I personally have 230 hours in the game, for one play-through, which I completed. Best I can tell, that includes resolution to the vast majority of story content, which I would rate as CDPR's strongest focus within their products.

Would I recommend the game to others?
- Eh, sure, I think there's enough solid, objective public reporting on it at this point that any rational individual can make an informed decision. But I would point them in that direction first, rather than the store page. There are many bugs, yes, and it can be extremely demanding on your rig, but I consider both commonplace enough in the games market to begin with.

Is the game 'good'?
- Absolutely. There are moments of dumbstruck awe due to both the visual/tactile experience and the writing, as well. I think River's quest-line in particular explored a lot of positive futurist and post-humanist ideas while remaining grounded in familiar contemporary tropes (darker shades of Law & Order, Criminal Minds, etc) that the player can easily slide into, and the dialogue options seemed much more RPG-esque than so many others can elsewhere at times. In layperson's terms, that experience was cyberpunk af and it's what I was hoping for in-game.

Is the game 'bad'?
- Absolutely. CDPR has an almost unhealthy fascination with subverting expectations, to the point where their stories (read: the writers) can come across at times as 'trying to be smarter than you.' When in reality, once burned - looking at you, Bloody Baron - a player will often start second guessing their actions and dialogue choices for the remainder of their experience with the game. This, to put it lightly, is bad. Bad for enjoyment, bad for immersion, bad for consumer confidence. We all hope games will challenge us somehow. Very few, perhaps only 1 or 2 off the top of my head, successfully convey a sense of helplessness without incurring some detriment to the overall experience.

Is it worth the price?
- Ask me when it's finished. ...no really. This was more like a beta-test release, which I'd say is now in Early Access equivalence. CDPR should have waited, and to avoid any sort of 'fine people on both sides' rhetoric, I'll just say this: Stop hating on the devs. Look at the individual assets, the creativity and design which mixes contemporary and future era elements, the overall quality and complexities of story, and the world building (rushed as it was/is) the team did achieve.

Also, stop hating on each other. I mean really stop. There are a few too many trolls who clearly want the argument and nothing more, but the rest could simply be someone who really did sink $60 into an experience hyped to heck and all god's creation during a pandemic when - for a lot of people - that's no small sum. Of course they're angry. Of course you're angry they're angry. But that argument does only one thing:

It guarantees the focus is shifted elsewhere, where it shouldn't be.

So What's Next?
- Honestly? I have no idea. I mean, I have a few ideas, but no idea which idea would actually work. That said, here they are...

1. Reject this sort of Hype Culture for what it is. If every time CDPR released a new trailer, or some executive did an interview, the general response was "Oh, that could be cool IF it makes it in." a lot of this would've been avoided. The truth is, sad as it may be, that yes, corporations can lie to you. A single line of small print really is all it takes. The Hype is the problem, as it's a science predicated on the knowledge that human beings will always project their hopes and dreams onto anything put before them. Stay skeptical, and they'll stop doing it when it stops working.

2. Resist the Urge to Pre-Order, unless the added perks seem worth the risk. Even then, be prepared to eat your investment. Hopefully, if we continue to constructively apply pressure, Steam (and others) will revise outdated policies on returns and adopt a more individual game-oriented approach to refunds. If the buyer could have waited, heck, maybe 8 hours for the first major problems to start rolling in from reputable streamers or non-biased journalists before purchase, it would have solved the vast majority of return problems.

2.5. It also would've kept CDPR a lot more 'honest' in the Hype Dept, had they never gone gold pre-release, and the spate of refunded games had actually eaten into their earnings in a significant manner. They would've been more likely to QA the game properly, meaning further delays (which are almost always pro-consumer btw), guaranteeing that they'd rethink the level of hype for whatever their next release would be if it hadn't worked so well for CP77.

3. Allow space in reviews/forums for objective, critical, and constructive discussions that can focus on what led to any given controversy and the subsequent confusion, anger, etc. And allow room for discussions that focus on what can fix the problem. In deciding to write this, I've done my best to read through as many similar reviews/discussion threads as possible without a trained psychotherapist on speed-dial. Clearly the will to address the root issue moving forward exists, but it's continually shouted down by the simple yet overwhelming desire to be right, right now. I know it's tempting - believe me - but it's the clearest case in decades of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

This is an opportunity to confront some of the worst trends in the gaming industry, all wrapped up in a single release, by a company that actually seems willing to acknowledge at least some of it, for a change. Grain of salt required, as always, but there's no denying we, as gamers, have more options now given the level of publicity this situation affords us.