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This is a video review and critique of Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most infamous flops of recent years. A lot of what went into it flopping that way was impossible or misguided expectations of what the game actually was, what areas it would creatively focus on and even what genre it was. This video analysis attempts to see the game for what it is, good and bad, warts and all. Spoilers throughout including every individual ending.
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In regards to Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, that work was meant to be a pastiche of the cyberpunk genre. The juvenile and over the top elements of that you mention are him being playful with some of the more ridiculous elements of the genre.
It just occured to me while I was watching that I disagree with most of your assumptions and conclusions but I still love this video 😀
I was with you until you called The Room one of the worst movies of all time.
That is….unacceptable.
Actually if they did wanted or cared for rpg theme then wouldn't have at least put some effort in the romantic subplot like slowly discovering that your sexuality wasn't A but instead it was B after meeting certain romantic interest? Super F
Thanks Noah! I finally decided to uninstall my PC copy of Cyberpunk ten minutes into your speech.
Cyberpunk 2077 is based off the TTRPG Cyberpunk series by Mike Pondsmith.
36:00 i now feel vindicated that i wasnt the only one who pissed themselves when it came to that scene. If there were more 3rd person cutscenes it wouldnt be as bad i think
Excellent video. I'm excited for the follow-up video in 5 years after the patches and DLCs have dropped.
Something that really bother me, its all the sexual adult sites there are, and no way to actually interact with it, 2 dolls and complicated sex cutscenes is pretty lack luster.
I really want to see what they do for DLC, since the main game is 40hours at best, i'm down to play it again, with better graphics and less bugs.
I have one small quibble with your commentary (I take no issue with your overall points): There's absolutely way way way more than enough money to buy all the cars, get all the top level cyberware, etc etc. In fact I'm sort of interested in what you could have possibly done in a completionist playthrough to somehow avoid winding up with a big surplus of money, like hundreds of thousands extra.
The saddest thing is the bits of brilliance they throw in the game, but i know even if they cut off the excess repetitive grind, it wouldn't be automatically good either. It's not an unpolished gem, more like sifting gold dust from a pile of dung that you hope the value of the gold will outweigh the effort sitting for hours with literal crap on your hands. It's not. The thematic and systemic coherence is just non existent and like noah said, you'd need a brand new game to "fix" cyberpunk 2077
Like and comment for you and now time to watch the video! I dont care about the game since I knew it will be crap but I love your videos 🙂
Some stray thoughts.
I played Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4. It felt a lot like playing a PC game on a system barely above the minimum system specs. As someone who's never had the scratch for an up-to-date gaming PC, that's something I'm used to, so I didn't really mind.
A fact I see missed in a lot of the discourse around the game is that 2077 is an adaptation rather than a generic cyberpunk genre game. It's adapting the Cyberpunk line of tabletop RPGs from R. Talsorian Games, and I'd like to see more critiques acknowledge it (and kind of surprised you didn't, given your coverage of games like Baldur's Gate). I think a lot of the game's dated takes on the genre come down to the fact that it's trying to be faithful to a TTRPG that was first published in the very late 1980s.
It's no doubt a deeply flawed game. But also one I felt compelled to play through three times, and will probably jump into a fourth if/when the game gets DLC.
I think the comparisons to Red Dead 2 are on point. One thing I did find deeply disappointing about 2077 was how it handled clothing. I found myself wishing that I could dress for style, like how I played dress-up with Arthur Morgan. But I kept swapping stuff out for stats. Playing a crafting build only somewhat ameliorated the issue, especially once I started picking up Johnny's iconic outfit.
I really hope the whole debacle doesn't tank CDPR. Despite all its warts, 2077 is some of the most fun I've had with a game of its scale, and I want to see how it can be built on and improved with further support.
You mention it isn't an adaption and rather an adaption of cyberpunk as a whole while talking about Neuromancer a lot.
But not once did you mention that Cyberpunk by Mike Pondsmith actually is the soucre material of this which is what it's adapting.
They weren't as free to put in anything and everything as you might think.
Just wanted to point it out, nice video still.
As always good work.
Poor Impulse Control
I might have imagined most of it, but my high relationship with Johnny might have resulted in a more mellow Johnny making the Johnny Goldenheart ending plausible.
Idk that story sounds pretty god damned stupid, id take the slapped together well thought through pastiche of gta v over the heavy fisted slapped together misunderstood pastiche of cyberbunk
Very deep review. I do feel that Noah is not aware that Cyberpunk 2077 was based on Cyberpunk 2020 – it's not the Cyberpunk version of "Western 1888" – it's a remake of an old RPG.
"Although Cyberpunk 2077 is, supposedly, an original work and not an adaptation of a series of novels…" – actually, it's an adaptation of a tabletop RPG from the late 80s/early 90s called 'Cyberpunk 2020', which may account for the fact that the in-game world feels more like a mash-up of different existing works of fiction, rather than a fully original creation, as well as how dated some of these concepts might seem now. The game itself is said to take place in a world alternative to ours (Johnny's flashbacks take place in 2023), which is why there's stuff like Japan being the world's dominant superpower (it would be much more logical for China to replace the US in that role), etc.
"corporate choices at the upper & mid levels of CD Projekt Red have essentially permanently sabotaged their anti-corporate video game"
It would be cool if they make a game set in a hive city from warhammer 40k. It would make night city look insignificant
Sitting here waiting for an oil change, nothing on my phone is interesting. Thank god for you dude.
Absolutely great video, so glad i found this channel
I have done 3 and a Half Playthroughs for this game, and I'm still not sure if I love it or hate it. It's… difficult to say. What I can say is this. Cyberpunk 2077 is a single player Destiny with a better story.
36:26 Well EXCUSE ME Noah! That's like totally bogus of you, I'm so hella done with this channel okay I'm starting to hate myself, I retract my statement.
Did Noah say that the directer added heavy feature bloat by coming in every week and asking the team to add in a new feature he just randomly heard? Haven't seen the whole video but hearing that makes it incredibly telling as to why the game feels half baked in it's open world.
Late, but…curious: Would you do Yakuza: Like a Dragon as a mirror of this video? Or would you do The Kiryu Saga (Yakuza 0-6): Sub-Franchise Retrospective and wait awhile to do The Kasuga Saga (Yakuza 7-?): Sub-Franchise Retrospective?
thank god, i've seen so little of actual good write-ups on what this game is beyond the bugs. I've been wondering if its actually a monstrosity simulacrum of Cyber Punk or not. A thousand blessings onto you arbiter of knowledge
I've never played this but from your video, but this is what I don't like about the game: 1. It's all 2D. I don't see the Blade Runner style multi leveled mega city. All I see is a GTA city.
2. No cyber space gameplay. Is it even a cyberpunk game without goofy hacking, overblown user interfaces and skull gifs or a vector space virtual world?
3. Day time… There should be at least one part of the city which is so dense that no sun light can enter it.
4. Cities too small, too many suburbs and outskirts. This doesn't seem like a fantasy city, just a normalish city.
Verdict: this just looks like a first person GTA.
What was the intro song?
Coming to this after watching the 2021 Patreon Update. That Tommy Wiseau impression is worth every cent on Patreon.
I just wanted play as judge dress and a can’t
Thank you for making this. This is one of the most intelligent pieces about CP 2077 I have seen so far and not just a "LoL, crazy bugs" video. I'm glad someone addressed the game's deep issues under it's glittering, RTX powered facade.
Noah, you are a genius.
incredible work as always
Noah is the only one who can make me sit through an hour and a half long essay for a game I will never play.