Ok, so maybe Cyberpunk 2077 was released over 2 weeks ago, but who’s to say we can’t still review the game, right? See, that’s the problem with digital media these days (let’s not kid ourselves. It’s always been this way): everyone wants eyeballs on their review while the hype is still hot. But you know, here at “ANB Whenever We Feel Like it Reviews Inc.”, hype was never a driving force since we barely have any traffic. So, let’s get to the video game buzz that broke the monotony of December 2020 faster than a game of Gyruss and talk about Cyberpunk 2077 now that (some of) the dust has settled.
Update: The dust has in fact not settled as Cyberpunk 2077 continues to amaze through bug patches and the introduction of even more bugs.
Buzz, bugs and…butts?
First of all, let’s just say that Cyberpunk 2077‘s buzz was kind of reminiscent of another very, very anticipated game, notably No man’s Sky. And of course, of COURSE some comparisons will have to be made because like No Man’s Sky, there are bugs galore in CP 2077. However, these comparisons exist only in terms of highly anticipated releases for games that received a ton of hype as they were being rushed out the door and into the market and not in terms of gameplay because neither game is alike. Indeed, one is a sci-fi futuristic space game and the other is a…uh…futuristic earth bound game. Or is it? Look, I won’t go into detail because I do not like embedding spoilers in my game reviews. Let’s just say that Cyberpunk initially suffered (or still does) from a number of very obvious bugs that exposes (literally) how unfinished this game is as our characters actually exhibit naked T-poses in hilarious (almost) x-rated fashion.
Now while a lot of people are focusing on the initial deluge of bugs, the experience hasn’t been quite the same for everyone. In fact, there are reports of people playing on PC who are said to have enjoyed a more stable experience (which doesn’t mean less bugs) while PS 5 players…hmm…maybe not so much. So, while this kind of inconsistency isn’t great news for a game that was 10 years(!) in the making, there is in fact good news in that the fine people over at CD projekt Red are on the case and bug fixes and patches are being deployed, poste haste! Furthermore, players have mostly been willing (or trying very hard) to overlook the initial chaos wrought on by this sort of alpha/beta/gamma release because Cyberpunk 2077 has SO much promise AND for the fact that it possesses a killer storyline that once again, we refuse to spoil. Let’s just say you better wear a tight hat cause there are twists that’ll blow your mind.
Cyberpunk: A vision of the future that lives in the past
Now with all of that said, Cyberpunk 2077 does look great, and it would look even better once the pixelation issues are resolved. Yeah, it’s not the end of the world at this stage and you do get a great sense of the sprawling potential of Night City. The style itself is very “cyberpunk”, and to “get” what cyberpunk truly is, is to understand that the term cyberpunk was coined in the early 80’s as kind of way to define a genre of science fiction. But it’s more complex than that and we don’t have the space to write a whole discourse on the subject. Suffice to say that the cyberpunk genre encompasses a number styles that were described by writers such as Philip K. Dick in the 60’s (we can even go back to 1920’s art deco too if we were motivated enough) and further brought to life in ground breaking films such as Blade Runner and The Matrix. Now the whole thing about the style of cyberpunk is something that the genre can never truly move beyond. Or can it? Fashion itself has been greatly influenced by cyberpunk but it’s also as if cyberpunk as a style will always be an idea of what the future looks like, while simultaneously living in the past. That is why Cyberpunk 2077 looks great but also feels a little cheesy. Ok, it looks A LOT cheesy at times (in a haxor-y kind of way), but that’s part of the charm and what makes the style endearing. So let’s try and forget all that and immerse ourselves and forget the world outside for a bit (as long as the game doesn’t crash again). Hopefully Cyberpunk 2077 will get past its growing pains and deliver 2077%.
Do yourself a favor and check out some Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay right here:
Year: 2020
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Programmer: Piotr Tomsiński
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Xbox
Genre: Action Role Playing