One Year Later, Cyberpunk 2077 Is Still a Massive Disappointment

Andrew M writes: "A year later, Cyberpunk 2077 is still a massive disappointment. Find out more about our opinion of the game in this reflective article."

[Magog]

It's not the game they promised. Even if it didn't have one bug or glitch it would still be massively disappointing. All of the systems are so basic that many PS2 era games put it to shame in every aspect aside from graphics.

[philm87]

lol such as what?

[Urrakia34]

^^^Found the CDProjekt employee

[VenomUK]

As the new-gen version is being released in early 2022 surely this means the gameplay systems are now working? That's the impression I got from CD Projekt's recent statements but if there's going to be more improvements made then I can hang on another six months or so. The game promised so much and if as first-timer I get to experience something close to that then I will be happy to enter this highly ambitious world.

[Magog]

They promised a vast simulation, several deep back stories to chose from that would influence gameplay, wall running and intense combat, a living breathing world and more. Watch Dogs Legion has a simulation that is 1000 times more advanced and far more unique ways to tackle missions set in a similarly dystopian future. A shame it got overlooked because it was lumped in with other Ubisoft games.

[Ashunderfire86]

The fact that GTA 3 had a better A.I. system for the cops 👮‍♀️ 👮‍♂️ then Cyberpunk 2077 is embarrassing! An old PS2 game back in the 2000s beat a 2020 open world RPG in A.I.!!! That is just as bad as that one Call Of Duty Ghost developer, claiming advance fish 🐠 A.I. when Mario 64 back in 1996 fish A.I. was the same! That end up being a Meme by many gamers😆😆ԅ 18;😆

[Omegasyde]

There’s zero animals. Explanation is bs.
Cop AI is bad. Especially path finding.
AI for pedestrians is horrible. There’s times where also like 3 types of people.

GTA 3 San Andreas has better features despite all the patches.

[IamFrasierCrane]

Here ya go: https://youtu.be/HDJdCljK_q...

[dumahim]

@VenomUK

I played in on my PS5 a few months ago. It was mostly fine. There was one side quest that was bugged and I couldn't start it. There was quite a few little bugs, mostly visual stuff and bad LOD loading (most annoying, windmills off in the distance, you could see the blades but the base for it wouldn't load until you're closer). The game would crash if you played for hours without a restart. I just got into the habit of restarting it every 2-3 hours and it was fine.
Besides that, the game certainly needs to be cleaned up and polished. I felt like some things weren't explained very well as the menus and what you can do there was a bit complicated.

edit: I was going to wait for next-gen update, but it got delayed, I had time off from work and had nothing else to play at the time. I enjoyed it for the most part. Loved exploring and taking out the bad guys doing crime, especially late game when I could crush them like insects.

[bouzebbal]

This game is proud that to much good isn't good.. But the studio himself is to blame.. They overhyped this SOOOO MUCH that I even lost interest in it was pure arrogance in the end.. I'm hadou it ended this way and next time they'll think twice

[VenomUK]

@dumahim. Thanks for sharing, The problem with a game, any game, is that It is all a lot of elements that are put together to create a believable world, but when it is functionally broken then it spoils the illusion. I know a lot of people have had bad experiences, but like you enjoyed taking out the bad guys others have also enjoyed qualities.

@Ashunderfire86 I played the intro mission of GTA 3 DE and the world still feels more alive than 99% off open world games illustrates how good Rockstar did.

[anast]

I've got to agree. I put some serious hours into their "broken" game and the world is flat. They would have been better off making a Naughty Dog type game.

[EazyC]

That's the point really. Even a "perfect" CP2077 is a 7/10 videogame, tops. It's basically equivalent to a Far Cry game.

[MrBaskerville]

I was expecting an imsim i the style of Deus Ex, but larger and with more content, and that's basically what it is. There's a lot of fun missions and the main story is interesting. I'd recommend to fans of the genre.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

The most revolutionary RPG since Dying Light and Persona 5

[pietro1212]

Dying Light is great and Persona 5 is one of the greatest JRPGs of all time, but Cyberpunk was pure crap ansd this is coming from someone who loves CD Project Red, I got into PC games because of them.... RPG my ass. Fallout New Vegas is far more impressive game and it's a buggy mess too. Next game upgrade won't change much of the base game so it's still be an underwhelming experience.

