UPDATED 2023 REVIEW (PATCH 2.0 +PHANTOM LIBERTY DLC)

9.5/10

If you read my original review, you'll see that I mostly loved the original game when it was released because I was familiar with the lore and the vision behind the world was something that I resonated with. The roughness in the game back then was mostly due to the developers being
forced to rush deadlines by some greedy "Corpos" with numbers to meet. Two years and a lot of patches, gameplay changes and phantom liberty expansion later, Cyberpunk 2077 finally manages to be one of the best renditions of a dystopian world in a video game to ever exist. And even froma visual
standpoint, there is no other game out right now that can stand up to what is on display in CP 2077. It is a graphical and a technological masterpiece(quite literally with pathtracing and DLSS 3.5 showcased).
I played through the entire game again and the DLC just to see how different it felt. My thoughts are below:-

Base game(without Phantom Liberty DLC) -
I encountered 0 bugs in my 2nd playthrough. The cop system actually felt like it was a challenge if you get wanted enough. The biggest change was to the RP mechanics. The base game by itself on release, was RP based only at a surface level, Your "build" didn't
really matter much as you could pretty much shoot your way out of all scenarios and any stealth/alternate gameplay styles didn't feel impactful or rewarding enough to warrant a playthrough. That has completely changed now. Sure you can still shoot your way through the whole game. But why do that when
you can actually run a highly specialized time slowing katana build. Or a one shot pistol build. Or a pure throwing knives and netrunner build. Or just a big hulking punching machine build. This is all possible now and having tried each of these builds that I mentioned, I can confirm they are all equally viable
and fun to play with. But considering the base game was developed at a time when these methods were not available, the base game's story itself doesn't benefit or make use of these possibilities as much other than you using these gameplay techniques to play the game.
Enter Phantom Liberty DLC.

Phantom Liberty DLC:-
The best way to play the DLC is to push the main game and sidequests all the way up to the final mission of the main game (Nocturne OP55N1) and then go into the DLC. This creates maximum emotional impact and resonance.

A good spy thriller makes you second guess yourself at every turn with its twists and turns and that is exactly what Phantom Liberty does. There is a point around the midway mark in the DLC where you legitimately cannot figure out which of the main characters you can/should trust and who is lying to you.
That is just absolutely crazy good levels of storytelling. And the characters introduced in Phantom Liberty are absolutely fantastic. Well layered characters with their own emotional spectrum and convoluted logic that they operate upon.
Idris Elba was absolute perfection in how he potrays Solomon Reed in the game. The other characters Songbird, Rosalind Myers, Mr.Hands deserve a huge round of applause as well on how well they were written. Even Keanu Reeves had a lot more nuance to his appearances and dialogue in the DLC compared to the basegame.
And the DLC is an absolute showcase of exceptional environmental design.
The political turmoil of Dogtown was constructed very well here. And the DLC plays out like a top tier 10/10 spy thriller. And there is even a sequence which is straight out of 2009's Alien:Isolation and that was done exceptionally well.
That is no easy feat considering that is one of the best horror games of all time.
There is also a very bittersweet melancholic ending to the main game that you can unlock via the DLC which truly shows that in a world like this there aren't ever any win-win conditions. There is always some sacrifice.

The Bad:- The bad is mostly in what is NOT in the game. More interesting braindance sequences/interactions. The menu system could be better. But there are an infinite number of possibilities a world like this will have which is not really possible to capture fully in a video game environment(currently) I suppose.

In short, Phantom Liberty + the 2.0 update pushes cyberpunk finally to a level where it is on par with the Witcher universe. It just needed some polish. Quoting Asmongold, you can't polish a piece of turd.
In this case, the diamond is no longer rough.



