AC24: Random Video Game Review - Cyberpunk 2077

To conclude the advent calendar posts for another year, we're going to break away from Christmas completely to talk about a game released not too long ago. CD Projekt Red have been around for a while. They created The Witcher games and operate GOG.com which like Steam, is a digital storefront with an interest in old classic games you can't get anywhere else on PC as well as new releases too. Its also so far the only one to allow integration from other storefronts as a way to access all your games in one place rather than having to switch between them. But like with EA, they offer their games on Steam too even though they may require DRM which is the bane of PC gamers like myself. Now onto Cyberpunk, a long-running series that first started as a tabletop RPG set in a dystopian world and released all the way back in 1988. It has since become very popular and stands among the greats like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons despite the sci-fi nature. There have been some video games made to do with this franchise, but most have been released on platforms that are no longer around and not very accessible to find (even as emulating roms). This game however is the newest one and boy is it worth it. Let's get to it:

 

The game gives you three different ranks which play out the prologue of the game differently, but nevertheless follows the same story once finished. V (voiced by either Gavin Drea or Cherami Leigh depending on players choice) is a fully customizable humanoid mercenary who goes on many missions accompanied by local thug Jackie Welles (voiced by Jason Hightower) throughout the American megacity known as Night City. In the year 2077, the pair are hired to steal a mysterious biochip known as the Relic, but the plan gets all screwy leading into a series of events where V's actions could change things for the better or worse. The game is played from a first-person perspective and has RPG elements thrown in such as a skill tree than affects V's ability to hack, handle machinery and combat. As well as first person shooting elements too, such as stealth, shooting and so on. As a humanoid, V can have cybernetic implants put into her/him to help in upcoming missions. All ranged weapons can be upgraded to improve performance for a more deadlier attack on enemies. As this is an open world game, the whole of Night City is at your disposal. There are districts you can visit within the city and the surrounding wasteland can also be explored too. Some other interesting features include implants to translate non-English speaking NPCs, a full day and night cycle that affects NPCs and their behaviours and other things you often find in these kinds of games.

The game may be one of those games that uses a lot of features seen in many other games before it. But what makes this game great is how everything falls into place. Its not often that I play games that make even the simplest of tasks easy to do, and it's not often that I play games that actually do good on the features that have been used a billion times before. Its a great game that's immersive, gives its side quests more meaning than just being there for the sake of loot, and it adds a great deal of depth to its complex yet brilliant story. Its clear to me that CD Projekt Red have learned from their Witcher games and have made another great game which while buggy (for now I hope), is a worthy play for those that want a next gen experience unlike anything played before. 9/10