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Cyberpunk 2077: The decade’s biggest flop

I purchased CyberPunk 2077 on a whim last December, believing the hype of one of the most highly anticipated games of the 2010s. Yet this game is largely a disappointment rather than the masterpiece it was hailed to be. With Keanu Reeves as your promotional prop, what could possibly go wrong? Well… a lot actually.

 

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The game is littered with many game-breaking bugs and glitches which can ruin the immersiveness while you explore the vastness of the in game world of Night City. This was and still is a major problem for players on last-generation consoles (PS4, Xbox One). Aside from the persistent bugs, on console the graphics had been severely downgraded making the game look like it was released two decades ago. This seems to be due to CD Projekt Red dramatically upgrading the graphics to what was previously shown in older release trailers. Subsequently, the PS4 and Xbox One could not handle this upgrade as the bugs and glitches followed. It is not surprising that they did not show gameplay footage for either previous generation consoles. This ultimately forced CD Projekt Red to hand out mass refunds as the gaming community was up in arms over the game that promised so much since it was first marketed back in 2013. PlayStation subsequently removed the game from their online store which has cemented Cyberpunks legacy as one of the biggest flops in gaming history.

 

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As for the gameplay, Cyberpunk 2077 starts well where the player is tasked with choosing three different lifepath options: The Street Kid, Corpo and Nomad, which I happened to choose. These path choices have little effect on the story line apart from the beginning (obviously) and some occasional dialogue choices. You then meet up with your newly acquainted partner in crime, Jackie, who eventually becomes your friend. And for the first few hours, the gameplay is enjoyable and quite immersive. The first number of missions have multiple endings and it all seems to run smoothly.However, this was the extent of my enjoyment, afterwards the bugs and glitches became apparent. After the first act, Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves) somehow ends up in your character’s consciousness and is obsessed with taking down the “corporations”, but strangely he lacks any real motivation behind his hatred towards them.

This is what the game needed – depth – for despite the numerous characters in the game, few gave me any emotional connection. There are no real compelling characters that draw you into the story. This led me to lose interest relatively quickly after the first act. And without any spoilers, the few endings of the game are all quite bland which is fitting for the entire experience. Apart from the main story, you would think there would be many activities in the world of Night City. Well you’d be wrong. Apart from the many side missions that relate back to the story line, killing criminals and sex with prostitutes are the only pastimes in the game. Cyberpunk failed to do what GTA: San Andreas did back in 2004 where this game had a vast array of activities and challenges to complete.

My advice to get the best experience out of Cyberpunk 2077 is to wait until this game is properly functional. That is if you want to play it at all, if you want an immersive game with variety and a solid story line perhaps just play a GTA or Red Dead Redemption title.

 

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