Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most important games of this year. After a plethora of delays, we are finally nearing its release in a couple of hours. Most major publications have posted their reviews at the time of writing, so let’s do a quick rundown of what they think about the game.
Our reviews:
IGN – 9/10
IGN is probably most people’s go-to place for reviews, with good reason. It has been around for quite some time and is well-known among gaming enthusiasts. Tom Marks has written the review after clocking about 45 hours with this game. The review seems to be fair and comprehensive. The verdict says,
Cyberpunk 2077 kicks you into its beautiful and dazzlingly dense cityscape with few restrictions. It offers a staggering amount of choice in how to build your character, approach quests, and confront enemies, and your decisions can have a tangible and natural-feeling impact on both the world around you and the stories of the people who inhabit it. Those stories can be emotional, funny, dark, exciting, and sometimes all of those things at once. The main quest may be shorter than expected when taken on its own and it’s not always clear what you need to do to make meaningful changes to its finale, but the multitude of side quests available almost from the start can have a surprisingly powerful effect on the options you have when you get there. It’s a shame that frustratingly frequent bugs can occasionally kill an otherwise well-set mood, but Cyberpunk 2077’s impressively flexible design makes it a truly remarkable RPG.
The score also looks fair, with most points deducted for the staggering number of bugs that should be fixed with a Day 1 Patch.
Gamespot – 7/10
Gamespot’s review of Cyberpunk 2077 is probably the most controversial and has faced quite some backlash. The review praises the game’s flexible design, interesting combat, and side quests. Most criticisms have been stated towards some filler content, inconsistencies in visual design, a disjointed plotline with well, loads of bugs.
Kallie Plagge’s review goes a lot back and forth among the good and bad things, which are mostly in equal proportions, hence the score. The review states that most side-quests do not contribute to the main plot in any meaningful way. This is a stark contrast from IGN’s review that stated it is one of the more unique things about the game. We have yet to play the game but this could very well be a result of the writer’s speeding through the game, which she rightfully admits in the review.
PCGamer – 78/100
PCGamer’s verdict on Cyberpunk 2077 says,
Some nice characters and stories nested in an astounding open world, undercut by jarring bugs at every turn.
This is a nice summary of the well-written review. The review rightfully praises the game’s many diverse and interesting characters with meaningful quest-lines. The frequent bugs seem to be a repetitive issue here, which we again hope gets patched at launch. Some issues regarding dumb AI can be seen in the combat section of the review. The final score doesn’t really align well with the review’s language. We personally found it quite a bit lower than expected.
GamesRadar – 5/5
The only perfect review on this list, it’s summary states,
Cyberpunk 2077 is a paragon of open-world gaming, offering the kind of freedom to explore and define your character that provides a new pinnacle for the genre. It takes everything we celebrate about open-world games, and learns from it, implementing best-in-class variations in a world that’s so dense and detailed. Add in the human-like level of reactivity and emotional depth that it brings to its narrative, and it all combines for the most spectacular experience. Take a trip to Night City immediately.
The review, oddly enough, doesn’t mention the plethora of bugs that are a major talking point in other reviews. The only criticism is aimed at the main quest with it being shorter than expected.
Polygon
Polygon’s review starts off with some issues regarding LGBTQ representation in the game. While the reviewer admits Night City as being a warning rather than an aspiration for the future, she seems to be disappointed over this fact. The theme continues throughout the review with major talking points being about its visuals and the world rather than the gameplay.
This review also doesn’t mention the extensive number of bugs, with criticisms aimed at the combat of this game. There isn’t any review score to accompany the article but does come off as a positive one overall.
Our Thoughts On Cyberpunk 2077
Though we have yet to play the game, we believe that setting your expectations is the key here. Cyberpunk 2077 is first and foremost an RPG, so expect some good-natured grinding and uninteresting progression. The game had always been placed as an evolutionary experience rather than a revolutionary one. People expecting drastically different systems could very well be put-off. Cyberpunk 2077 will require quite some time to beat and speeding through the game can result in a worse experience.
The thing to note about Night City is that it is not an inspiration for the future. Players are sure to find a lot of offensive dialogue and misrepresentation of communities here, which is to be expected. The game has a load of bugs right now and players should wait for the Day 1 Patch to go live before making the purchase if they haven’t already.
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