[Introduction] I wrote this review in 2022, but I did not post it in English. Since my interpretation of Dark, I haven't written such a long and complex piece. I thought about it for a very long time, even longer than I did with the aforementioned series. While Dark had a few flaws, it's a much more cohesive overall experience. CDPR's new game is more complex, and it's a different medium, offering incomparably more possibilities for action than interpretation when it comes to analyzing the series (when it comes to breaking down the series or the game). Once I started the game, I jotted down my notes in various places—on my phone, if they were short entries, on email, if I needed to write longer ones so I could later understand what I was thinking, and on a piece of paper, if I didn't have access to a computer and suddenly had an epiphany. Currently, I'm on my second playthrough (all side quests and contracts have been completed, except for the main quests), and by the time I finish writing this review, I'll be on my third playthrough, getting as much out of the game as I can.
I'll also say right away that my opinion may change over time. Okay, that's true in every case, regardless of what we're talking about, but this case is special. As one of my blog followers, Sylwia, more or less said: "Cyberpunk is a game that gives me a lot of fun, and at the same time, I love to hate it." Or another sentence I remember from a StarCraft review written on release day: "It's a very good game that could have been much better if Blizzard had spent even longer on it." I could say the same about CP2077, but in a different context, because Blizzard didn't have such ambitions (or at least didn't talk about them openly), so they gave us less to criticize. Instead, I see even more empty space that could be filled, flaws that could be fixed, things that could be added. Overall, I like this game, but less than Witcher 3—partly because that game better masked the elements it didn't handle so well.
I started my adventure with a female V with a pre-made model (the one CDPRed boasts about in their promotional materials), but I made too many mistakes and earned far fewer experience points than I could have. So I decided to create a new character, this time not Punk, but Korp – a black femboy hacker with large genitalia. I grind everything I can, just like I did long ago when playing WoW. I craft everything into components, and when I run out, I visit nearby shops, upgrade my gear, wander the city, and take down criminals. In other words, I don't miss any opportunity to enrich myself, improve my skills, or level up.
[The plot and overall quality of the game] In the game, we play as V, a young mercenary (or young mercenary) who has decided to build his legend in one of the most important cities in the world. Our goal is simple: together with his companion, Jack Wells, we must establish a good reputation. During one of the assignments, something went wrong. Jackie died, and we gained a new personality element: Johnny Silverhand. In short, he's a typical bad boy who exhibits, to a greater or lesser extent, traits of the Dark Triad: he's uncompromising, egotistical, sarcastic, narcissistic, and often treats people as objects. He's not a complete jerk; throughout the story, he'll show his better side several times and even change (more or less, depending on the relationship we develop with him and our experiences).
V must also survive, as an engram with Silverhand's personality gradually overwrites his soul, taking control of his body. The game has three starting points – Nomad, Punk, and Corps. They don't differ much from each other. Sure, there are some differences in dialogue, occasional small quests, and some minor events unfold differently, but overall, it doesn't significantly impact the overall story. Similarly, most decisions have less impact on the plot than in The Witcher (that's my impression after two playthroughs; I could be wrong), or at least I felt noticeably less often that decision X changed the outcome of case Y. Let me clarify, to avoid misunderstandings – in both cases, choices in minor matters tended not to have a significant impact on the final outcome. However, in Sapkowski's world, I felt I had a greater influence on the universe, even if these were only plot threads involving ordinary people. I simply saw the consequences of my decisions more often – I met a familiar NPC, something happened to the village I saved, etc. For me, this isn't a significant advantage or disadvantage, because both games clumsily imitate real life - W3 handles it better, because it's quasi-medieval and it's easier to hide the engine's limitations in this world, when most people are ordinary peasants, and in the case of important NPCs, it's easier to believe that these characters "live" in the game world - they have less to do, don't have such opportunities to communicate, move, etc.
How do I rate the plot, side quests, and characters (both primary and secondary)? Let me start by saying that it's hard to avoid comparisons with the studio's previous game. True, these titles take place in completely different universes, but they're quite similar. The mechanics are more or less the same, as are the side quests. Not to mention the atmosphere, choices, and character relationships. In my opinion, W3 is better than CP2077 in both the main story and the side quests (I'm talking only about the plot, characters, etc. – I'll compare the gameplay in another paragraph). It's not a huge difference, but in my opinion, a noticeable one. However, opinions among internet users and players are divided on this point, so I think it's purely subjective, depending on preference. Both titles have their strengths and weaknesses – storylines or parts of them that we'll remember for a long time or want to forget. Characters we'll either like or dislike. Moments that will make a big impression on us, surprise us with their creativity, imagination, how they were presented... And so on.
