‘Cyberpunk 2077’ review: Is the Keanu Reeves video game worth the long wait?

Ever since its first teaser in 2012, the world has been thirsty for Cyberpunk 2077, a Grand Theft Auto-like game set in the pen-and-paper world of Mike Pondsmith. Our expectations grew when CD Projekt, the makers of Cyberpunk 2077, redefined the open-world role-playing games with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Finally, after months, nay, years of hype, is Cyberpunk 2077 worth it?

The answer is an enthusiastic yes.

You play as a mercenary known as V, who is stuck with the ghost of an anarchic dead rocker, played by Keanu Reeves. The story of Cyberpunk 2077 plays out like 100 sci-fi movies rolled into one with the explosive force of an ‘80s Hollywood blockbuster. A lot of the magic of the game is in the things to do around in Night City, which is home to all kinds of vices and violence (the game is for adults only).

You can get an incredibly detailed version of V as you have a large amount of choices while creating the character. There are three possible lifepaths or origin stories for your character — Nomads, Street Kid and Corpo. These modes mostly affect your dialogue choices with other factions in the city. The origins missions are short but it makes for better replayability as you dive deeper into the world.

Screenshot from video game ‘Cyberpunk 2077’

Night City’s neon clad street corners and mega-corporations are a homage to movies like Blade Runner . Wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, the game can get a bit overwhelming. It makes bold statements about corporate exploitation and technology used in unnatural ways to make works of art. It is one of the game’s most fascinating aspects along with its denizens.

Ready player fun

The gunplay is sleek. So getting into fights are fun. There is an easy-to-use hacking system as well as a familiar stealth system. But most of the time, the game inadvertently pushes you into gunfights. So, you may want to optimise your skills for maximum carnage. Driving in the game is top-notch and you want to get behind the wheels of the unique cars in the game. Some of the best experiences are in driving around, taking in the sights and diving into various quests.

Screenshot from video game ‘Cyberpunk 2077’

Cyberpunk 2077 looks breathtaking and edgy, with every scene designed to draw you into its world. There are, however, bugs and glitches. On older gen consoles the game looks ghastly with blocky enemies. While I did not run into game-breaking bugs, I did experience a lot of clipping and artefacting issues. Enemies when shot sort of crumple in a weird way. I was not expecting this after a year of delays with the excuse of making the game perfect.

Cyberpunk could have done without the hype machine. Drumming up those expectations with well-manicured PR videos, has, in part, contributed to that underwhelming feeling. So make sure you adequately ‘de-hype’ yourself and wait until things are fixed. CD Projekt is known for going to any lengths to fix things in their enhanced editions.

The writer is a tech and gaming enthusiast who hopes to one day finish his sci-fi novel