Cyberpunk 2077 Review

In spite of the technical problems and controversy, I am glad that I embraced Cyberpunk 2077. I appreciate that experiences will vary by platform, and as I noted in my previous post, I was initially turned off by the game crashing on my Xbox One X. Even in “backwards compatibility mode,” my Series X is providing a better experience, and I imagine the official next gen versions will more closely deliver the “true” Cyberpunk 2077 game that CD Projekt Red designed. In that spirit, I will try to review the game based on its design and function rather than dwelling on performance. For more on the developer drama, click here.

Narrative: Like every well made pencil and paper RPG turned video game, Cyberpunk respects its roots and emphasizes strong narrative and characters first and foremost, provides a range of player freedom and choices second, and lets flashy graphics and gameplay trail behind. That’s not to say that the gameplay in Cyberpunk 2077 is bad, but there does seem to be a trend in ambitious RPGs like this, that the more immersed players get in the story, the more forgiving they tend to be towards peculiar design choices or problems. In that respect, Cyberpunk definitely delivers. Allowing gamers to role play their player character as they choose, named only “V” for gender neutrality, could have posed a challenge to the game writers to deliver any meaningful story arc or character development for that main character. This challenge is met by integrating the player’s journey with another character: Johnny Silverhand. Players can be as roguish or noble as they choose, finding love or other adventures as they desire, but they are driven by Silverhand through the strongest story beats and most meaningful moments of the game. The themes of corporate greed and the loss of human individuality are what drives Johnny, and the narrative is always enriched by his presence. I was aware that Silverhand was an important character in the game before I played, as the casting of Keanu Reeves was part of the hype, but I was blown away at his crucial inclusion, and by Keanu’s legendary performance. Johnny Silverhand has joined the ranks of my most favorite video game characters of all time!

That said, some might feel that this connection to a supporting character somewhat robs the players of making meaningful impact with their own choices. For example, there was a lot of attention drawn to giving players transgender options during character creation, but such decisions were not even addressed in the actual game. Similarly, solving or committing crimes, engaging in romantic affairs, or being a brutal mercenary doesn’t truly impact the main narrative. I will say that the side missions and activities can be quite engrossing, and do help flesh out the larger Cyberpunk world. Instead of complaining that the main story follows Johnny Silverhand, I appreciate that I had other options of making my mark on Night City as V. I should note that this game is rated M, and does get into some dark topics of death, abuse, suicide, and so on, which might make some players uncomfortable.

Game Play: Towards the end of my first playthrough, I finally felt like I was getting a hang of Cyberpunk 2077; there are a lot of systems and mechanics to learn. Starting on the most positive end of the spectrum and moving towards the negative, I am the most pleased with the gunplay controls, and surprised at how good the action gets. For all the hype of playing in a dystopian cyberpunk world full of gadgets and implants, I never felt like a super powered cyborg killing machine – though that could be my fault for choosing straightforward shooter skills. I’m hoping to explore some of the more radical specializations in future playthroughs, but it seemed like those options were expensive and/or took a lot of progression to activate. It doesn’t help that the melee combat feels awkward, as it’s not always clear when blows are connecting. The driving is decent, though the further I explored the game map, the more I appreciated the quick travel options. I feel the most negativity towards the cumbersome user interface. For example, making a phone call and answering text messages are separated needlessly, as are quest directives and journal updates. All in all, I’m happy that Cyberpunk delivered a strong narrative without sacrificing much in respect to satisfying gameplay. For all the controversy surrounding CDPR’s choice to make Cyberpunk 2077 in first person, having never made a shooting game or a first person game before, I think they did an excellent job.

Sound: Clearly, Keanu Reeves steals the show. Not only is Silverhand my new favorite video game character, I believe this is one of Reeve’s best performances. He delivers such a range of angst, frustration, sadness, cynicism, obsession, and jubilation, it’s hard to believe he wasn’t recognized with more awards in 2020. I especially appreciated quieter conversations with Johnny, addressing his philosophical conundrums or personal vulnerabilities. Of course, other characters are also well performed, which further immerses players in the setting. I enjoyed background chatter from newscasts giving different takes on incidents I was involved in, and the various radio stations provide more color and connection to Night City. Some of the NPCs repeat themselves, and the sound effects are not that special, but those are a minor complaints. I’m sure others might get more out of the soundtrack than I did, which speaks more for the content than the quality.

Graphics: I find this the hardest category to critique for my review, as this is where performances will vary the most. Some of the characters and scenery are quite striking, which only makes the merely adequate or serviceable moments stand out as worse than they probably are. There does seem to be a problem with textures and details not being created equal, or resolution appearing sharper or grainy from moment to moment. I turned off all the filters I could to improve frame rate and general performance, so maybe I am missing some of the flashier effects. I can imagine high end PCs are seeing the best of both worlds, and I hope the next-gen versions are also capable of smoothing out the experience. I can’t help thinking that Cyberpunk 2077 could have benefitted from a more stylized graphics design, instead of shooting for realism and sometimes missing the mark, as it would have been more visually consistent – and possibly more consistent across platforms. Regardless, I do have a few nitpicks of little things like NPCs not really turning their steering wheels through turns or the previously mentioned problem of melee combat not connecting animations and blows appropriately, that somewhat break immersion. I would have also preferred more “costume” options to keep a set appearance throughout the game instead of constantly switching out gear items and often looking ridiculous in the process because I wanted the best stats.

Conclusion: Cyberpunk 2077 features strong narrative and characters that hold up an exceptional if otherwise uneven gaming experience, which unfortunately, will vary based on the hardware platform it is played on. It’s worth noting that The Witcher 3 was also a little rough when it first launched, and the developers famously stuck with it, tweaking and polishing it into a true masterpiece. I hope this proves true for Cyberpunk, so more players can fully appreciate an otherwise fantastic game! It’s hard to universally recommend, as the “best” experience is so conditional at this time, and I barely scratched the surface of the content, which might not be for everyone. Personally, I am grateful that I gave it another shot, and I look forward to playing it again soon, and again after the release of the “true” Series X version!

• Developer: CD Projekt Red
• Publisher: CD Projekt
• Platforms: PC, Stadia, Xbox One, PS4; Xbox Series X/S and PS5 using Backwards Compatibility
• Rating: M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
• Release Dates: December 10, 2020, for PC, Stadia, Xbox One and PS4; TBD 2021 for Xbox Series X/S and PS5