In my opinion, The Witcher has more, and it's not because I really like Sapkowski's books. Before I read the books, I bought the game and, while I was reading, I'd ask my friends to explain plotlines or references to the original. Before I started reading them, I played through the game twice. The books probably reinforced this impression, because I'm simply in love with how CDPR translated the world from the books into the game, but for the purposes of this review, I'm trying to suppress my positive emotions. In the case of CP, I was only truly engaged with Silverhand's storyline (although it also had its weaker elements that bored me, but much less so than the parts where we controlled Ciri). The rest wasn't bad, but for some reason, I couldn't get involved. The storyline with the Bartender thinking he's a cuckold was quite intriguing. Panam and her family, the fates of several other characters, Jacky's family – these were also well-written storylines. Unfortunately, the world of Night City has been dramatically underutilized. The game appears vast and expansive, but beneath the beautiful graphics, there's often a sense of emptiness. Battles with Cyberpsychos are mini-bosses. If only they were significantly different from each other... Hacking is simply the magic of W3. Braindances are a pretty cool toy, but they have too little impact and aren't a game changer. And you'd think otherwise based on how they were advertised.
As for W3, I was very impressed with Leto's story (I still haven't played W2), the Bloody Baron, the Swamp Witches, that tree where they enchanted a certain creature, Emhyr, the murdered prostitutes, Triss Merigold and the refugees, the Kaer Morhen storyline, the two goodbyes to Ciri at the end... I could name a few more, but I haven't played in a while and have already forgotten a lot of elements, maybe I'll come back to this topic when we get a big update for the PS5 version at the end of this year.
Without wanting to sound sarcastic, I'll share what really impressed me. It's not as atmospheric as other online game stages, but it's one of the better scenes, and it left a strong impression on me every time. The creators directed and edited it brilliantly; I felt a genuine sense of dread and desperation, not only because of V's health, but also because of the entire context of the situation. The way it was presented is also significant – a brilliant horror atmosphere, a complete lack of control, and the need to surrender to whatever fate throws at us. Dexter, "a moment ago," was a great scoundrel who thought he had the situation under control, and now he stands there, trembling with fear for his life. Takamura, on the other hand, saw another red flag that forced him to change his mind about V. And that unhappy ending, straight out of an episode of Black Mirror or the movie Upgrade (I highly recommend it! A small film made for a pitiful budget, but damn good and very thought-provoking), when we find out that Dex has killed our brains, and the chip that saved our lives is gradually consuming our souls and destroying our egos... Oh, if it actually played out like they announced, and not just temporary fainting spells, it would be very powerful...
The second scene that impressed me most was the first ending. As I mentioned, I chose to work with the corporation partly out of naivety and partly out of curiosity—to be honest, I truly trusted Saburo's daughter. Since childhood, I've been an imaginative person who likes to get lost in my own thoughts, and one of my worst visions was being in a psychiatric hospital. If I remember correctly, I watched a movie about this topic and was struck by the terrible treatment these people receive. The first ending was like a return to that nightmare, only in a much more intense form. In my review of Batman on PS3, I highly praised Scarecrow and his first appearance. A few of my friends and I thought (even though we played independently, they on release day, I a few years later) that we'd broken the console or encountered a bug. It turned out the developers cleverly transferred the effects of drugs into the game's language. Even though it was after midnight and I only played the game for "a few minutes," I was so captivated that I went to bed about two hours later.
This game had a much stronger effect! I don't remember ever having a similar reaction... It's true that the second ending made a bigger impression on me, but that's because of the overall effect—the greater intensity of several emotions, not just frustration. If I were to consider only my anger, the collaboration with the corporation pissed me off more. Or let me put it another way: it's like comparing two anime or TV series. The first has more merits and reasons to praise it, the second has fewer, but two of them stand out more. The feeling of immersion was so powerful, I felt as if I were in her shoes! I was as frustrated as my V—I was irritated by her helplessness, by having to submit to the organization and follow their idiotic orders as if we were 100% healthy and were about to be seen by an overzealous doctor who wanted to prove himself and wouldn't let us go, and we couldn't force him to see him. When Arasaka finally mercifully released us, I felt like a wreck with baby food instead of brains and two options: drink myself to death or shoot myself in the head. Hats off to you, I was sadder than Geralt's suicide in the worst ending of "The Witcher," and that rarely happens to me.
Overall, CP is unfortunately underdeveloped in almost every aspect. Starting from the beginning, the developers seem to want to force a relationship with our companion, whom we'll say goodbye to relatively quickly. If it weren't for the conversation with his girlfriend on the roof, I would have forgotten about him, and I was a bit embarrassed about it... For a while, because after two or three days, it was over. It's like a relationship with a friend from elementary school who, over the past dozen years, has followed a completely different path than ours, and now we have nothing to talk about. CDPR probably realized too late that they hadn't thought this thread through, and the game was already too advanced to delete it or further expand its role (which could have resulted in further changes, and therefore a later release).
