Review | Cyberpunk 2077 justifies the long wait with an incredible open world

It was May 2012 and CD Projekt RED presented with a teaser for their new project, a title that would become known as Cyberpunk 2077.

Eight long years have passed since this announcement, thousands of video games have come out on the road, new consoles have been released, and a tremendous leap in graphics and gameplay has also occurred. It is in this context that the long-awaited game will finally see the light.

That only means that the wait is over, since in just a few days the game will be available for PS4, Xbox One and PC, and that the big question is also answered: Was it worth the patience?

Obviously, with such a long wait, that’s the first thing that comes to mind, since These years of trailers, periods of silence and little glimpses have established the game as one that everyone is waiting for.

Hence, being one of the great titles of 2020, the answer to the million dollar question, from our point of view, is a big and resounding yes.

In recent months, CD Projekt Red has talked a lot about Night City, the city where the events of Cyberpunk 2077, since from the developer’s perspective, this city is like another character in the game.

The truth is that, from the moment we set foot in this great city in decline, we realize that its promise is completely correct. This city from the beginning shows us that independent of us, it has its own story to tell and a great multitude of situations happening everywhere. That is why they show us a scope of virtual life that has rarely been seen in an open world game.

Shootings, hostage situations, fights, everything seems to be happening in Night City regardless of whether we want to intervene or not. To this is added that each one of the areas that this city presents has its own appeal, its striking posters and, therefore, its own identity. He is also always reminding us of an element of vital importance: we are squarely in Night City, a city in which everyone struggles to be on top and where criminal groups, mafias, betrayals and murders hide in each of the city corners .

In that scenario, one of the things that stands out about this game is that it has a lot of things that it calls us to do. And by a lot we really mean many, many actions, since we can spend hours and hours doing side missions, from a small job of transporting a person to investigating a murder.

Broadly speaking, in this great city There are jobs of all kinds that will come to you from the beginning and that provide a greater context to the larger story that seems to be advancing in parallel with that of your character.

Likewise, Cyberpunk has a huge number of characters, many of whom They will be constantly calling you on the phone or sending messages to give you new missions, hear from you, sell you a vehicle or ask you for help with a problem.

This is how much of your time in Night City will be spent meeting a huge number of characters of all kinds, which at first can be a bit overwhelming given that the list does not stop growing. But it certainly shows how great this game is and the rich world they have created for this game.

Another thing that stands out in this regard is that each of the characters has their own charisma, their own identity. Also each one has its own stamp that makes it unique, not only in terms of the central story, but also to the secondary missions. All these characters seem to be made in detail, to the level that it is impossible not to love any of them.

One aspect that works in its favor in this regard is its graphics. For this review I was able to enjoy the game in high quality on PC, with ray tracing enabled, and I can only point out that the city looks simply amazing. The brilliance of the kuces, the vehicles, the different people who inhabit the city, with their colored hair and their modified bodies, everything seems to be in the same harmony. That makes every car trip, whether we are driving or co-pilot, is something to enjoy. Especially when we are reaching areas that we did not know.

Along the same lines, it is impossible not to highlight the photo mode that the game has. The striking city where everything happens, which like almost everything that is cyberpunk looks better at night than during the day, can be immortalized in incredible images. The photo mode that Cyberpunk 2077 has has a huge number of options, which allows us to capture the streets or characters of this city in the way we want.

As far as the central story of the game is concerned, this tour around ‘V’, who broadly seeks to be recognized in this city, which is certainly not easy, since it is much more likely to end up with a bullet between the eyebrows than reaching glory.

Our character can be fully customized before starting the game, so we can modify his physical appearance from his gender, including his intimate parts. So you can spend a lot of time creating the character that best suits you.

In the first tasks we can perform different jobs, Which will inevitably lead us to cross paths with Johnny Silverhand, the character played by Keanu Reeves, and who undoubtedly steals the show.

With the story of the two intertwined, we will travel the streets of Night City from end to end looking for answers, people and why not say it, revenge. Silverhand, with his mind set on his goals, not caring much about the rest, becomes too attractive a character, always commenting on our decisions and giving us advice that we can take or ignore.

The decisions are another of the elements that have great relevance in Cyberpunk 2077, since we must not forget that the title is an RPG. Hence, we will spend much of our time having dialogues with the different characters and most will allow us choose our answers, which can lead us to achieve our objectives easily, difficult or that we directly have to resort to our fists and weapons.

In this, the place you have chosen as your origin and how you have distributed your experience points plays a great importance. Sometimes, having extra points in intelligence or strength, for example, will allow you to access extra answers, thus modifying how the conversation unfolds. Similarly, experience points allow you to improve your skills as a hacker, so you can eventually steal more money, access better vehicles. On the other hand, you can also improve your strength to open doors or windows that are blocked.

Each mission gives you the freedom to choose how you carry it out and you, or rather your ability, decide which path you can take. In my case, although in several missions I wanted to have a more stealth approach and avoid conflict, since this is something that I am not quite good at, I always ended up being discovered having to go to plan B, shoot until there is no no enemy standing.

In this sense, the combat system is quite attractive in this game, as it has a huge number of weapons available and each has its own abilities. That can generate from electric shocks to burns in your rivals, while others have more powerful or remote-controlled bullets. In that sense, damage is not everything and you will have to see in great detail what weapons you have equipped.

In the same way, you will get melee weapons, from katanas to a giant mace, and although the vast majority of enemies have ranged weapons, the melee combat system is quite fun. You can usefully combine the controls to dodge and protect yourself so you don’t die immediately. At this point, I also want to highlight katana combat, as it is especially striking, especially when you cut the heads or different limbs of your enemies in the heat of combat.

Each of these weapons can be upgraded through different components. It can also be disarmed so that we obtain pieces that will allow us to create new weapons. In the same way, everything you find later can be sold to collect money to access new vehicles, weapons, clothes or improvements for your character.

As for the costumes, it can give you more defense, but it can also make you look like the coolest character in Night City or just like a real clown. But like in this game, that is your decision. What they have to be clear in the long run is that In Night City there are clothes for every style so it won’t take long to find the one that best suits you.

Cyberpunk 2077 This feels like a very complete game, with a lot of things to do, a wide variety of equipment to try and a number of items to discover. Hence perhaps the only problem lies in the fact that once it catches you, you won’t want to stop playing.

But before closing, let’s go back to the central story, since it has three central lines, although inevitably they are intertwined anyway. Each of these lines has its own missions, and on many occasions they will introduce us to characters that we then continue to see through secondary missions, which makes the world that Cyberpunk 2077 presents even richer.

The game is also not afraid to take its time and, after a long introduction, jumps to its central plot that keeps us glued to the screen, since never take your foot off the gas pedal. In fact, when it seems that things are finally going to calm down a bit once more, we find ourselves on the edge of the abyss and struggling once again to survive.

It really should be noted that you can spend hours and hours carrying out the missions, and whether they are central or secondary, they all allow you to develop and meet a Night City that is installed as the most attractive “character” in this game.

Cyberpunk 2077 It is one of the great launches of 2020 and it can even be elevated as one of the best in recent years. The game presents a world where everything seems arranged in detail, including an engaging story, engaging characters, and an open world that makes you want to explore and learn from end to end. The gameplay still feels fun and natural. And although it does not stand out, it has all the tools to make our trip through Night City unforgettable.

Cyberpink 2077 will be released on December 10 on Playstation and Microsoft consoles, in addition to PC.