[pietro1212]

As for Dying Light, who would of thought free running, survival horror elements and rpg elements make one of my favorite games this gen? I almost slept, but decided to pick the Switch version. The sequel wasn't on my radar, but now it is.

[ikarodemon]

I have said this a month ago! Tottaly agree with you. Even without bugs this game is terrible.

[ITPython]

The exact same thing could be said for Halo Infinite. Yet it managed to get insanely high praise despite having the same boring arena shooter mechanics we've had for several decades and a bland uninspired open world single player story.

I'm just as disappointed with CP 2077 as anybody else, but there is one heck of a double standard in this industry that needs to be fixed.

[Magog]

Zelda syndrome. Fans of certain highly popular franchises end up just wanting more and more of the same.

[TheDoomedGuy]

So you weren't paying attention then. The wall running and climbing was cut early on. Even I knew this and I barely followed the hype.

[philm87]

Yep, they made an announcement ages before the release confirming there wouldn't be wall running as it didn't work well.

[TheDoomedGuy]

@philm

To me cyberpunk is the classic case of consumers not paying attention to the signs. And of course stupidity as pre orders are not your friend...ever. and it shouldn't take a game being broken at launch to have to convince you of that fact.

Was the hype from devs too much? Yes. Was it any different than many other games including something like tlou2 which portrayed the idea that Joel would be a big part of the game...no. not different at all.

The only difference was that it wasn't optimized well at all.

[DJStotty]

I'm waiting for the next-gen update release before i pick this one up.

[gamer7804]

Good plan. I bought day one for 55$ and highly regret it. I played once and waiting for the next gen update

[Kran]

Lol same. I still have my copy but damn if I was gonna play it as broken and fuzzy as it was, even if I was playing it on the PS4 Pro version at the time.

[Silly Mammo]

I got it from BB a few months back when it was $10. Waiting for the next-gen upgrade too.

[anast]

I regret not getting the refund. They asked people to hang in there while they fixed the game and it still looks bad on last gen. Then in an interview they said that as new technology comes out the game will get better. This means they are not going to "really" fix the last gen. console versions.

[Ninver]

Try colossal disappointment

[starsi360]

Is that the new DLC?

“CyberPunk 2077: Colossal Disappointment”

[Ninver]

It's definitely a fitting title for DLC

[Snakeeater25]

I played it on ps5 and it was really fun. A lot better than deathloop or battlefield who had tons of bugs too

[Eidolon]

Better than Deathloop? You're delusional. But Battlefield 2042 was a wreck too.

[Snakeeater25]

Did you play cyberpunk on ps5 ?

[TheDoomedGuy]

Death loop is not even a good game. It's their worst yet.

[ColtPSSX]

Agree, it really wasn’t all that bad.

I had lots of fun with it.
Was game of the year or gen, hell no.
But stilll pretty enjoyable.
Plus I love the art style of it.

[Eidolon]

I played it for a bit on PS4 pro. \

[Shiken]

Played on quality mode on Series X, and had no issues. It was overhyped for sure and the bar was way to high with what was promised, but the game is still solid.

Between the overhyping and the horribly handled launch (even though my gen 9 machine was fine, it was still a gen 8 game so to not be able to run properly on gen 8 consoles is unacceptable), the game itself gets way more hate that it deserves. The management of CDPR dropped the ball, but the gake itself is good and the actual devs that worked on it are not at fault. It needed another delay and to drop gen 8 consoles honestly.

[anast]

Some of the devs took pictures of themselves cheering with the Ps4 versions in their hands and then posted it on twitter. It was, at least, their fault too. The ones in that picture knew the game was unfinished.

[Shiken]

If the higher ups tell them to promote the game, they kind of have too. It came out in reports that the majority of the dev team tried to delay the game again, but the publishing side of CDPR denied it and pushed it out anyway.

