It is finally here. After eight years of hype, media coverage, and delays, the game Cyberpunk 2077 has finally hit the shelves. You would expect to instantly have an awesome experience after installing the game. However, there was a problem. There were several major issues in the game. Ranging from bugs to glitches, to game crashes, to frame rate, and overall performance issues. These key issues at first made this very highly anticipated game virtually unplayable for most gamers across the planet.
Strangely, you wouldn’t encounter a lot of these issues if you were to play on either next-gen consoles or PC. However, on the PlayStation 4 & Xbox One, is where you are in the most trouble. I was playing Cyberpunk 2077 on the PlayStation 5, and the game looked significantly better overall. I’ve still experienced aggravating problems such as weak frame rate.
Thankfully, CD Project Red released a statement addressing the complaints and has assured us that they will fix the problems with upcoming patches. Thus far, I have received a few patches, and the game has improved and has become more playable. I am waiting for more patches to arrive. You would think that after years of development and delays, you wouldn’t come across the majority of these problems.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a Role-playing, open-world, action-adventure game that tells a story set in Night City. Your character is named V, and the game begins when you are given three different paths to choose from: Nomad, Streetkid, and Corpo. These three different paths all feature V starting a new life in Night City, and you embark on a high number of adventures. Players must be careful about certain choices they make as they determine so many outcomes of the stories. I chose the Streetkid path. I was then requested to customise my character’s body, playstyle, and skillset. I was astonished by the high number of body customisation options there were to choose from. Let’s not forget that this game also features the legendary actor Keanu Reeves. Keanu Reeves is a huge part of the reason why I purchased this game. I knew a game with him involved will be awesome. Keanu plays Johnny Silverhand, who was a lead singer of the rock band ‘Samurai’, and who was also an ex-US military veteran, who has a vendetta against the Arasaka Corporation because they kidnapped his girlfriend, which eventually led to her death.
CD Projekt Red has taken a lot of their time and effort into developing the story. When the story consists of over 20 hours of gameplay, you instantly feel you are starting to get your money’s worth. Surely no gamer likes a short campaign, but on the other hand, it’s fair to say that not every gamer wants to spend months completing the mode.
Therefore, just over 20 hours of gameplay is ample time for a truly great experience. Especially, when you realise that when you include the side missions, you are getting a whopping 75+ hours of total Cyberpunk awesomeness as you are enrolling in a variety of missions such as stealth, heists, braindance, and so much more. The voice actors have done their jobs phenomenally, especially the actor who played Jackie Welles. His fearless attitude, funny jokes, and loyalty attached me to him.
The gameplay needs some improvement. That’s not to say that there weren’t many positives, such as that I love interactive games where you can make choices as to what to say, what to ask, and what to do next, knowing that I would need to be cautious of my selections each time to ensure a positive outcome, just like in real life. However, some problems might be considered minor, but I love games that show realism. For example, you would have vehicles that would move, but the wheels wouldn’t. Unfortunately, this issue hasn’t been rectified yet, but even though this shouldn’t necessarily be much of a problem, errors like this lessen the realistic effects of the game.
And some issues were somewhat major, like how long it takes to kill an enemy. Most enemies had an almost juggernaut-like health to the point where I would waste a few magazines to kill just one enemy. Even when aiming for headshots and having stronger weapons like assault rifles and shotguns. This was increasingly frustrating, as they would sometimes come in swarms. Plus, the combat is pretty repetitive, so that lessened the fun a little.
I don’t have many annoyances with the visuals. They were noticeably better on the PlayStation 5 version, and by playing on a 4K monitor, the colours were more vibrant. The audio and soundtrack choices were also great. Some of the choices of music were so good that many times I would simply just drive around until one of my favourite tracks had ended.
Ultimately, Cyberpunk 2077 is a phenomenal game that initially lost a lot of credibility due to the unfathomable tally of issues that occurred when it arrived. With the introduction of a few patches, many of the issues I have encountered have been rectified, making the game far more enjoyable; thus, a considerable amount of credibility has been restored. I will be waiting for more patches to arrive. Ideally, those who have yet to play the game should consider waiting until most of the patches have been released. Strangely, with all that being said, this game deserves to be classed as a role-playing game of the year.
