“Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the dark future of Night City — a dangerous megalopolis obsessed with power, glamor, and ceaseless body modification.” – Steam Synopsis
“Return as cyber-enhanced mercenary V and embark on a high-stakes mission of espionage and intrigue to save the NUSA President.” – Steam Synopsis
CD Projekt Red – Platform(s): PC, Playstation, Xbox – Genre(s): Action RPG – Mode(s): Single-player – Trailer – Released: 2020, DLC: 2023
The hardest thing about this review is trying to keep it at a manageable length. For years, I have been meaning to revisit this game again, experience the updates, and the DLC. So for the past month and a half (this was written like 3 weeks ago) or so, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. This game has consumed me in a way no other has (for the second time in my life). Coming away from it not only made me feel inspired, but also deeply depressed and concerned in a way that a lot of other things could never do. Both are a testament to the writing and world that CD Project Red and Mike Pondsmith have created.
I feel there’s been a common narrative over the past few years that Cyberpunk’s dlc and side missions are better than its main content and while I will give all the flowers in the world to the plethora of side content that no matter how big or small or consequential to the main plot or not, is always worthwhile to play (so much so I did pretty much everything even on my second playthrough). The main story of the main game and the DLC are the stars of this package.
This is where we get the best performances, story moments, and moment-to-moment gameplay sequences. And it all starts from picking your beginning life path, which affects more than I remember from back in 1.0. From there, you got the botched gig that leads to you and Johnny Silverhand sharing a brain. Which leads to the main point of this story, survival, getting this chip out of your head and living your life, which will entangle you with a myriad of people, corps, the main one being Arasaka, and even seamlessly bleeds into the DLC, which turns into a spy thriller of its own sort. The main story is surprisingly short, and for the DLC to be the same length, it’s just about its surprisingly long, but it is amazing. I was completely enthralled through both for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest ones is the themes of the story.
I’m chalking this up to me being more aware of the world, as I did this playthrough at 24-25, than I was when I first played on release, and I was 19. While even back then I appreciated and recognized the themes of this story, it kind of just stopped there. As I played through this recently, it actually triggered a fear inside of me. It’s one of those fears that makes you feel lost. If you told me Mike Pondsmith (the creator of this world and collaborator on this game) peered into a crystal ball and saw the future before he created this universe, then I would believe you. Even saying that is me trying to cope in a way, but the truth is, the things in this story have been happening for decades. Companies/Mega Corps running the world and not the people. A small group of people able to play god and do as they please. Doing first and not caring about the consequences actions can have because the corporation and the people at the top are above that. Even the more sinister things like Arasaka’s Secure Your Soul Program. Where it’s not enough for the Corps to control you in life, they now need to do so in death. If any of these real-world tech oligarchs or powerful people could, they would, and I think realizing that while I played through this game again really harrowed me. So much so that more than the last playthrough, I loved Johnny Silverhand and his personal rebellion.
Before I talk about Johnny, though, let me touch on V. He/she is an interesting character to play as. Despite being able to choose your own life path and make many, many choices throughout the game. V feels like their own character. Once you choose that background and get into the groove of making those decisions, the game is written in such a way (a good way) that the character of V starts to mold his/herself and takes the wheel. It’s such an interesting thing to play as a created character and still be learning about them and the world as if they were a set character. Which goes to show the level of depth and quality of writing of the dialogue choices pertaining to the life paths and the skill trees. I did my first playthrough years ago as a male nomad V, and this current one as a female streetkid V, and they were both wildly different characters. Even if I made the same choices in certain scenarios, the differences in dialogue and character reactions really change so much. V is probably the greatest create-a-character ever. Fem V especially. I think both are great, but fem v just feels canon to me.
