Guidelines related to Cyberpunk 2077's review embargo seem to have been a little more limiting than previously thought, given news that reviewers were only allowed to use b-roll provided by CD Projekt Red as opposed to their own footage. This may come across as somewhat of a dubious practice, especially when taking into account myriad reports of bugs and other issues that plague the overall experience.
Guidelines with regards to what a reviewer can and can't say are normal for the most part. Usually, such standards are put in place to ensure reviews don't spoil certain story beats or surprise gameplay segments. CD Projekt Red may have taken things to another level, though. When Cyberpunk 2077 reviews began making the rounds, an air of confusion pervaded. Some reviewers gave scores, be it positive, middling, or negative. Others simply went with impressions-based posts or videos. All were based on the game's PC build, while questions about the console versions remain mysteriously unanswered. This isn't all the weirdness that's going around, however.
YouTuber Skill Up recently shared a brief thread on Twitter, explaining why their review didn't go up earlier in the week alongside others. "I could not comply with CDPR's embargo requirement," Skill Up said, noting that such requirements meant reviewers were not allowed to share their own footage of the game. Instead, critics who reviewed the RPG were instructed by the developer to use provided B-roll gameplay and other promotional footage. In a subsequent tweet, Skill Up added, "Reviews should not be vehicles for rolling out more marketing material, so I'll put my review up when I'm able to show you the reality of the game with my own footage."
Some fans are arguing that similar video restrictions were in place for reviews of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. There's a glaring difference between the two that's well worth noting, however. The core drama surrounding The Witcher 3's performance at the time concerned its graphical fidelity taking a hit. On the other hand, Cyberpunk 2077 is reportedly suffering performance issues that involve game-breaking glitches, animation wonkiness, and an assortment of other bugs that some have described as rather appalling. A beefy 28GB day one patch will hopefully tackle these issues and whatever else may beset a player's enjoyment of the title's vibrant open-world. However, there is credence to the argument that some other AAA games also stipulate that reviewers can't use their own gameplay captures for pre-launch reviews, so Cyerpunk 2077 isn't the only one that deserves extra scrutiny here.
Since Cyberpunk 2077's release is so imminent, the public can soon make up their own minds about CD Projekt Red's latest opus. If it was worth the lengthy wait, three delays, reports of mandatory crunch to the average player should be readily apparent soon enough.
Cyberpunk 2077 will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on December 10, 2020.
Source: Skill Up