So yeah, the twitter pics still seem like a PR move instructed by management more than the devs trying to be deceptive. This wpuld not be the first time people were made to promote a product on their personal accounts.

[anast]

They don't have a choice? They are grown people. It was a small group, so either a bunch of people said, "no" and they took the opportunity or they took they opportunity knowing the game was messed up.

[Junkrad2022]

its not what they promised, but its really fun and has some really great narrative and quests, spent 60 hours on it and don't regret it at all, recommend everyone give it a try, it runs really great on PC and this article is so misleading.

[IanTH]

I wonder if most people who are more positive on it played it after the initial wave of negativity.

For example, I played The Order 1886 a few months after its release, and got it for $24 (just looked it up lol). I thought it was a pretty decent game, but I got it cheap & I went in with gutter-low expectations. I figured, worst case, I'd enjoy the visuals (and damn, are they still pretty) and sell it on if it sucked too bad to want to keep in my collection. I ended up having a decent time and finished the (pretty short) campaign.

I could see picking CP2077 up on a platform where it worked well - PC or new-gen - even just a few days after the initial wave of negativity, and upon finding it worked pretty well, looked solid, & wasn't a dumpster fire think compared to those expectations, it was pretty good. I do think if you were expecting what we saw in their initial 15 minute demo, and all the stuff in their Night City Wire videos that ended up being, let's face it, flat out lies, that you could still be disappointed with what we got. Or if you just grabbed it not knowing what to expect & still enjoyed it.

I can easily understand why the opinions on this are so varied.

[senorfartcushion]

Disappointment isn’t strong-enough a word.

[Nismo458]

A disaster

[anast]

They promised a living breathing world and I can't even sit on a bench at the park. The interaction with the world is bare bones. It could have easily been a story driven narrative type game. The open world feels unnecessary in this case. Also, they attempted to rip off all last gen. console gamers. I use "attempted" here because they did offer refunds, for whatever that is worth. Other than that I enjoyed the characters and some of the outfits.

[IanTH]

I think the fact they basically said "yeah, last gen is running surprisingly well" in the lead up to launch, and then still sold it on launch day on those platforms at full price & with no warnings of its condition, pretty much evidences that they did rip people off. This game got its money back - development & marketing included - in pre-orders alone. They did that on the backs of tons of last gen console owners that got a bum product, and you can bet only a (comparably) small portion of people bothered with refunds. That was some shady stuff.

[anast]

I should have taken them up on their offer to get a refund, but I am ignorant and believed them when they said they could fix it. This one is on me, but that is some shifty tactics.

[kevinsheeks]

I also kept the game in hopes that they will fix it, they have one last chance next year with this patch and next gen update if this isn't a show of what they promised I'm done i'll play the game and take it as it is but going forward I will wait for deep price drops on any future products no more day one purchases from me.

[anast]

Same. I will be doing the "Ubisoft" wait on their future games.

[TheEnigma313]

I just bought this game for $5 at gamestop. Suck for people who were ripped off with false promises that paid full price.

[IanTH]

I've seen it for $10 a lot of times on console, but never $5 - and I go to deal sites multiple times a day lol. That's a good get. If I could get a copy for PC for $5-10, I'd take a chance at that price. Hopefully either we get a similarly low price soon, or their updates next year prove to make the game worth more than the low price I'm currently willing to pay.

[CrimsonWing69]

While I think it’s disappointing I still had fun going through it. There’s definitely some stand out moments like playing Johnny going on a bender.

The problem is the industry needs to stop showing gameplay that isn’t true to generate hype. I’m sick of being watchdogged and cyberpunk’d by fake gameplay trailers.

[Elda]

I'll be ready to play my free copy once the next-gen update is released.