OLD REVIEW(PATCH 1/ON RELEASE):-
TL:DR - A diamond in the rough.
This is the first time since the OG Deus Ex, that the choice to approach a scenario and playstyle has felt so free and normal.
There are flaws with this game as of now, but there are missions and stories being told here that evoke emotions in a manner very very few games manage to do.
And the world. The real protagonist and antagonist of Cyberpunk is Night City itself. The amount of detail, references, background lore, environment design that has gone behind creating this living, breathing city is a monumental achievement.
Its a shame that the game is infested with bugs and other optimization issues, because there is a real gem underneath all that layer of filth. Its a game that came out too early(ironic lol). They overpromised and underdelivered(probably investors and "corpos" clashing heads with developers).
With an year of proper patching, can end up as one of the best games ever created.
Pros:-
-----------
1.) The Audio. I cannot stress, how good the audio is in this game. From weapon sounds, to the soundtracks, to voice acting(minus Keanu in some places).
2.) Night City(Lore and worldbuilding).
3.) Missions and side missions(To remember a few - Killing in the Name, Sinnerman,I fought the law, Pyramid Song, Raymond Chandler evening, Violence, Panam, River, Judy's storylines, Evelyn's fate, Heroes,etc,etc)
4.) Conversation scripting, especially between major characters. Extremely organic conversations(exceptions are there as with anything).
5.) Combat (Its still not buttery smooth, but they have come a long way since Witcher 3's clunky combat).
6.) Choices( Lets be real, free-choice games usually mean you get to choose within set parameters). It's no different here but it doesn't feel unnatural like a lot of other games. Sword only? Pacifist? Glass cannon netrunner?
Brawling guy with a club? Stealth? Guns blazing? They all feel viable and they all feel natural to use.
7.) Keanu Reeves sequences were polished to the max and they were hype af.
Cons:-
------------
1.) Dumb enemy AI.
2.) Bugs to put the ones from Starship Troopers to shame (Far far too many to list).
3.) Crafting system is broken(made millions because it is though)
4.) Night City -> Lack of activities to do in Night City (San andreas has more things to do. thats a shame).
5.) Unfinished systems (Rudimentary GPS and tracking, Braindance sequences extremely limited, police spawns and heat tracking broken, breaching systems extremely basic).
6.) Keanu's voice acting is a bit meh in some places.
Here's hoping CDPR turns it around with the two upcoming patches.
Will hold off on my Corpo scumbag playthrough till then.

