It’s safe to say millions have been dying to play Cyberpunk 2077, as the game has finally landed on digital store shelves after its announcement almost a decade ago. We knew from the start that development would take ages, but a common misconception is that it’s been 8 years of work. Truthfully, it’s only been 4/5 years as work on the game was started after the fantastic Witcher III: Wild Hunt was wrapped up with its acclaimed DLC, “Blood and Wine”.

Cyberpunk puts you in the shoes of protagonist V, who you can deck out from the get-go. There’s a wide breadth of customization options such as modified irises, wacky hairstyles, and visible genital/pubic hair customization, a first in mainstream gaming. Take heed that you cannot modify your appearance later in the game, a point which bums me out as a sticking point throughout the game is body modification, so it would seem a natural choice. Here’s hoping CD Projekt RED integrates this.

While it’s easy to assume this is a straight-up FPS, it certainly isn’t. All things considered, it leans more into RPG territory in the ways Cyberpunk 2077 presents you to engage in combat. I take time to mull over every encounter; If there are only a handful of mercs, I go guns-blazing with the shotgun. A few more? I start with a grenade or charged tech-gun shot. An army? I take my time quick-hacking the cameras/turrets and use stealth to put as many to sleep as I can before I get noticed. There’s no shortage of opportunities to play the game how you want to.

Night City isn’t just a sandbox, it’s the entire playground. What Cyberpunk is trying to achieve in packing an open world with a living, breathing atmosphere is one of the most ambitious undertakings since The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. With ~1000 NPCs littering the streets, after 24 hours I haven’t seen a duplicate once. Unlike The Witcher III, children actually look like children and not shrunken adults. 1+ minute unscripted conversations are everywhere you turn. It’s truly mesmerizing and a pleasure to traverse.

The most striking part of Cyberpunk is the conversations V engages in. Friendly conversations see a relaxed, joyful inflection, where heated exchanges have adversaries scowling on cue with your verbal heat. I’m most immersed in Night City during these conversations, as conversing with your “chooms” or “gonks” yield an array of emotions. I actually can’t remember the last time a game made me cry while in-game and not a cutscene. Cyberpunk pulled it off at the right moment thanks to the master-class voice acting.

After three delays, the game is completely perfect, right? Well… I’m sure you’ve had a look at the bugs. It’s a mess in that regard, there’s no two ways about it. Personally, the only ones hindering my gameplay experience are subtitles re-appearing and some HUD elements getting stuck. These are fixed by a quick load and boy, for a dense open world, it loads FAST on an SSD. CD Projekt RED also issued a hotfix the day after launch that addressed issues across all platforms. They have laid plans out for future fixes while offering refunds to players not satisfied. For a studio to own up to their shortcomings and take action to fix things warrants merit.

CD Projekt RED couldn’t withstand another delay to Cyberpunk 2077, as it already gained notoriety for its development time. The crunch needed to make the game happen is detestable, but the end product is massively impressive and everyone who worked on the game deserves all the praise I can give. Here’s hoping the upcoming updates do not merit more crunch, as these guys deserve a break. Cyberpunk is MUST-play with the right hardware, if not, hold off for an even better product.

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Cyberpunk 2077

$59.99

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Best Open World in Gaming
• Gripping Voice Acting and Dialogue
• Strong Dedication to World-Building
• Polished in Several Places
• Free Future Support

Cons

• Bugs too Frequent to not Notice
• Rough Ray-Tracing Performance