Cyberpunk 2077’s E3 demo: the good and the bad | Polygon

The team is clearly still finding its way with combat.

[Rachel_Alucard]

Somehow Polygon made a more factual written critique piece then RPS who made a politically charged opinionated one.

[MadLad]

Strange times. And RPS is literally the only site I bother with.
All I can say is that piece wasn't penned by one of their senior writers.

[jznrpg]

I read the title as The Good The bad The Polygon.

[Nerdmaster]

People are expecting Cyberpunk 2077 to be The Best Game Ever®, but let's not forget that although The Witcher 3 was indeed one of The Best Games Ever®, it was the only truly great game from the studio. It still doesn't have a stellar track record, and I think that people who forget this and expect something as good as or better than Witcher 3 may end up disappointed.

... Although it does make more sense to be excited for this, since CD Projekt does seem to care a lot about its craft and has at least one awesome game, than people who were crazy about No Man's Sky with literally no information about the game and almost no previous games from the developers. That was funny. Or worse, people excited for EA games even though they're almost always terrible.

[VerminSC]

I completely agree. I remember before destiny came out people kept saying “don’t worry! It’s bungie!” And I remember thinking...well halo is amazing but it’s literally all they’ve ever done. Then everyone was shocked when destiny wasn’t that great.

[Gwiz]

True,greatest game ever as an expectation can only lead to disappointment.

[mixelon]

What the heck? Bungie did tons of amazing stuff before Halo.

Arguably *better* stuff! Depending on your preferences.

[Fanof30]

You are wrong lol. Witcher 1 and 2 are critically acclaimed game lmfao. They just weren't popular because they only released on PC until Witcher 2 came to XBOX after launch. So they have a very proven track record.

[wwinterj]

Witcher 3 however put most people on notice so not at all.

[VerminSC]

I’m saying CD red has only done Witcher games, as bungie only had done halo games (besides some smaller less known projects)

[bluefox755]

Lol, what? Witcher 2 was amazing, and even thought the first game was a little rough around the edges, it was also pretty great. Every game they make gets exponentially better than the last.

[sprinterboy]

Agree, I haven't seen enough and will be going in with mid expectations, looks great sure but going off all the disagrees every one gets for pointing out it might not be that seller game, gonna be some pissed gamers if it average.

[1nsomniac]

I think that The Witcher 2 was arguably better than Witcher 3. However CDPR deserve their critical acclaim as developers, they’re certainly not a one trick pony by any means. They shouldn’t get a free pass though and they’re not perfect. They have been caught out several times lying about the development of their games in the past.

[lazyboyblue]

I think it's more to do with how each game has been a significant step up from the previous one.
Maybe we won't get that same leap from Witcher 3 to Cyberpunk but I'm still hopeful for a special game.

[TheOptimist]

Witcher 1 and 2 were just as great. Witcher 3's scope was just unimaginable, I still haven't found a game similar in scope and scale. But that aside, Witcher 1 and 2 are great, 2 is a masterpiece.

[starchild]

The Witcher and The Witcher 2 were also amazing games for their respective times. The Witcher 2 was one of my top three favorite games of last generation. And The Witcher 3 is simply the best game I have played this generation hands down.

So do I expect Cyberpunk 2077 to be a fantastic game? Yes, and it's likely that it will be. But I don't have unrealistic expectations.

[Hungryalpaca]

Witcher 2 was critically acclaimed....what are you on about?

[Vegamyster]

CDPR was borderline broke when they made The Witcher 2 which was a great game, they haven't made a ton of games but they do have a proven track record.

[Inzo]

What you fail to mention is that they made "3" great Witcher games not just Witcher 3. So their track record is fine.

[mixelon]

Huh? The first 2 Witcher’s were great too.

[Nerdmaster]

I'm not saying Witcher 1 and 2 weren't good. They were, they just don't fit in the "truly great" category, in both reviews and sales (and also in personal opinion, since I bought them both on release day but never bothered to finished them). I like CD Projekt, or at least how they dealt with PC gaming in general, so I don't want people's expectations to be so high to the point of being unreacheable.