UPDATED 2023 REVIEW (PATCH 2.0 +PHANTOM LIBERTY DLC) 9.5/10 If you read my original review, you'll see that I mostly loved the original game when it was released because I was familiar with the lore and the vision behind the world was something that I resonated with. The roughness in the game back then was mostly due to the developers being forced to rush deadlines by some greedy "Corpos" with numbers to meet. Two years and a lot of patches, gameplay changes and phantom liberty expansion later, Cyberpunk 2077 finally manages to be one of the best renditions of a dystopian world in a video game to ever exist. And even froma visual standpoint, there is no other game out right now that can stand up to what is on display in CP 2077. It is a graphical and a technological masterpiece(quite literally with pathtracing and DLSS 3.5 showcased). I played through the entire game again and the DLC just to see how different it felt. My thoughts are below:- Base game(without Phantom Liberty DLC) - I encountered 0 bugs in my 2nd playthrough. The cop system actually felt like it was a challenge if you get wanted enough. The biggest change was to the RP mechanics. The base game by itself on release, was RP based only at a surface level, Your "build" didn't really matter much as you could pretty much shoot your way out of all scenarios and any stealth/alternate gameplay styles didn't feel impactful or rewarding enough to warrant a playthrough. That has completely changed now. Sure you can still shoot your way through the whole game. But why do that when you can actually run a highly specialized time slowing katana build. Or a one shot pistol build. Or a pure throwing knives and netrunner build. Or just a big hulking punching machine build. This is all possible now and having tried each of these builds that I mentioned, I can confirm they are all equally viable and fun to play with. But considering the base game was developed at a time when these methods were not available, the base game's story itself doesn't benefit or make use of these possibilities as much other than you using these gameplay techniques to play the game. Enter Phantom Liberty DLC. Phantom Liberty DLC:- The best way to play the DLC is to push the main game and sidequests all the way up to the final mission of the main game (Nocturne OP55N1) and then go into the DLC. This creates maximum emotional impact and resonance. A good spy thriller makes you second guess yourself at every turn with its twists and turns and that is exactly what Phantom Liberty does. There is a point around the midway mark in the DLC where you legitimately cannot figure out which of the main characters you can/should trust and who is lying to you. That is just absolutely crazy good levels of storytelling. And the characters introduced in Phantom Liberty are absolutely fantastic. Well layered characters with their own emotional spectrum and convoluted logic that they operate upon. Idris Elba was absolute perfection in how he potrays Solomon Reed in the game. The other characters Songbird, Rosalind Myers, Mr.Hands deserve a huge round of applause as well on how well they were written. Even Keanu Reeves had a lot more nuance to his appearances and dialogue in the DLC compared to the basegame. And the DLC is an absolute showcase of exceptional environmental design. The political turmoil of Dogtown was constructed very well here. And the DLC plays out like a top tier 10/10 spy thriller. And there is even a sequence which is straight out of 2009's Alien:Isolation and that was done exceptionally well. That is no easy feat considering that is one of the best horror games of all time. There is also a very bittersweet melancholic ending to the main game that you can unlock via the DLC which truly shows that in a world like this there aren't ever any win-win conditions. There is always some sacrifice. The Bad:- The bad is mostly in what is NOT in the game. More interesting braindance sequences/interactions. The menu system could be better. But there are an infinite number of possibilities a world like this will have which is not really possible to capture fully in a video game environment(currently) I suppose. In short, Phantom Liberty + the 2.0 update pushes cyberpunk finally to a level where it is on par with the Witcher universe. It just needed some polish. Quoting Asmongold, you can't polish a piece of turd. In this case, the diamond is no longer rough. OLD REVIEW(PATCH 1/ON RELEASE):- TL:DR - A diamond in the rough. This is the first time since the OG Deus Ex, that the choice to approach a scenario and playstyle has felt so free and normal. There are flaws with this game as of now, but there are missions and stories being told here that evoke emotions in a manner very very few games manage to do. And the world. The real protagonist and antagonist of Cyberpunk is Night City itself. The amount of detail, references, background lore, environment design that has gone behind creating this living, breathing city is a monumental achievement. Its a shame that the game is infested with bugs and other optimization issues, because there is a real gem underneath all that layer of filth. Its a game that came out too early(ironic lol). They overpromised and underdelivered(probably investors and "corpos" clashing heads with developers). With an year of proper patching, can end up as one of the best games ever created. Pros:- ----------- 1.) The Audio. I cannot stress, how good the audio is in this game. From weapon sounds, to the soundtracks, to voice acting(minus Keanu in some places). 2.) Night City(Lore and worldbuilding). 3.) Missions and side missions(To remember a few - Killing in the Name, Sinnerman,I fought the law, Pyramid Song, Raymond Chandler evening, Violence, Panam, River, Judy's storylines, Evelyn's fate, Heroes,etc,etc) 4.) Conversation scripting, especially between major characters. Extremely organic conversations(exceptions are there as with anything). 5.) Combat (Its still not buttery smooth, but they have come a long way since Witcher 3's clunky combat). 6.) Choices( Lets be real, free-choice games usually mean you get to choose within set parameters). It's no different here but it doesn't feel unnatural like a lot of other games. Sword only? Pacifist? Glass cannon netrunner? Brawling guy with a club? Stealth? Guns blazing? They all feel viable and they all feel natural to use. 7.) Keanu Reeves sequences were polished to the max and they were hype af. Cons:- ------------ 1.) Dumb enemy AI. 2.) Bugs to put the ones from Starship Troopers to shame (Far far too many to list). 3.) Crafting system is broken(made millions because it is though) 4.) Night City -> Lack of activities to do in Night City (San andreas has more things to do. thats a shame). 5.) Unfinished systems (Rudimentary GPS and tracking, Braindance sequences extremely limited, police spawns and heat tracking broken, breaching systems extremely basic). 6.) Keanu's voice acting is a bit meh in some places. Here's hoping CDPR turns it around with the two upcoming patches. Will hold off on my Corpo scumbag playthrough till then.