5/5 ★ – Akod's review of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition.

The first time I booted up Cyberpunk 2077, it gave me a weird bug and crashed. That should have been reason enough to drop this game and ask for a refund. I should have decided to play something else that day. But instead I did something I rarely do. I pushed forward. I decided I wanted to see what this game was all about since I heard it was finally "fixed" with the 2.0 version and the newest DLC: Phantom Liberty. And in hindsight, I am so glad to have stuck with Cyberpunk 2077. Because despite the occasional bug that still exists on the Xbox version of this game, this is an excellent game in so many fronts. The gameplay is polished, with great FPS mechanics that are snappy and fun to play. Its more akin to a Borderlands game than a COD, having special abilities and futuristic weapons. The dialogues and the story overall are fantastic, with CD Project Red's signature quality on every sidequest and main quest. Along tons of details you only find while walking the streets of Night City, or roll around in a car listening how you really want to stay at someone's house and crying for unknown reasons. And I don't think I have ever played a story like the one in Cyberpunk 2077. One where you start with a doomed diagnosis: You are going to die. And all you can do is plead with the new voice in your head to try to save yourself. All while doing jobs for plenty of shady and colorful characters across a city that actively hates you. All while knowing you are doomed to go on a blaze of glory, or while fighting for your life against any of the big corporations that run NC. Its a story where every ending is a bad ending in itself because you either sold out yourself, a friend or you pay a price higher than what you bargain for. And yet all the small stories around the main narrative gives you just enough hope to think you can make it, because what if you can? When I consider a game a complete package, it usually means that everything with the game works in conjuncture. From the voice acting, art style, music, story, to the gameplay, performance and player expression to form a unique and full experience. Cyberpunk 2077 is probably the only game I can think that has such a big asterisk whenever I recommend it. This is a game that is flawed in consoles. Not as much as when it came out but enough to warrant some annoyance. But if you stick with it, the trip to Night City is very worth the investment choom.