[ProjectVulcan]

Playing it on PC with all the next gen bells and whistles and the game still feels hollowed out, the city is lifeless. What it shows to me is how difficult it is to add fine detail and everyday NPC behaviour to big open world games to make them feel alive. Rockstar is still the master of this. Playing RDR2 and this back to back and it's no contest, none at all. You feel the differences in atmosphere popping out at you everywhere.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

One of the few bright spots of the past year to me

[pietro1212]

Played it on PS5 at launch and it was a mess. I clocked in 68 hours and the game crashed on me 18 times. Lets not get started about the gameplay which was just a shallow FPS with tacked on rpg elements with the illusion of choice. Most of your choices don't matter, buddy npcs treat as a stranger outside of quest (really broke the immersion). The city felt lifeless for the most part, npcs are dumb especially enemy A.I. Its hard to imagine that this game was developed by the same guys who developed the Witcher 3. CD Project promised this ground breaking rpg and what we got was this bug broken game.

[shinoff2183]

I played and out 200 plus hours into it. I wanted so much more and there wasnt. I still hung in there. Good game story wise but the rest was eh. I still 100 percented it. Idk really.

[metalgod88]

On PC, there are still chunks of the map that are just empty. No enemies, no cars passing by. You can literally just walk into a closed off area meant for stealth and gain free items/exp by hacking cameras and looting all the boxes, crates..etc.

The game has it's fun moments, but when you can literally walk into an area where there are supposed to be enemies and literally nobody is there to stop you loot all the goodies and rare items, it kind of ruins the experience man..

[Mr Logic]

As someone who didn't engage with the game's marketing and played it on release on a fairly high end PC, I actually quite enjoyed the game. Guess I'm in the wrong based on all the commentary about this game.

[chicken_in_the_corn]

I liked it but you can really tell it wasn't finished

[moomoo319]

Vice City on ps2 genuinely has a more realistic city and police response lol. However becoming an OP blade-weilding parkour cyborg and beating the story was pretty fun im ngl.

[justadelusion]

You can pick up used copies for $5 at gamestop. Is it worth that? IDK, but it can be used as a coaster if nothing else

[HeliosHex]

I've been playing the hell out this game and it's one of the few open world games I actually enjoy. It's not what they promised but it's still enjoyable.

[MocBistro]

If I were CDPR, I would throw the project into trashbin and start working on TW4. The game is beyond saving.

[Knightofelemia]

Even when the PS5 and Series X ports do come I am still not touching the game I all ready fell for their smoke and mirrors bullshit and false promises. For me to even conceive the notion of touching the game I would seriously have to see what price the next gen copies will be then I will have to watch live streams on the game to see if next gen is buggier then shit or if its actually fixed. The bugs were funny at first but they got annoying, every time the dropped a patch it would fix somethings but open the door to other issues, I got tired of waiting for the bugs to be patched so I traded the game in. Only mission I actually liked was the emo cab mission that's as far as I made it before I gave up on the game.

[kevinsheeks]

I was playing the game trying my hardest to ignore the bugs, I can't do like others and ignore all the bugs and stability issues of the game, you add to this that they promised so much and delivered so little how can anyone who played in the beginning justify what we got.

[lellkay]

This game is so bad, I refunded it and they let me keep the game, but even though It was now essentially free, I still feel ripped off.

[UltimateOwnage]

This, just in. One year later, mediocre journalists continue the drumbeat cycle of writing clickbait headlines to revive the dead-horse phony narrative that CyberPunk 2077 is a “massively” disappointing, no good, horrible, not fun game…

I played it from day one. It’s an excellent game that had launch bugs and some repetitious design, a lot like other open world games. It is far better as a first title in a new open world franchise than many other games that dared to approach this level of scope, ambition, original design and unique talent (Keanu Reeves was great).

Anyone bashing the game at this point hated it then and will now for whatever reason, and should have moved on long ago. To each their own, let’s move on. Myself? The game has gotten smoother with each patch and I’m looking forward to some of the new DLC update. I’ve made far worse $60 gaming purchases in the 25 years I’ve been gaming…

[MegaLogic]

That's only the case with western gamers, the original cancel culture society

[Fonsecap]

Yeah, let's start diverting the attention from Rockstar... Because they did worst, I saw many comments saying that GTA this and GTA that and now, the company that developed those games can't remaster them in a proper way. So can we say that the 2000's AI of gta beat the the intelligence of the 2021's developers of the same company that developed them 20 years ago? That's a heck of an AI.

[Taniaezalora]

ah unhoky