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Acceptably Gaming: Cyberpunk 2077

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Initial release is buggy, but not unplayable by any stretch. Engaging story and Keanu's role is more than a walk-on stunt. Fun, quick, and I hope to see more. 8.5 (9 when they finally get rid of all the bugs).

Played on a system that does not support ray tracing.

The Bad

Cyberpunk 2077 is buggy. That's not something that I think anyone can really argue. Of course, almost every game is buggy on first release. CDPR was bit by a commitment to a deadline, a fan base that screamed when that deadline was pushed before, and investors who were growing impatient. All of that, in addition to the increased challenges of working in a world in the middle of a pandemic more or less ensured that this was going to be a bumpy ride for everyone. And here's a hard truth for fans who are disappointed: if you're pissed that the game has bugs on release, and you complained that the deadline was moved back, then you shoulder some of that blame.

All that said, none of the bugs I experienced are breaking. There's a few clipping issues and... Well.. If you play with all the sliders for genitals, then I suppose you shouldn't be too offended when you find out that QA apparently didn't.

The other bad part is that the game is short. The main plot isn't near long enough, I think, especially given that depending on how you finish the game, you may not be able to return to Night City to play through any side jobs. I really, really hope that this ends up being turned into more of an platform where there are new DLCs that either add missions for V, or even that allow you to make a new character and play in Night City as someone else entirely.

The History

CDPR has an uneven record with regard to releases and bugs. The first CDPR game I ever played was the Witcher in 2007. It wasn't too buggy, but it was a 3rd person isometric game that, even at the time, wasn't pushing any hardware too hard. The Witcher 2 had bugs on release and no one was screaming about how they were betrayed or how they should sue. Of course, that's coming off The Witcher which was a good game, but it wasn't game of the year. Cyberpunk 2077 is coming off The Witcher 3, which is on almost everyone's list of top games of 2015, if not the 2010's or all time. They finished the third, amazing game in a very good series, and then jumped to a different genre which requires very different issues for the engine (Geralt, awesome as he is, isn't known for his ranged fighting). And they took 5 years to make the game.

The Good

The story is a good one. It's engaging and there's a weight to the main quest that makes you feel like you should move along with it. Keanu does a great job playing a genuinely unlikable character. How you build your character really does change how you approach the game. My first play though, V was a sneaky sneaky hacker and sniper, who never went melee. I couldn't even get past the first boxing side quest with her. I approached missions with an eye toward moving in and out without setting off alarms or getting spotted, and it really did drive some of how I approached things and the cyberware and equipment I bought. My second V is a sword toting crafting samurai who tries to get a bit into a mission without being spotted if it's convenient, but is more than happy to zoom around with his cyberware pushing his speed as he cuts people down left and right, swapping to his smart shotgun to hit foes a little farther out. They feel very different and play very differently, even to the point where I find myself picking different dialog because one feels more like what my aggressive sword and cyber monkey would say rather than the more subtle options my hacker-thief-sniper favored.

Also, again, the game is short, and it feels like a bad thing, which means that I wanted more. So there must have been enough done right to make that feel like overall, the game was pretty good. And it is. The main story mission set pieces all feel distinct and interesting. The side missions can get very repetitive in places, but some have some rewarding aspects to them. I hope that I finally find out what's going on with my goal of collecting all of Night City's cyber psychos alive sometime soon.

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