It’s been said that patience is a virtue; with regard to Cyberpunk 2077, I can confirm to say that this is indeed true. I was one of the first early adopters of Cyberpunk 2077 and quickly found my way out of it when I felt the experience just was not providing what it had promised to deliver. Though I was playing on a Playstation 5 and did not experience nearly the same frustration that players on older consoles had, the game felt undercooked and generally unfinished. However, I had faith that the development team and co. (not the management) at CD Projekt Red would be able to give the game new life. So, I did what many other people did… I put it away for a while and let CDPR cook.
To start, this game is gorgeous. In its urban sprawls, locales decked out in neon contrast significantly with the neighborhoods and districts away from its core. Each one has its own unique character that makes it feel a distinct section with its own little history to it, that adds to the greater history of Night City as a totality. It feels lived in and in many instances, totally absurd. Random incidents of violence, confusion, and elation always have a chance of happening all around you, which makes complete sense in a city that always feels like it's on the knife edge of some sort of total war between its resident groups and corporations. While there were instances where I wanted to fast travel to quickly get to the next story beat, there were also so many times where I opted to take the long road to observe the city’s sights and sounds. And this is bolstered by the game’s dynamite soundtrack that you can blast over the radio, which ranges from some deep cut classics (a piece from Miles Davis’ score to the French film Ascenseur Pour L’échafaud) to original tracks made specifically for the game (like the legendary band Converge providing a monster track under the guise of Shattered Void).
CDPR really did well to scrap some of the more confusing/ineffective parts of the leveling to make sure that whichever build the player chooses would actually have substantial impact on the way the game is played. As the player progresses, I found that experience points really came few and far between. And this really made for difficulty in leveling up different abilities and unlocking new ones in the skill tree. So I stuck with what I was really good at - running and gunning. I leaned on this a lot while learning how to use certain abilities like hacking to my advantage, and by the end game I was utilizing them much more often albeit still relying predominantly on the run and gun. That isn’t to say this game was easy; though I only was playing on a “normal” difficulty, there were plenty of times where I found myself having to restart certain checkpoints because I got too bold and ultimately paid the price. And enemies that were too powerful for me really let me know it. But the deaths never felt cheap and I always felt inclined to get back on the horse and ride into battle again. And if anything, I feel there is so much more to do and conquer upon my inevitable return to the game.
Above all else, where this game really shines is in its character development and narrative. The story really took some unexpected twists and turns that made me reconsider some partnerships and actions I may have initially taken. The voice acting is excellent, with Keanu Reeves’ conflicted performance as Johnny Silverhand, Panam (your potential partner from the outskirts) and Judy (the resident tech expert) being particular standouts. These characters have some tremendous nuance to them, which made me want to spend a lot of time with them. I wanted to learn every bit of their story - their aspirations, struggles, and intricacies. These propelled the game forward and gave every action I made with V a bit more weight to it, outside of the grandiose anti-megacorporate themes (which I reveled in).
Despite putting over 40 hours into the game so far, I still feel I have only scratched the surface of this world. And with a major story expansion coming in the next few months, I eagerly await my return to Night City. It may have its bugs and it may have its flaws in terms of traversal and combat, but the story and characters are well worth the investment.
Final Grade: 4.5/5 ⭐️
