Now that the dust has settled for Cyberpunk 2077 it's time to re-evaluate the current state of the game. It's still a shiny and beautiful dumpster fire although that flame looks to be dying down gradually as the developers, CD Projekt RED, scramble to churn out updates that will fix the game.
The result is that opinions are mixed for the game. On the technical side, it's pretty bad, but for the game as a whole, many people still praise the aesthetics and CD Projekt RED's prowess as an RPG maker. Still, some less-than-popular sentiments have arisen and can prove to be just as valid as the typical belief of the mass.
The Highly Intrusive Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves is no doubt one of the strongest marketing points for Cyberpunk 2077 and his role in the game is huge. It's so pervasive that his character literally even tries to take over the players. For some, this might feel like too much and too intrusive.
One Reddit user's unpopular opinion has lowkey become popular when he voiced out that Keanu Reeves is more of a hype element for the entire game's marketing than the story. Some have surmised that players will still be able to appreciate Johnny Silverhand's character even without Keanu lending his persona. As it is, he's more Keanu than Johnny Silverhand.
Overhyped, Undercooked
Yet another polarizing point of debate that the player-base can't all agree with is how the game should've been more discreet about its development and release. Cyberpunk 2077 blew up so big that it was one of the most anticipated games in history, right up there with a certain third game from Valve that's yet to be released.
The result is that the disappointment was doubled and that unpopular Reddit opinions calling for fanboys to tone down the hyping of the unreleased game from a year or two years ago have aged rather well. Other overhyped games like No Man's Sky were even called into attention and for reference. Looking at Cyberpunk 2077's state right now, those old unpopular opinions are now useless wisdom.
Hacking Is Too Clunky
A cyberpunk game that doesn't have any hacking of some sort is a disservice to the genre. That's why the option is present and heavily featured in Cyberpunk 2077. It's even one of the available dedicated playstyles in the title.
Still, some fans felt the hacking in Cyberpunk 2077 was way too counterproductive or uninspired, at least compared to other games with hacking mechanics like Watch Dogs. It can feel too clunky and not viable as a path of gameplay especially at the start of the game, unlike the louder and more boisterous guns blazing option.
Too Edgy For Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk aesthetics aren't hard to achieve, just picture today's excessive socio-economic gap and sprinkle in some cybernetics, neon, and make the companies more powerful, voila! You have a bleak and semi-accurate view of the near future.
Certain players did feel that Cyberpunk 2077 went a bit over-the-top with how it represented the genre though. One of them even likened it to a teenager's version of a cyberpunk world that's all show and no substance. Fittingly enough, Cyberpunk 2077 tends to focus more on its world's shock value than the big and mature philosophical questions that cyberpunk media tends to ask.
The Open-World Is Boring
CD Projekt RED more or less had to build Cyberpunk 2077's world from scratch since the only source material was a tabletop game with less vivid descriptions than the Witcher books. The game world can often feel alienating and barren at times despite the glaring lights and shiny paint job.
Some reviewers did share the same view with the players about Cyberpunk 2077's open world. Many of them are quickly growing bored of the heartless and soulless streets of Night City. It's not just the lack of side activities and minigames but also the NPCs and the poor AI that make Night City less interesting.
It's Still An Enjoyable Game
Surprisingly, a lot of last-gen console players for Cyberpunk 2077 are taking to Reddit to post their somewhat serviceable experience with the game. That is despite all the bugs and glitches as well as the technical issues that plague the title since it was launched prematurely.
For some, the game and its inherent performance issues on last-gen console hardware were manageable. There were crashes but nothing of the sort that ruined the gameplay experience. Of course, the mileage may vary per user but there's no doubt that Cyberpunk 2077 is a least a decent RPG.
The Game Is Too Short
The statistics are out and it seems Cyberpunk 2077 is less meaty than CD Projekt Red's previous offerings. The main campaign or quest alone can be finished in 20 or so hours. There are some action-focused FPS games like Doom Eternal with a similar gameplay length.
It was only a matter of time before some players noticed just how brief the actual game can be. Unless they get distracted with side quests every other minute, the game's length can be rather disappointing. Still, quantity does not equate to quality and there's no denying that Cyberpunk 2077' main campaign is good, is it better than The Witcher 3's? That's a topic for another time.
Stadia Will Be The Best Platform
Turns out some unpopular predictions a year before Cyberpunk 2077 released still hold true these days and might have been correct. Despite the consecutive patches and updates, Cyberpunk 2077 remains the most demanding game right now and is only a pleasant visual experience if played on a high-end PC or a current-gen console.
When someone suggested that Google Stadia would be the most problem-free gaming platform for Cyberpunk 2077 a year ago, people were in disbelief and in disagreement. Now, looking at the bigger picture, it might not even be worth it to spend thousands of dollars just to be able to play a buggy game.
It Should've Stayed In The PlayStation Store
It's true that Cyberpunk 2077 was atrocious on the base PS4 or Xbox One. After all, that kind of hardware is too outdated and is seven years old already. The most recent fiasco surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 was its removal from the PlayStation Store due to the poor state of the game and the numerous refunds.
This was a bit much for the concerned fans as Cyberpunk 2077, in their opinion was neither the most disastrous release nor the most fraudulent promise of a video game to exist. It sadly had the misfortune of being the most over-marketed hence the fallout.
Bad Music
Synthwave beats and funky electronica or maybe some post-modern orchestral tones would have fit in well with Night City. However, the majority of the music on the radio consists of its own version of contemporary artists, mostly rap, grunge, and other loud lyrical genres.
Fans with a specific and distinct taste for music caught this and pointed out that the sounds in Cyberpunk 2077 were more "punk" and less "cyber." In any case, sticking to mostly electronic beats would have probably made the world more dramatic but less immersive and too similar to Blade Runner or other cyberpunk media.