Cyberpunk 2077 reviews range from 7s – 10s

Cyberpunk 2077 is just 3 days away. A game that is almost a decade in the making and is hyped to be a generation-defining title is finally here. The reviews are also in and while the game is getting showered in plenty of praise, there are some notable critiques of the RPG.

We’ve rounded up a variety of reviews for your pleasure. At the time of writing, the game has a 91 on Metacritic. The general consensus is that it’s a very detailed and rich RPG with a stylish future backdrop. The biggest issue is that it’s littered with bugs, glitches, and other problems which detract from its otherwise high-quality craftsmanship.

It should be noted that there will be a massive day one patch on launch day that wasn’t available to reviewers. This is a result of the game being delayed after “going gold”. Some of the bugs and other issues may be fixed at launched but this isn’t a guarantee.

GameSpot – 7/10

“… it’s hard to get into Cyberpunk 2077’s world in general. 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.”

GamesBeat – 3/5

“What Cyberpunk really is, however, is a big open-world action role-playing game. What it’s not is a look at gaming’s future. Instead, it feels like a summation of where we’ve come in gaming since the Xbox 360 generation. It feels like a game built by people looking around to see what works — like Grand Theft Auto’s open world, Watch Dogs’ hacking, Assassin’s Creed’s quest-filled maps, Fallout’s combat and character progression, Mass Effect’s dialogue system, Batman: Arkham Knight’s crime scene investigations, and every games’ skill trees.

“At the same time, Cyberpunk doesn’t try much new. It feels big and expensive — and getting all of these parts to fit together seems like an impossible challenge. But because of this, Cyberpunk 2077 is a glimpse at where we are and not what is next.”

Screen Rant – 4/5

“Cyberpunk 2077 is ultimately a game that is tailor-made for multiple playthroughs. The more skills V unlocks and the deeper they sink into the conspiracies of Night City, the more it becomes clear that this is a game which fans will happily sink their time into, well past the relatively short main campaign. CD Projekt Red assembled a collection of the finest open-world mechanics we’ve already seen, and most of them work well. Ultimately, it feels like Cyberpunk 2077 is a fitting bookend for the previous generation of games and a strong starting point for current-gen. Now it’s time to start innovating again.”

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.”

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. The main quest may be shorter than expected when taken on its own and it’s not always clear what you need to do to make meaningful changes to its finale, but the multitude of side quests available almost from the start can have a surprisingly powerful effect on the options you have when you get there. It’s a shame that frustratingly frequent bugs can occasionally kill an otherwise well-set mood, but Cyberpunk 2077’s impressively flexible design makes it a truly remarkable RPG.”

VG24/7 – 5/5

“In the midst of such intense anticipation and scrutiny, it’s easy to get carried away with what Cyberpunk 2077 could have been. The final experience might be more familiar than many predicted, with plenty of elements that aren’t perfect, but it’s dripping with detail and engaging stories. With so much to see and do, Cyberpunk 2077 is the kind of RPG where you blink and hours go by, which is just what we need to finish off 2020.”

The Gamer – 5/5

“I’m V and the game is Silverhand – I can’t get Cyberpunk 2077 out of my head. I’ve had it a week and played 70 hours, which is probably about as healthy as scooping out my face and replacing it with electronics, but it didn’t feel like work. Like a digital personality loaded onto a biochip, it felt like stepping into another life for a while. It’s a life I can’t wait to relive.”

Windows Central – 5/5

“Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world masterpiece that features some of the most immersive and liberating storytelling this industry has to offer. With full freedom to choose V’s personality, looks, and gameplay style, Cyberpunk 2077 gives the player an unrelenting amount of control in a world that delivers dozens upon dozens of hours of high-quality content. Cyberpunk 2077 is a mammoth achievement and solidifies CD Projekt RED’s place at the top of the pile.”

The Washington Post – Unscored

“Cyberpunk 2077” wants to be the “Witcher 3” of crime dramas, and it very much hits that high bar in almost every regard. The writing is an engaging thrill ride that’s going to leave you wondering what’s going to happen next. Conversations flow with natural pacing, emotion and wit to stay entertaining and grounded. And they all take place in the evocative sheen and grime of a cyberpunk world. I’d leave a bar in Night City and feel like I spent some actual time in a smoky, low-lit environment for the last hour, having cigarette smoke blown in my face and smelling like whiskey. In its design, it is to 2020 what “Red Dead Redemption 2” was to 2018.”

“… What makes matters worse is that this game is boiling over with glitches, particularly toward the game’s climax. As the game neared its end, every main character of the game was touched by some hilarious, scene-breaking glitch — including the very final shot of the story before the credits rolled. Whether this world holds together is a question I just can’t answer yet. My early impressions come with many caveats.”

Polygon – Unscored

“I can’t deny that Night City wowed me with its scale, its verticality, and its sense of history. But I wish I could see people like me on its streets as something more than objects. I wish that the game’s politics were more radical. Yes, I know I shouldn’t look to a colossal game that was itself produced under exploitative labor conditions to lead the charge of anticapitalist liberation, but I wish the sparks of Johnny Silverhand’s ideological rage got to burn brighter, that 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.”