Cyberpunk 2077 – First Impressions

Cyberpunk 2077 is very much about the transhuman experience. Augmentations are as common as piercings or tattoos together throughout Night City. V, the protagonist, finds themselves in Night City and a massive adventure for them opens up, taking them through the ranks of being a Runner, gaining status. V will be traveling everywhere, being a gun for hire. Released across almost all platforms, there is a lot in the new game from CD Projekt Red. Their previous work on the Witcher series helped make a big name for them, and established them to be known for sprawling RPGs. But there is more than just their history.

We need to take some time to talk about the PC/PS5/Xbox Series X compared to the PS4/Xbox One. There are very big differences between the various version as of the writing of this article (Patch 1.04 has been released). Comparing footage from our own recordings on a Xbox One Series S, just across the next iterations of the Xbox, it is definitely the weakest in appearance. Going between the PS4 and PS4, the Series S still holds the weakest position graphically. The Xbox One Series X is better, but still a bit rough. When it comes to the Playstation 4, it has good performance (if longer load times) but there are still concerns over stability. The Xbox X and Playstation 5 are easily the best for load times as well as the best graphics on a console. Finally, PC, with an optimized machine, can make this game run incredibly smooth. You will still need to spend several minutes configuring the game itself to ensure that it is drawing properly from the computer. This version of Cyberpunk 2077 has a lot of customization to the settings as well.

The story is something fun. The game itself functions as an open world, with numerous points throughout the story making it easy to break away from the main story to participate in a wide variety of activities. With the number of activities available, it is easy to get swept away, gaining experience. There are rescue opportunities, crimes to disrupt, sabotage to be completed, all from events that populate the world. Night City itself is massive, occupying several densely packed miles of buildings. The outskirts of Night City, the Badlands, occupies less, with more open space for the player to explore. There is still a lot to be seen with numerous secrets scattered through the desert that borders the City.

The character is delightfully complex to work with. There are a few things to consider as V improves and engages with the world. There is no social skill, but the attributes can grant unique dialogue options. There are a few things that level up through gameplay. The Character Level will increase through XP gains from completing story missions, side jobs, and gigs. Gaining Character levels will grant Attribute points, with the odd Perk Points added as well. Within the Attributes, there are Perk Trees tied to different Skills. These Skills have Perk Trees. The Skills will improve ONLY through their direct use. You want to be good at sneaking, you will need to practice stealth successfully. The different weapons have different skills tied to them, so take some time to practice with everything you can.

The lifepath is the prologue for V as the story begins. These are a lot of fun to play through. The Corpo path has V dealing with a big event happen with the corporation they work for. Having suggested retaliation plan against a rival, they get kicked out of the Corporation before the plan can be executed by the target. Might have the most starting money. The Street Kid lifepath has V just returning to Night City after a few years in Atlantic City. In trying to help a friend, they get swept into a car jacking that nearly costs them their life. They also start with the Fixer, Padre. Plenty of conversation is to be had with a number of different approaches that can be taken Finally, there is the Nomad prologue. Of the trio, this one the most to it, with driving, fighting, and conversation (only a bit though).

Finally, we need to talk about the glitches. We've encountered no glitches (and only had 1 crash, but a lot of lag with the menu screen). There have been cases of items, people, objects clipping through each other. Additionally, the graphics can be unstable as well as the framerate in places. Just after launch, with nudity enabled, genitals could clip through the clothes of the character. This has persisted in the rare glitch of a character T-poses on their vehicle, usually without pants. And this is just scratching the surface of what the game has been reported to have.

With the poor reception and troubles with the game, Sony has pulled the game from their digital store front and is offering refunds to people. Microsoft has issued a state as of the writing of this article that they have extended their digital refund policy for Cyberpunk 2077. Both of these make it possible for people to get refunds. They have also included a disclaimer about the performance of the game on the Xbox One series. For Physical copies, the owners can get refunds directly from CD Projekt Red if needed if the retail store won't be issuing refunds for it. This is a sign of good faith from the company at least.

From our own personal experience, Cyberpunk 2077 has been a fun game. The variety of guns, melee weapons, and character options (and armored clothing) are a lot of fun to play around with. The beginning of the story and the 3 prologues are fun to play through. The fact it has settings for streamers and a nudity toggle are wonderful. Just knowing all the problems about the game at present, it is hard to give a recommendation. Still, even with the potential rough ride, if you know what you can be in for, it is something to be enjoyed.


Comments (0)

New comments are currently disabled.


Subscribe to me on YouTubeFollow us on Twitter!
Join our Steam group!