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Warsaw (AFP)
Cyberpunk 2077, a video game said to be one of the most expensive ever made, launched around the world on Thursday after an ad campaign worthy of a Hollywood movie.
The run-up to debut has been anything but smooth.
The release was delayed twice this year and the developers were forced to add warnings after a critic complained that it had caused an epileptic fit.
But entertainment ranking website Metacritic has given the game a score of 91 out of 100 based on 47 reviews, saying it has received “universal acclaim.”
Critics said the game was deeply immersive and praised its depiction of a futuristic cyber city, as well as the freedom given to players.
But many critics also pointed to bugs in the game, reigniting the debate about developers selling an unfinished product at full price.
Marcin Iwinski, director and co-founder of Polish game developers CD Projekt RED, told AFP that gamers can look forward to a “new quality” of experience when they enter their dystopian world.
Iwinski said the study had created a “huge” online world. The English version has 450 hours of dialogue with the voice of 125 actors.
The main character in Cyberpunk 2077 is “V”, armed with a pistol, who fights his way through Night City, an American megacity plagued by conflict.
The game also features the face and voice of Hollywood star Keanu Reeves, best known for the “Matrix” and “John Wick” trilogy.
– ‘An imaginable reality’ –
The budget for the game is estimated at 1.2 billion zloty ($ 328 million), according to analysts at Polish bank BOS, which would make Cyberpunk 2077 one of the most expensive video games ever made.
CD Projekt RED’s huge hit “The Witcher: Wild Hunt” was a grim fantasy whose monster-slaying hero gifted with superhuman powers was the brainchild of Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
It was released in 2015 and is still beloved by gamers for its story, dialogue, graphics, and humor, as well as its open world.
“The Witcher” pushed CD Projekt RED’s stock value to a whopping 42.7 billion zloty ($ 11.6 billion), allowing it to compete with France’s Ubisoft for the top spot among developers. of European games.
CD Projekt RED is betting that the punk fantasy world of Cyberpunk, the popular pencil-and-paper RPG written by Mike Pondsmith, will be an even bigger hit.
The marketing campaign with yellow “V” signs reached 55 countries and the media estimated that its budget amounted to tens of millions of euros.
“We are an innovative company and it is not in our DNA to take shortcuts,” said Iwinski.
He noted in particular the widespread use of futuristic cyberware in the game, calling it “an imaginable reality” before adding: “We’ll see if it turns out that way.”
© 2020 AFP
