Recent reviews by saz

Looks pretty spiffy on RTX 3090. Can see there is still plenty of work to be done, but think this is a good start.

PROS:
Cool art style & direction
Interesting level designs
Cool weapon designs
Good performance
Has potential
"AH~! CHARGER!!!"

CONS:
Weapons lack "oomph" and aren't very satisfying to use
Most upgrades are underwhelming
Not enough enemy variety
Special enemies are frustrating to engage with - especially ones with immobilising effects
Gameplay is pretty repetitive
Lore and characters seem underdeveloped

The apotheosis of everything From Software has ever created.

*Review updated having played the latest patch and DLC*

TL;DR: Succeeds as a story-rich FPS. PC mods are a must.

PROS
⦿ Stunning visuals, sound, art direction and design
⦿ Great music
⦿ Good writing and quest design
⦿ Many improvements post-launch
⦿ Glorious modding community

CONS
⦿ Open world lacks depth, lack of meaningful reaction to player actions
⦿ Mods still required
⦿ No new game plus
⦿ Too many unskippable walking/talking sections

My original review (after over 100 hours post initial launch) criticised the game mostly on the basis of its lacklustre RPG and open world aspects, with allusion to the technical issues that plagued the game on launch. Thankfully, most of the technical and QOL issues were resolved with the newer patches.

Sadly the RPG elements are underdeveloped, and the open world is paper-thin. Outside of scripted character interactions, the world reacts to you the same regardless of what you do, and this is a major flaw.
You keep hearing about V's reputation, but you aren't really shown anything to back it up.

Onto the positives. The art direction is superb and the game is often stunning to behold. The sound design and music are great. I particularly enjoy the emphasis on ROCK MUSIC. It's nice to see that even in this dystopia people still play guitars in bands. The mission where you help Samurai reunite for a gig at a dive bar is one of the most sublime gaming moments I've experienced.

The writing is generally strong, particularly in the DLC, which is full of morally ambiguous missions to chew on. Overall, the “secret ending” where you storm Arasaka solo remains the best ending in my opinion. The new ending where V fizzles out is (perhaps suitably) underwhelming.

I can't say much about the shooting or hacking as my focus is on melee and movement. There are some fun movement mechanics, but sadly the most enjoyable builds are not available until mid-game. And since there is no New Game Plus, you're starting from zero each time, which is extremely boring and unfun. This brings me to my main point. PC mods are 100% essential for a good experience, especially for replays.

Huge props to the glorious PC modding community, whose efforts make the game so, so much better. You can play your desired build from the start, eliminate grinding, and make all sorts of tweaks to suit the game to your preferences. I honestly feel sorry for people who are stuck playing this thing on default.

Overall, I've come around to seeing Cyberpunk 2077 as an immersive story-based first person shooter, and can recommend it, assuming you use mods, and don't expect a detailed RPG.

updating my review to reflect the current playable state of the game!
Thank you Valve for doing the bare minimum.

#FIXTF2 #FIXTF2 #FIXTF2 #FIXTF2
#FIXTF2 #FIXTF2 #FIXTF2 #FIXTF2

#deletesniper