4/5 ★ – TDuffy's review of Cyberpunk 2077.

It's astounding how much I can still be invested in a game as deeply flawed as this is. For me personally, the quality of the game at its core is at a level where underneath the thick layer of bugs and issues there exists an easy 5 star, all-time great experience. The technical issues are well documented and exist across the board (CDPR couldn't even get the PC desktop icon right) and there are real difficult and complicated conversations to be had about the game's (and by extension CDPR's) politics, especially regarding gender and sex. All that said, SOMEHOW I still find myself enamored with the game and always eager to pull back in. I've been a fan of Bethesda's RPGs since Fallout 3 but I rarely ever completed those dense games. I did complete Fallout 3 but while I have very fond memories of sinking hours into Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4 I never saw either of them through to the end of their stories. I enjoyed those styles of games but I guess something was always missing for me with those titles. When Obsidian released The Outer Worlds, everything clicked for me. I was deeply invested in the game's story and more importantly its characters and I eagerly journeyed to the end of the tale, genuinely sad to see it end. I haven't completed Cyberpunk 2077 yet but I can already tell I'll make it to the end. For one thing the main story is structured differently from the Bethesda games I mentioned above so it's a little more cinematic which already interests me more. Beyond that though the characters really have drawn me in ways I haven't been drawn in since I discovered The Outer Worlds. And speaking of worlds, Night City is astounding. It's really a terrible shame that Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't operate at the technical level it should if only for the experience of walking through Night City. To be honest it's almost unsurprising that it's so buggy. Night City is clearly a staggeringly ambitious creation. Perhaps TOO ambitious. Even with it's delayed texture load-ins and low crowd population settings, Night City is one of the most truly immersive open worlds I have ever seen in a video game. Walking through the streets of Night City comes closer to the real experience of walking through a real metropolitan city than any other video game I've ever played. I'm hoping once the dust settles (years from now if we're being realistic) Night City will be seen as ahead of its time. At the very least I hope it paves the way for other studios in the future. It's impossible to tell that right now though since we're in the eye of the storm. And look, you can't blame anyone for being unhappy. The flaws are impossible to ignore. You can see CDPR's ambition when you look around at any and all things in the game's world. In any scenario you can see what the game is SUPPOSED to be doing and what it's TRYING to achieve and its all compelling and inspiring. BUT you have to reconcile what it's SUPPOSED to be with what it actually is. You have to be willing to imagine what's behind the glitchy objects or the textureless faces. It's a big pill to swallow and you either CAN swallow it or you CAN'T. It's as simple as that. I somehow CAN and I've been able to (so far) have an enjoyable, (mostly) immersive experience. I've experienced multiple full blown crashes and I've encountered uncomfortable sexual politics (there is a LOT of sex stuff in this game! Like sooooo much sex stuff!) and yet I've still found myself excited to re-enter Night City every day. This is in no way a 4 star game in its current state but in my heart that's what it feels like. It's crazy! We'll see how the experience overall sits with me once I've completed the story but I'm already starting to plan my second playthrough. As someone who regularly abandons games midway through or even early on (sorry Watch Dogs Legion!) that's something special.