Say what you want about the initial release of Cyberpunk 2077 back in December 2020 - it is all warranted. But Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 with the Phantom Liberty expansion is one of the best games I have ever played. I pre-ordered Cyberpunk 2077 for the PlayStation 5 back when it was announced because I believed in the hype. I took two tries at going through the game. The first was unplayable due to the now infamous release: broken in almost every aspect. The second time around was after a few patches where the graphics were better, and the game was playable. I got a few hours in, but the gameplay felt flat to me from the shooting to the overly complicated RPG elements. When 2.0 came around, I decided to give it another shot - this time on my Gaming PC knowing that my 3080 would be tested to its very limits. 50 hours later I have completed Phantom Liberty, and the main storyline (over 115 quests, which included many side quests). The cliche is "third times a try" and it rings true in this sense. Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 is a phenomenal experience and achievement for CD Projekt Red. A compelling story, improved gameplay mechanics and a revised skill tree is one of many highlights in this fantastic RPG.
Story
In Cyberpunk 2077 you take the role as the protagonist named V, a person turned mercenary who is trying to make it to the big time in Night City located somewhere in California. V's backstory is up to the player with the game asking you to choose between three different player types before the story actually begins. The player types (corpo, nomad or street kid) have little overall impact to the story but adds some dialogue options that would not be available otherwise. The player also decides V's look from gender, facial features, and even genitals among others. From there (without spoiling much), you take on mercenary jobs with your old pal Jackie before a heist goes wrong and you end up with a psyche of a terrorist, Johnny Silverhand, trapped in your head. V's main goal then shifts to finding a way to safely separate Johnny's psyche from yours to save your own life. What follows is a cybertech-style storyline filled with politics and moral dilemmas. It takes a couple of hours before even the title screen pops up, but the story is pretty engaging almost from the getgo. After the first act has been completed, I felt like the entirety of Night City opened up with numerous side quests popping up almost automatically.
Throughout the story you will meet numerous characters, each with their own backstories to uncover through their own series of side quests. The side quests are more than just "go here and collect this time and bring it back." A lot of these side quests actually lead to developing a friendship (or even romance options) where you actually feel a part of their story. It is also throughout these side quests (and even some of the main missions) that V begins to develop and express more as an individual, which was extremely surprising. At the very beginning, V feels like a character we have seen in other games: hard shell exterior with a vulgar vocabulary that wants to end conversations with giving someone a bullet in the head. As you progress and engage in the main storyline and these side missions, V's guard seems to decrease and provides dialogue responses that feel and sound more emotional. A lot of this is delivered exceptionally through the great voice acting performances from most of the cast. Each dialogue option is said in a way where you can feel the emotion driving the conversation. It kept me engaged for most of the time, though I felt some of the dialogue was average and did not add to my overall experience.
That does not mean there are not a few hiccups. Some dialog options can feel underwhelming in some areas, mainly in the side missions, where it feels like the voice actors are reading from the script. This mainly, unsurprisingly, comes from Keanu Reeves as the voice of Johnny Silverhand. His performance in movies is similar here: looks great on scene but cannot talk correctly (though not nearly as bad as his performance in Matrix 4).
--Phantom Liberty--
The major addition to the story was the inclusion of the story expansion Phantom Liberty earlier this year that provides a whole new storyline. With the expansion coming out three years after the initial release of the game, you can tell CD Projekt Red put a lot of time and effort into making this expansion worth it. The main storyline and dialogue feels more locked down with great, fully developed characters and backstories. It also includes one of the best final missions I have ever played since Mass Effect 2. It was the pinnacle of storytelling where I had to seriously contemplate my decisions in the final act then read online what could have happened if I went the other way. The expansion also includes an additional ending to the story, if you chose one a certain pathway in the expansion (I did not see this one though).
Night City
Cyberpunk 2077 is a game of ambition with clear inspiration from classic science fiction movies, such as Blade Runner and its sequel. While I enjoyed the main story and the numerous side quests, Night City stole the show for me. The city is a metropolis of absolutely stunning visuals and neon-lit architecture. It very much resembles a mixture of Las Vegas and New York City: during the day, the city is crowded with citizens and vehicles. When the sun goes down, the neon lights show the real side of Night City: a futuristic dystopia filled with crime and greed. Night City also feels out of place with it located in the middle of a desert. But it's actually a benefit when you explore the small towns in the desert outskirts, where you feel the citizens have a discontent for those who live in the neon-lit city.
Night City feels like a main character in the story and it is incredibly fun to explore around in the numerous vehicles you can buy (or steal). There is a fast travel option but rarely did I use it. I loved driving through the vast highways and streets, just looking for any hidden treasures.
More to come....
Gameplay
...
Graphics & Audio
I don't think I can express this enough: Cyberpunk 2077 is the best looking game I have ever played. Period. On my 3080, the game absolutely looks phenomenal. I was able to get almost ultra settings at around 30 frames and it looked essential. I only wish I had a 40 series to truly see how this game looks at its max settings but given what I had, I was astonished. Night City looks absolutely beautiful. The neon lights shine off your POV and the ray tracing (to the extent I could push it) showed incredible visuals that were borderline impossible to believe. The amount of detail I got off a mere puddle as I drove through the city at 110 mph was beyond incredible.
I cannot continue with acknowledging what a sh*tshow the original release way for graphics. Playing on my PS5, the game looked abysmal. However, it is absolutely clear the level of work that went into all of the updates to get us to version 2.0 and I must applaud CD Projekt red for this accomplishment. After seeing this version, I can only hope the studio let the developers take their time on polishing their game instead of listening to outside forces. Because after version 2.0, I am sold.
Verdict
...
Score 10 out of 10