, your previous games talk more than any marketing done.