Witcher 3 is a real gem, so right after they just teased Cyberpunk, people already got crazy expectations. This kind of expectation can only lead to disappointment. Especially since it's not Witcher 4, so it won't be just a linear evolution like it happened with each Witcher game. A lot of things will be different, be it from a gameplay perspective or world building, and it includes things that CD Projekt may not be really used to.

Bethesda made some of the best RPGs ever, like Morrowind, Skyrim, Fallout 3 and New Vegas... Even with the stellar track record, their newest games have been progressively worse and worse (that's why I won't buy Elder Scrolls 6 on release day). I'm not saying CD Projekt will fall as hard as Bethesda, but even with an old and proved company the quality of previous games don't dictate the quality of future games, so people shouldn't just automatically expect for the next game to be the best thing ever.

[Ristul]

Polygon: too many White People, to many males. 1/10

[Samus707]

Facts

[Kingdroopy2018]

Lol you white boys feel threatened

[pinkyxyz]

I don't agree. polygon just doesn't want to accept a good game unless its on their political terms. BTW I'm black just in case you wanted to call me a white boy as well. Theirs common ground to this topic and great points that can be made. lets not belittle someone just because you may or may not fully agree please

[Samus707]

Nah, my guy, but it is fun to laugh at activist outlets like this who hate their audience (white dudes). They’re so butthurt because they wish they could write for women and POC in order to feel that glorious white savior glow.

[Nacho_Z]

I always figured the combat would be the weakest aspect, for me it was that way in The Witcher and like that series this is an RPG first and foremost not an FPS with RPG elements.

I'm fine with it if that's how it turns out in the finished game, didn't bother me in Fallout and the gunplay looks way better in this, but I hope they sort out any wonky AI so immersion isn't killed. That was something that bothered me in Fallout l.

[BuildTheWall]

The good? It isn't E.A. , Activision or Bethesda. The bad? It's going to be awhile till it's released. Hoping Cyberpunk will be good & if it requires more work than planned rather than just releasing it on schedule , GO AHEAD & DELAY IT!!!

[Cmoney007]

Polygon - 10% worth your time
CD Projekt Red - 90% worth your time

[CP_Company]

proportion should be 0% and 100%

[Cmoney007]

I hate to say this, but Polygon had a few good articles before that was not an agenda. Their biggest problem is that journalists on site are usually only interested in one-way thinking. Polygon is not the only site that has this issue. These problems can be found on PC Gamer and Destructoid. But Polygon has many more problems because if you don’t agree with them, then you will become the enemy. Kotaku can be a big problem also.

[osamaq]

"the combat-focused build made the game feel more like a clumsy cover shooter"

I agree shooting looks very clumsy ...

[TheOptimist]

Also looks more fun and visceral tbh
I mean which game in recent memory has ricochet bullets and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Combine that with what most people are saying that it i more of an immersive sim. Oh I am so ready.

[HeisenbergX]

Overhyped game for sure and it’s gonna keep getting more overhyped until it launches next year bit at least they have time to polish it and make it really good. And relax CDPR fanboys overhyped doesn’t mean bad.

[starchild]

Every big, hotly anticipated game gets overhyped. It's people's own fault if they set unreasonable expectations.

[FPS_D3TH]

Don’t doubt this game will be delayed. Honestly hoping it does so the wait for the next gen version isn’t unbearable lol

[EazyC]

I'm still a bit worried that - given the ambition of the game - it may be held back by this gen. Even if there is a next gen/pc version, it's held back to the current gen baseline

[FPSFox]

I won't even click a Polygon link. When you've been repeatedly proven to be a joke over the course of multiple years, you've lost your credibility and any decent writer that's still hanging around that place should seek out other employment.

[HaVoK308]

It doesn’t have to be the best game eva bro! It just has to be good. I’m sure it will be. These outlets know what their doing with they criticize CDPR. Vox is on deaths door, and this is for the clicks.

[frostypants]

Combat wasn't Witcher 3's strong suit either...it was mostly mindless button mashing with a spell thrown in here and there. But it was still a great game.