Cyberpunk 2077 has had such a bad rap since the game released on the 10th of December 2020. It was criticized, for the long wait time during it's development, the pushbacks of release dates, missing content, bugs and glitches and overall how close to unplayable it was when it finally dropped.
But, despite all of those problems, I think it is amazing. It became something of a meme when it came to giving the game and developers a hard time. A bunch of my friends still wont go near it, insisting that the game is still unplayable. Can it be redeemed in the eyes of some of these people? No, probably not. It doesn't stop me from enjoying it though.
The Aesthetics
When I finally picked up this game, I was only a few minutes into my playthrough when I found myself just looking around at the bar I started off in. The neon lighting, the cluttered floor and the crazy-looking characters that populated the game, to me, were amazing and became such a distraction even now as I'm floating around doing missions. As I stepped outside of the bar the world became even more attention-grabbing.
Music from passing buildings with this grimy hard and raw sound filled my ears and I was left staring up at the towering buildings above me, as well as the transporters which fill the sky. It's funny though, dark, Grimy and moody are a few words I'd use to describe anything of this genre. Cyberpunk though is slightly different, instead, most places seem bright, cheerful and happy. Which is good for dux-deposing the content of the game world and story.
Walking past certain areas of Night City you could happen by crime scenes, where some homicide had taken place. The hologram would show what happened there and if you get too close you could be attacked by the NCPD who are conducting their investigation. (Not good for a level 1 character)
Not just crime scenes though, but muggings seem to be a regular occurrence in the world. Stopping the thieves is also a good way to earn some street cred, which is an essential part of your own character's growth.
The World
You are really shown this brutal dystopian future, where life is cheap and you have to keep your head down and know where not to go if you want to survive.
For me, the world feels like a living city and a place where you just want to go exploring, but in doing so, you may be putting yourself in danger.
Each of the major regions of Nigh City have gangs and factions who are almost instantly hostile towards you if you get too close, you can even scan people walking down the street to be able to see who they're affiliated with. Which I thought was an interesting addition.
The Look of The NPCs
Today, piercings, tattoos and colourful hair don't seem out of the ordinary. In Cyberpunk 2077, it's as if you were to wear your natural hair colour or normal haircut there's something wrong with you.
But, the characters in this game also have an array of different body mods and cybernetic enhancements. I think if they were available in our world it wouldn't be long before most people had some form of modification.
The idea of body horror is such a big part of this game and I think the Cyberpunk genre in general. It is scary, disgusting and leaves us with an uneasy feeling and I think that's the point of it. Even in the game's story, one of the early missions has us rescuing someone who's having their organs harvested and it's gross, but this is the kind of content someone would expect in a game of this genre.
The Writing
I think this game's writing is amazing, each character I speak with, in the game piques my interest and holds my attention until they stop talking and I read through dialogue options that I can respond with before jumping in with replies. I try to think about what they said and try and figure out what kind of response the character I'm talking with would appreciate, which is saying a lot.
Most games I've played in recent years have had laughable dialogue, predictable storylines, missions that I can clearly see within a few seconds are nothing more than fetch quests, and forgettable and uninteresting characters. To the point, I usually switch off my mind until I get out of cut scenes. This game though feels different and I think even the biggest haters could appreciate the writing and storytelling here.
Problems I've Encountered
I'm not just praising the game blindly, I have encountered problems since buying it, crashes, visual and audible glitches and bugs.
Shortly after buying it a few months ago, I had to put it on the back boiler as I didn't want the problems I encountered to ruin my experience with the game. Recently I loaded it back up and sure enough, they have updated and added a bunch of new stuff to the game and by the look of it, they have patched out a lot of the issues the game had in the past.
Does it still have a way to go? Yeah probably. Is it playable and enjoyable right now? Yeah definitely. Should you buy it if you haven't played it before? Well, that's tricky, if it's on sale and you like the genre I think you'd enjoy it. But, if minor issues really annoy you and turn you off games then it's probably not a good idea.
The Genre
I saw Akira when I was really young, maybe 10 and I was blown away by the style in that film which I think put me on the path of liking dark and dystopian worlds. Driving through Night City on a motorbike kind of brings back the feeling I had when I first watched that film. Getting into scraps with different gangs and seeing how these mega-corporations have a monopoly over Night City, kind of brings back memories of watching Robocop. This game has taken subject matter and style from so many different places and mixed it into a kind of glitchy cocktail, but if you pick those shards of glass out of it, it goes down pretty smooth.
Psyber X
There's a game being developed here on Hive which is going for the Psyber X aesthetic and is going to be play-2-earn, instantly I got excited when I heard about it. I joined the discord, followed the Hive account and kept myself updated on the project.
After a few weeks, I reached out to the team behind it and offered my services as a writer to get involved and brainstorm some ideas for the world of the game and create content in the form of short stories. Currently, two of these have been released and there are many in reserve and waiting to drop. I've had a lot of fun working alongside the lore creative team and couldn't be happier the game is set in a dystopian world.
If you want to join The Psyber X Discord follow the link and stay updated on the project and incoming news and especially the lore stories, which have been worked on by a tireless and passionate team of writers.
Conclusion
I'm not very far into the game, maybe 9 or 10 hours, but in the short amount of time I've spent with Cyberpunk 2077, it's flown up my games list. Now, it's not near the top of my favourite game list, but it's getting there.
It has a great style, and great writing, it thinks outside of the box and stays true to the cyberpunk genre, from playing it I think each of its good points this game has outweighs the bad.