The amount of media I’ve consumed in my lifetime is a lot, but I will die on the hill that not only is this Keanu Reeves’ magnum opus as an actor, but Johnny Silverhand as a character is the best, most complex, and fascinating character in all of fiction. The self-obsessed, rebellious asshole rocker boy turned full-blown terrorist. I have never enjoyed a character as much as him. The way he can ignite such a rebellious fire in not only V but us, the player is something. Learning about him through his truths and lies is a journey I could go through a million times because of how well written he is and how amazing Keanu’s performance was. He is so uniquely strongly and abbrasively princpled. His personal vendetta against corps, but specifically Arasaka, is so strong, and so many times he makes you question if he is/has gone too far. How much of his vendetta is genuine rebellion versus a personal grudge? Then you’ll be exposed to the things that Arasaka does and understand him, and personally, by the end, I found it was a mixture of everything, and that’s what makes Johnnyh such a strong character and Keanu’s best performance to date.
Most writers would kill to write a character as great and complex as Johnny Silverhand, let alone to do it again with Reed Solomon and to a lesser extent So-Mi. Reed is like the other side of the coin to Johnny (so much so that Johnny even eventually acknowledges it). Very principled and stuck in his ways and mind of how things are and what needs to be done. Throughout the entire DLC, as much as I tried to find something to relate to this man or like about him, every turn, there was a lie with a justification. A stubborn action is always justified. But he is also self-aware of his own flawed principles. Which makes his actions even crazier. Crazy is the only word that comes to mind. He is one of the best you love to hate characters, and as I went through all of the endings and talked to him, it was very insightful to experience a character like him. Same thing with So-Mi. Every lie, action, and potential betrayal always had some sort of justification. That through line between those two really makes the endings hard. I generally think that between the four, there’s one that feels more right than the others. But no matter what path you choose, you will get burnt, lied to, and betrayed, and ultimately the ending to their tale and this spy thriller wasn’t about who lied and who didn’t but why. Two very strong characters in a very strong DLC.
I’d be here for god knows how long, talking about the other amazing characters in this game that are pivotal and also optional. I’ll just say, as a whole, the quality of writing in this game is so top shelf that this is probably the greatest ensemble of characters, at the very least, in a video game. It’s insane to have the main ones I talked about above, then still have Takemura, Rogue, President Myers, Panam, Judy, Misty, Saburo Arasaka, Adama Smasher, etc. There’s a reason people (me included) have played so much of this game and become engrossed in this world with these characters.
To me, Cyberpunk’s gameplay has always been great, but I definitely felt the improvements with the 2.0 update vs day one. Skill trees mean more, everything feels better, and there’s even more diverse build paths. My biggest gripe with the gameplay (and game in general) is that the driving is piss poor. I didn’t remember it being this bad, but this game might be worse than Watch Dogs 1 when it comes to driving. There are maybe a handful of vehicles that control somewhat decently, and everything else feels like a slip-and-slide. Outside of that, the game just feels fun to play and mess around with.
The world simultaneously feels dead and alive. I think I chalk that up to how whacky npcs look walking on the street, they also feel very plastic and lifeless. But everyone that you can actually have some type of interaction with feels real. Which I guess most likely boils down to technical limitations. The voice acting is supreme. Both Vs are amazing, though I think fem V is canon because her performance is just insane. Along with every character. And I mean everyone. The acting and direction were amazing. I can keep giving flowers to Keanu and Idris, but really, from the top down, this is probably the best voice-acted game I’ve ever played.
So yeah, flat out, I’m just going to say it, Cyberpunk is my favorite game ever, and it is the greatest game of all time. Even during its launch, when I played, it was marred by technical issues and missing features. Not all of which have still been added, this game was amazing. Coming back to it 5 years later and experiencing it in its current state absolutely floored me. Despite the problems it still has, this is one of the most fun games I’ve ever played. The city is beautiful, and the writing from the story to the characters is phenomenal. Absolutely amazing. Johnny Silverhand is an iconic character. The DLC is just as good, if not better than the main game. Cyberpunk 2077 is a generational game.
Cyberpunk 2077 – 10/10
Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty – 10/10
