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Cyberpunk 2077: Is It Worth Buying?

A look at the pros and cons of Cyberpunk 2077

By The Marvelous Mr. EdenPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Cyberpunk 2077 Box Art

There's no doubt that Cyberpunk 2077 was one of, if not the most anticipated game of 2020. Set in a dystopian future with an ambition open world, inventive mechanics, and a high level of character customization, Cyberpunk was slated to be one of the best games of all time. At least, that's how the hype built it up. What we got was a game that, while certainly ambitious, fell hard on technical troubles. Now, we're going to take a look a the pros and cons to see if it's really worth buying.

A quick side note before you continue: I would imagine that many people reading this have not played Cyberpunk, as the goal here it to help you determine for yourself if you would like to purchase the game. Please note that there may be some material in here that you could consider spoilers, but I will do my absolute best not to ruin anything for you in terms of story.

Upon its release, Cyberpunk 2077 was almost immediately met with controversy. Before we even knew virtually anything about the game, the transsexual community cried foul. They claimed the game portrayed transsexuals in a negative light, and even went so far as saying that purchasing the game is a hate crime. During all my time playing, however, this has proven to be an entirely baseless claim. Not only does the game in no way paint transsexuals negatively, but it even goes so far as letting you have customizable genitalia regardless of your "gender" choice. While it certainly isn't perfect, lacking the full control of customization that many were lead to believe would be included, I myself have yet to find a mainstream title that offers the same customizations in a serious manner. While it could certainly be improved upon, something that seems to be an ongoing theme with Cyberpunk, it's most certainly a step in the right direction when it comes to creating a character that is transsexual. As I said above, I have seen no negative encounters that seem to slander or paint transsexuals in a negative light. The only instance I've found thus far that could even remotely be considered offensive is an encounter with the NPC Fingers. Fingers is portrayed as a fairly creepy ripperdoc who operates mostly on the city's joy toys. With this in mind, the character isn't explicitly transsexual, being more reminiscent of a simple cross dresser whose behavior reminds me almost of Silence of the Lamb's Buffalo Bill. As for Fingers' behavior, he's no worse than the bulk of the NPCs in Night City. It's much easier to say the city paints near everyone, even the player character, in a bad light simply to highlight the grim realities of the city and it's evident fall into depravity and violence. It's very important to make clear that this is a dystopian society, and it is very fair in the fact that it does not seem to single out any group whatsoever.

Cyberpunk's most well known and heavily criticized controversy undoubtedly stems from it's technical issues. These technical issues range from harmless bugs and graphical glitches to the game flat out crashing or being unplayable. While the PC version faired far better than the console releases, it's a far cry from the perfection that the fanbase feels they were promised. All the while, players using older PS4 and Xbox One consoles have reported they can hardly run the game at all. Graphics tend to take an exceptionally long time to load, especially in crowded areas. In many cases, this makes driving through the city not only an eye sore, but damn near impossible as you have to bob and weave through traffic that is quite literally invisible. These technical issues are so bad, that as I was in the process of writing this article, PlayStation completely removed the game from their digital storefront. This stems from an slew of bad decision making on CDPR's part, who chose to kept promising new release dates rather than delaying the game indefinitely. A large bulk of their time and effort also seemingly went into what I'd call a brutal marketing campaign. Even though the game kept being pushed back, merchandise and advertising seemed to just keep coming. I can't help but think that the time and money put into the marketing and could have been spent better if it had been put towards the actual product rather than things like gaming chairs.

Now that we've covered a good portion of the ridicule this game has received, it's time to look at the positive aspects it has to offer. We'll start with the narrative. As is to be expected from CDPR, who is well known for their work with The Witcher series, Cyberpunk has a rich narrative that will get you invested and wanting more. You're given choices that affect the narrative before you even start the game, needing to choose your character's background so the game knows exactly where to slap you into the game's world. This choice also has a greater affect on the narrative as a whole, with your background being tied to a good portion of dialoged throughout the game. After a brief introduction mission that ties your background into the main story, you're thrown into a several hour long prologue. While this may not seem enticing on paper, I promise you it plays out far better than you expect. With flushed out characters that leave a lasting impression well after you're finish, and an extremely well written story, you're put into a world that actually convinces you that your actions and choices matter. You can make friends, enemies, and lovers as easily as you fire a weapon, and I am genuine when I say that a videogame narrative has not gripped me so thoroughly in my entire time being an avid gamer.

It's very important to note that Cyberpunk is an RPG, much like the CDPR titles before it. The equipment system is reminiscent of The Witcher 3, gradually gathering better items as you level up and explore the world. With that said, I felt the leveling system was far more in depth, as there are essentially two forms of leveling up. On the surface, you have your core stats. Things like strength, reflexes, intelligence, and so on. These are leveled by defeating your enemies and completing missions. Upon levelling up, you're given the option to increase one of your core stats by one point. Under each of these stats are various skills. For example, reflexes governs your skill with pistols. To level up your skill with pistols, you'll need to use them in combat. The same goes for the other skills governed by their respective stats. Leveling up also doesn't feel like a chore. It happens fluently as you progress through the game, making for a much more enjoyable experience than games where you're seemingly prompted to grind out levels to stay effective. Aside from gunplay, a character can also use melee combat and stealth to gain the upper hand. Stealth is often aided by hacking skills, and there are even crafting mechanics for the player to take advantage of throughout the game.

One mechanic you'll need to get use to is the driving. If you're coming over from games like GTA or Forza Horizon, you're going to have a bad time. The driving in Cyberpunk takes quite a bit of getting use to, as each car genuinely feels unique with how it handles as a whole. That said, the driving seems quite reminiscent of the driving in Sleeping Dogs, which is to say it can be a bit clunky at times. Running around the city may be a much more fluid an experience, but the driving isn't all that bad when you finally get the hang of it.

So, let's get to the point of the article. Is Cyberpunk 2077 worth buying? If you can get past the technical issues of this game, I would say it is absolutely worth your time. Not only are the core gameplay and narrative fantastic, but I have no doubt that these technical issues will be ironed out down the line. Having a bit of patience will go quite a long way with this title, and with free DLC and a multiplayer mode in the works, it's only going to get that much better. Now wake up samurai, we have a city to burn.

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About the Creator

The Marvelous Mr. Eden

I am The Marvelous Mr. Eden. I'm an aspiring photographer who also enjoys writing articles in his free time.

Vocal is a wonderful platform that allows me to share my world views and ideas in written form. I hope to inspire you with my work.

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