From the green fields and sword wielding realm of the past in Witcher 3, to the imaginative depiction of the near-future, a future furnished of neon lights, held together by bionic body parts and AI, all enveloped in a colossal metropolis that harbors crime.
Is it the future we imagined? I guess not.
Yet...
CD Projekt and their creative sector has proved once again that it's a capable game development studio, with some really talented folk working behind the scenes.
Are they perfect though? No! Not even close, not after Cyberpunk's release at least. Every damn thing was going well for close to a decade, except for the release and the game itself lol. No wonder people have stopped falling for all the glamorous trailers and hype these days. They could be a bit more punctual too, especially now, in a scene that's filled with impatient adults and nagging teenage gamers.
Alas, I don't expect this new-gen gaming sector to improve any time soon. The "golden days" of gaming are gone. 8 out of 10 times these days you'll just have to cope with these late releases filled with game breaking bugs.
And if you're patient enough, maybe after a year or two you'll finally be able to experience the game properly. Just like my experience, somewhat.
The hype of Cyberpunk 2077 is over a decade old. I don't think I've ever been so hyped for a damn game. This thing just kept you on your toes, you'd always be left begging for more; with every teaser, trailer, feature, and star-studded scene.
Sadly, the release and the game itself was a big F*CK UP.
Hilariously flawed graphics, constant crashes, stuttering, texture pop-ins, and many more.
Hell, even after 2 years, when they've finally "fixed it" the experience for me wasn't so seamless. My game crashed on me in certain areas for at least 5 times or more. Understanding even the basic mechanics took quite a bit of time. The game's main story had no balance and the choices were just too polarizing.
You could have hours worth of gameplay, dialogue and choices that built up towards a certain point, and at that point if you mess up by even a little, your whole path ahead could be sabotaged; the consequences for one single "wrong" choice could lead you towards an unwanted outcome and path.
Yet, it's once again the cumulation of the "little things" that makes this game worth playing.
Random calls for help, some detailed and intimate texts and conversations, a chance to build a proper relationship, whether it be friendship or love.
There's a "living and breathing" mental construct of a man from the past too, Johnny FUCKING Silverhand AKA Keanu Reeves. The man that lives rent free in your head, in-game at least haha. A conscience of an odd kind, one that sometimes agrees and mostly disagrees.
He is a maniac, he's impulsive, but at the end of the day, he's a good person, and at least his moral code is in check. He's that friend you sometimes wanna get rid of; yet, when you're in trouble, he's the first one to show up. He just gets shit done, his way.
A lot of a good things, a lot of bad. But it's the chaos that keeps me coming back for more.
The graphics is amazing too, sometimes you just stop and stare. Even though I don't have the graphics fully cranked up, because the game still isn't stable. I have an optimal setting going, and even then it's worth looking at. I wonder how it would look fully maxed out with RTX on, on a proper monitor setup too.
Random encounters, violence, gang controlled areas, gigs, secondary missions, these are what makes the game worth buying. An experience like no other, and some say that all games are the same, sigh!
The main storyline though? It's surely not as memorable as it should be, the secondary missions pack a better punch actually. Even the length is too short, such games and their main stories should have at least 40 to 50 hours of content.
Here I am, getting closer to the 40 hour mark, and I've mostly been avoiding the main story line. The secondary missions and gigs are just that good. A proper main storyline would really give the game a better chance at winning over people's hearts.
Maybe that will happen though, because the Phantom Liberty DLC is right around the corner. And they say it's going to revamp the whole playstyle of Cyberpunk, while adding a considerable amount lot of content too.
For now, as I wait for that DLC, I'll just roam around and wreak some more havoc.
The DLC is a few months away still, and it isn't going to be free either. $30 USD is the price, and whether I should wait for a discount or get it at release is something to think about. I don't wanna pay full price for a game that ends up being buggy. The hilarious part is that I only paid $12 for the main game lol. And now if I pay $30 for the DLC, that would just be stupid.
So, I'd rather take it slow, upgrade my chrome, hang out with the chooms, dismantle a few gangs, and slowly make progress in the main storyline.
Till next time then, folks. 🥃
