Following an 8-year developmental cycle, Cyberpunk 2077 is preparing to release this Thursday, December 10th. Receiving multiple delays, as recent as October of this year, the game launches a new franchise for developer CD Projekt Red. The new release promises to launch fans into a 'cyberpunk based open-world', giving players freedom to explore the game how they wish.
Cyberpunk 2077 will be released with a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version , with the next-generation consoles able to play the game via backwards compatibility. CD Projekt Red promises to bring an update to the game ' in the near future ', that promises to utilize the capabilities of the next-gen consoles, Xbox Series X and Series S, as well as the PS5.
Plenty of teasers have been released by the developers, in an attempt to build up the hype surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, including a behind the scenes look at Keanu Reeves character, Johnny Silverhand . CD Projekt Red has also revealed that the game will feature a 'Photo Mode' within the game , a feature becoming ever more popular within modern video games.
Now that the review embargo for the game has been removed, here's what critics are saying about the highly anticipated game before release.
IGN - 9/10
“Cyberpunk 2077 kicks you into its beautiful and dazzlingly dense cityscape with few restrictions. It offers a staggering amount of choice in how to build your character, approach quests, and confront enemies, and your decisions can have a tangible and natural-feeling impact on both the world around you and the stories of the people who inhabit it. Those stories can be emotional, funny, dark, exciting, and sometimes all of those things at once.” - Tom Marks
GAME INFORMER - 9/10
"Cyberpunk 2077 is dark and disturbing at times (frighteningly so), but the majority of its content is fascinating, and loaded with depth through the various RPG systems and lore. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Night City, and Johnny Silverhand is a great partner to see the sights with. Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t overstay its welcome with its critical-path story, and invites players to jack in and stay for hundreds of hours of unique content should they want to. It didn't blow me away like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but is still a hell of an opening to what will hopefully be a new series." - Andrew Reiner
PC GAMER - 78/100
“I found it moving and life-affirming in the final moments, even in the face of near-certain death and a relentless onslaught of bugs. I suppose it's an appropriate thematic through-line though: Cyberpunk 2077 is a game about V coming apart at the seams, in a city coming apart at the seams, in a game coming apart at the seams. Play it in a few months.” - James Davenport
METROGAME CENTRAL
“Cyberpunk 2077 always had a danger of becoming a case of style over substance and we’ll leave the final judgment on that until later. In terms of the environments, characters quests, and gameplay options though there’s little sign of Projekt CD Red trying to take a shortcut.” - Lucy Orr
GAMES RADAR - 5/5
“Cyberpunk 2077 is a paragon of open-world gaming, offering the kind of freedom to explore and define your character that provides a new pinnacle for the genre. It takes everything we celebrate about open-world games, and learns from it, implementing best-in-class variations in a world that's so dense and detailed. Add in the human-like level of reactivity and emotional depth that it brings to its narrative, and it all combines for the most spectacular experience. Take a trip to Night City immediately.” - Sam Loveridge
POLYGON
“Cyberpunk 2077 felt more interested in envisioning new futures than in reminiscing over bygone glories. Neither its gameplay nor its narrative can imagine the bold possibilities that I find so central to the best of cyberpunk. But what it does offer is visions of people trying to make do and get by in a world that’s trying to eat them alive, and sometimes those people get by with a little help from their friends. It’s not the revolution I hoped for, but it’s something.” - Carolyn Petit
GAMESPOT - 7/10
“So much of it is superficial set dressing, and there's so much happening all around you--ads going off at all times, gunfights breaking out in the streets, texts coming in about cars you'll never buy--that a lot of the game feels superfluous. The side quests and the characters they showcase are the shining beacon through the neon-soaked bleakness of Night City, and they give you room to explore the best the core RPG mechanics have to offer. These are what carried me through an otherwise disappointing experience.” - Kallie Plagge
Based on the above reviews, it's clear to see that the overall feedback surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 is mostly positive, something gamers will be happy to see. The multiple delays of the game may have left fans disappointed in certain aspects, however it did give the feeling that a more polished game would be released eventually, ultimately pleasing fans in the end.
The open-world aspect seems to be the biggest positive from critics, with the game offering a unique style to players throughout. Concerns seem to have been raised around the length of the game, however CD Projekt Red has been keen to remind players that there are multiple play styles within the game itself , offering the opportunity for replayability.
Critics mainly seem to be commenting on the 'bugginess' within the game as negative, however this seems to often come with newly released games, A 'Day-One' patch is set to release for Cyberpunk 2077, which will hopefully improve on a lot of these issues.
All in all, Cyberpunk 2077 seems to have released to the heights it's fans have set, and will hopefully set a precedent for the future of next-generation gaming.
XBOX Writer