Cyberpunk 2077 [PC, PS4, XBone] - out September 17 2020

[Snowy]

On my recent playthrough I used mods that basically ripped any danger out of the game, gave you masses of perk points etc (hadn't realised how easy they would make it). None of that this time around, playing it properly.

Very minor side-quest spoiler ahead:

Spoiler

I decided that given the new nature of clothes in-game, I wanted to get myself wearing something that worked for my street-rat female V persona. Went to a clothes shop downtown only to find it was a real high-end place that my eddies wouldn't stretch to, so got back in the car. I checked the map, as the game had me off on more story missions I wasn't up for doing just yet and saw that there seemed to be a side quest in the very shop I had just left. The only other nearby side-quest was a cyberpsycho rumour, and knowing how bastard hard those are I decided that could stay for a good while yet.

I headed back into the clothing store, the guy working there greeted me as a returning customer (love how they have that kind of attention to detail) and proceeded to engage me in conversation. Suddenly there is screaming and the store manager is yelling at the security systems to lock down the store. I look up and the fucking cyberpsycho is in the shop, dismembering customers like there is no tomorrow! I was completely wrong-footed, but not so much that my guns were not drawn within a split second of the screaming starting. Unfortunately I am trapped in a very small area with a very large, very fast man with a machete.

There then followed a Benny Hill style section where I was backpedalling round like a maniac, dodging as much as possible while unloading my smart AR into his face as much as possible. This seemed to go on forever but probably wasn't more than a minute. The shop doors flew open, and in pile a bunch of the hardcore rozzers. Before my eyes, one of them whips out mantis blades and leaps onto him. I keep the trigger held down until I am sure the bastard is dead though! Didn't expect any of that.

Incidentally, get the Ken Block weaponised car that Animal links further up this page, it is fucking awesome.

[Animalmother]

I'm really enjoying my 2nd playthrough after the new update. I went from level 10 to 17 after just a few hours (compared to the glacial progression in Starfield...). Just completed the introduction missions with Panam in the desert, good fun and I got a sweet motorbike out of it.

Not to harp on about Starfield, but Cyberpunk's companions are so much better written, voice acted and actually likeable. I know it's a much more scripted game but it still feels better.

[Sly Boots]

Not to harp on about Starfield, but Cyberpunk's companions are so much better written, voice acted and actually likeable. I know it's a much more scripted game but it still feels better.

It's night and day, honestly

[Snowy]

They have really transformed the game since launch. I know my new rig has added loads more evocative detail graphically, but it just feels so much more vibrant. Starfield felt like you were walking into rooms full of mannequins, while there are some crazy details in Cyberpunk. See someone playing a guitar? They are using the right frets for what they are playing. I was on the phone earlier today with the game just running, and found myself watching a dropout of some sort walk up, pick up a plastic cup off the ground and start scratching in the dirt with it, before moving on to a dumpster, and finally start eating the amassed, erm, stuff that he had scooped up. Little stuff but it adds atmosphere in spades.

[Wrathbone]

Not to harp on about Starfield, but Cyberpunk's companions are so much better written, voice acted and actually likeable. I know it's a much more scripted game but it still feels better.

It's night and day, isn't it? As much as I've enjoyed Starfield, it's undeniably stuck in the past in terms of technology, game design and production quality, whereas Cyberpunk and BG3 are redefining what a modern RPG can be. Starfield is of course a sandbox, but that shouldn't be an excuse. I've been playing Cyberpunk this weekend and it's so much better across the board. Just cruising around on a bike doing gigs is pure joy.

My only complaint with the 2.0 update is that car handling with a mouse and keyboard is still a calamity. Bikes are fine because it's easy to see around you in first person, but with cars I find it impossible to drive in first person without accidentally mowing people down on every corner and in third person the camera controls are godawful.

[Animalmother]

Yeah they still haven't been able to fix the car handling on the Xbox either, it's ballhang. Even the NPC's have problems driving during scripted events.

I did a quick side mission yesterday where I was told to kill a guy who had just been released from prison. I was going to ignore it (as I must of in my first playthrough) but it evolved into something very different and strangely emotional. Better writing in an easily missable little mission than most games main plots.

Has anyone else discovered Brendan yet? Was he added with the update or always been in the game?

[Sly Boots]

Do you mean the one that leads to the story of the guy who's having a TV show made about him (being vague to avoid spoilers)?

If so, yeah, he was in the game from the start.

[Animalmother]

Do you mean the one that leads to the story of the guy who's having a TV show made about him (being vague to avoid spoilers)?

If so, yeah, he was in the game from the start.

That's the one. I had to reload several times as it throws lots of dialogue options at you and it's very easy to quit the mission. It was a strange one.

How the hell did I miss Brendan on my previous playthrough? So much to this game!

Spoiler

The sentient vending machine

[Solitaire]

Brendan has always been there, yep,

Spoiler

and is a curiously fatalistic sorta thing, I remember quitting playing after the ending of all that, was sad

[Snowy]

Brendan is actually now very important.

Since the latest patch, if you are starting a new game and select a particular line of dialogue with Johnny Swollenglands you can end up with permanent glitchy-cyberware vision as happened to me. It becomes permanent and man it is offputting. However, if this happens to you, go and do the first few Brendan quests (visit the vending machine, listen to the dialogue, pop home and pass 24 hours, go back and do the next step, rinse and repeat until you scare off the spray-paint guy and bingo! No more glitch-vision. CDPR are aware of it so am sure it will be fixed soon, but still a key mission if you get that particular bug!

[Sly Boots]

I'm about half a dozen hours into Phantom Liberty, and have to say it's absolutely top-notch so far. CDPR have continued the same DLC ethos they showed with the likes of Blood & Wine for W3, great story, cool new region, nothing negative to say about it yet at all.

I read one article recommending that you finish the main story first, but I'll disagree with that. I launched into it as soon as I was able (I followed the Judy/Evelyn main story thread through first, and once that had reached a logical conclusion (there's more Judy stuff afterwards but not as consequential for the main story) the DLC opens up) and think it slots in excellently alongside the base game. It definitely feels like an accompaniment rather than an epilogue, so I'd recommend diving in as soon as you get the chance.

And, if you haven't yet bought Phantom Liberty and are just playing through the 2.0 base game content, I also recommend doing so!

[Animalmother]

When is the best time to start Phantom Liberty? The Evelyn story arc has just concluded and I'm currently doing the parade float one with Takemura. I'm kind of happy to plod along but would like to see somewhere new as well.

[Sly Boots]

When is the best time to start Phantom Liberty? The Evelyn story arc has just concluded and I'm currently doing the parade float one with Takemura. I'm kind of happy to plod along but would like to see somewhere new as well.

Jump in now mate, I started just after I finished the Evelyn arc and had no problem launching the DLC stuff right then

[Animalmother]

Cheers mate, I might dip my toe in for a look. I'm 37 odd hours in now so should be good to go.

[Wrathbone]

And that's Cyberpunk finished (again). Phantom Liberty and 2.0 have turned it from a great game into something that for me rivals Witcher 3. I did every gig for every fixer, every side mission, took my time and savoured everything and after approximately 115 hours I'm genuinely sad for it to be over. It's rare that a game this long keeps me completely engaged with it right up to the final moments.

Absolute masterpiece.