The development of some skills was limited to the same old hacks and the use of excessively large vending machines, of which there are so many, simply because they had to fill the game world. Side characters don't speak much, and their models are often repetitive. My girlfriend and I once counted five identical NPCs while walking down the street for a few minutes. Communicating with other characters is fun, but I feel like much, much more could have been done in this regard. Far too little was done compared to what could have been done. Take Pokémon on the Game Boy Advance. There, too, we could talk to other characters, and overall, we didn't stray too far from that, despite the vast distance between the two games. Of course, the creators of CP2077 had a much more difficult task, but they also had more tools and a wider range of possibilities. Therefore, they were able to create a better illusion of a living world, at least in terms of the relationships between characters, which are less meaningful to us after completing the mission than before. Overall, the story is very good. I had a great time playing both games 1 and 2, but unlike W3, I wasn't as impressed often, although when it did happen, I think it was stronger. As I wrote in the introduction, if CDPRed wanted to, they could have done it better, or much better (depending on what we're talking about), but as it is, it's only very good. Fortunately, the relationship with Johnny more than makes up for it.
[Characters and Their Relationships] Speaking of which, it's a good opportunity to write about the characters in this world. It's worth starting with the best character in CP and the best relationship... ever? Well, at least in my case, because I can't recall ever coming across such a good relationship in games. The relationship between these two is very sincere, natural, and vibrant, which is even more impressive when you consider the context. It's maintained a high standard from the beginning; when Johnny wakes up in an alternate reality, the lack of cigarettes and drugs infuriates him. It's like two friends who sometimes growl at each other like two wolves, get angry over seemingly insignificant matters, don't speak to each other for a while, but it doesn't last long because they're stuck together for various reasons.
Thanks to us, Johnny is no longer an asshole and understands that sometimes you have to shove nonconformity up your ass and accept objective reality. My partner, during one of the conversations between V and Silverhand, said, "Well, what a waste of your time fighting when you're dead, and the corporation is still standing and doesn't care about your fate." V, in turn, took his fate into his own hands, no longer being a polite and passive boy who accepts whatever fate throws at him instead of fighting for his own. This lesson is also important—these days offer enormous opportunities, but people are lazy and too often settle for what they have. Not to mention that by not making decisions, they're actually postponing risk—it will come sooner or later, and the longer we delay, the harder it will hit us. This can be applied to every important aspect of life. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the sincere relationship between these two. It was like watching two real, flesh-and-blood people who sometimes say something too strongly or unnecessarily inflame already heated situations, but who are also ready to help each other out at any moment, or to tell each other very honestly and bluntly that our idea is stupid and its implementation will end badly. Or as Panam put it, "The relationship between these people is like this: first they hit you very hard on the head, and then they hug you so tight that every bone in your body breaks."
And speaking of Panam, besides Johnny, she's my favorite character. Like Keanu Reeves, she's a brilliantly designed and executed protagonist. Granted, they're not particularly original, as there are plenty of Chads and women who are "for dancing and praying" in pop culture and related fields, but I'll be honest – I can't remember the last time I've seen such well-written characters in a game that I'll remember in a few years. Oh w8... [here was a long list of characters from W3 who had more interesting roles]. I'll be honest, in my opinion, CP2077 doesn't have as good a roster of characters in its repertoire besides the two I listed. Okay, maybe that's because in The Witcher we had closer contact with them, and they accompanied us more often on quests, but I try to ignore that when making comparisons. True, in The Witcher's case, it was enough to simply not screw it up. However, Cyberpunk 2077 is also based on someone else's work, namely Cyberpunk 2020 by Mike Pondsmith. There may not be many characters and the game designers had more work to do creating new ones than with The Witcher, but on the other hand, they already have some experience and sufficient resources.
Panam is an ordinary girl you can talk to about anything and do a lot of things with. She doesn't sit around and complain, preferring instead to devote her time to her hobbies, which are more male than female. Add to that her extraordinary beauty, and... do we have the best Waifu for nerds? Well, or at least one of the best. Then there's River, whom I remembered after writing this segment. Hmm... I'll say this, his story wasn't bad, but I can't rate it higher than a 7/10—standard, good school work, but nothing exceptionally creative. The part about his nephew's accident was a bit more interesting, but not enough to warrant a higher opinion of him. The romance with him was okay, and so was the additional quest (if you play as a male and can't romance her), but nothing groundbreaking.
As for the Fixers, I liked them; they fit the world, but their story, their contracts, and their contribution to our adventure were a bit of a disappointment. I expected something better after so many years of waiting. I know it was difficult to develop them in the form CDPRed has (in the sense of talking heads who sometimes call us), but their characters could have been fleshed out, given more personal quests where they could showcase their personalities. I think this could have been done without too much interference with the source code—after all, what would happen if you expanded a few contracts a bit, or at least did what many students do in schools—enriched your text with a few