Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition – PS5 Version, Reviewed on PS5 – First-Person Shooter, Action, RPG
This is a game I never thought I would play, and am so very happy that I finally did. I was fully turned off from the game due to its original release and complaints voiced by the gaming community. After an initial launch of a game not ready for market which was marred by bugs and choppy gameplay, CD Prokekt Red has righted ship. Bringing their futuristic shooter back to the hungry gaming audiences, the world of Night City thrives with an excellent story and very solid gameplay. Should you reconsider this game that you may have also written off initially like I did? YES!
Story:
The story of Night City is best left to the player to discover. It is an intricate high-stakes futuristic tale of action and adventure, with freedom to discover the city and make moral choices left and right. Most choices drive your story and game ending to many different possible conclusions, and almost every mission and side-quest involves multiple ways of approach for varying player styles and character builds.
After you build your character and select one of three possible “origins” for your main protagonist “V” you are set loose in the rich and dangerous Night City, which is brimming with crime, personality, and discoveries. You and your pal Jackie Welles hang out as small-time hoodlums, making “eddies” (Eurodollars), partying and having a good time.
Eventually the player “meets” a famous musician and terrorist, Johnny Silverhand (modeled after and voiced by Keanu Reeves). From here, the story takes off, while offering many moral conundrums and philosophical debates.
Gameplay:
The game is presented in the first-person, however the player can swap to third person for driving, which I found useful as the driving is a bit clunky until the one gets used to the vehicles and controls. Combat is extremely smooth, whether you are utilizing your fists, melee weapons, or the many gun options. As it is a futuristic setting, all weapons can have some pretty wondrous powers, and plenty have further customization options to further enhance attributes or add new attack types.
The cutting-edge backdrop also allows you to enhance your body as well, bringing out new abilities such as faster or quieter movement, jumping super high, slowing time, and boosting your chosen attack/weapon types. The freedom that comes from all the choice is virtually unlimited, however can be a bit paralyzing at first as points to level up with are not unlimited. That factor however does encourage additional playthroughs utilizing new and different tactics. Want to be a stealth samurai? Check. Want to be a bruiser punching your way through enemies’ faces? Check. Want to be a firearms expert of any kind, or all kinds? Check. Want to mix and match and find your best path balancing many powers? Check.
The great news is that as you go along learning the city, the varied inhabitants, and yourself, it all starts to cohesively mix into your chosen gameplay style, no matter what it is. You start to feel as if you really are sitting in V’s body, doing the best you can to reach your desired outcome.
The gameplay is rife with freedom of all kinds, and encourages and rewards both exploration and discovery. The map is quite large, and activities feel infinite for most of the game as there are hundreds of each crime events and side-quests. The map is broken up into different districts, many of which have unique feels and architectures.
The discourse has its own rhythm and flow, including futuristic dialect and lingo. Character motivations feel authentic, and a “perfect” solution to all problems presented in the game is often not possible. One must do their best to balance their own morals, as well as keep their surrounding friends and characters happy.
My few gripes are that a few bugs do remain, and vehicles and/or character animations can sometimes do awkward things. I raaaarely ran into anything that annoying however, and the immersion remained strong. Lastly, the environment is brimming with life, in *most* places. Sometimes I found that the city and its lack of animations (such as garbage, particle effects, trees and plant life that barely move, or are purely static) leads to some areas of the city that feel very sterile. Usually, these are the city areas that are understandably less populated like industrial districts and deserts, but sometimes you go from a crowded street brimming with life and movement to a barren and stagnant avenue just a few turns away.
Meeting the release deadlines and companies eager to recognize profits can sometimes lead to cutting back on graphical necessities to retain full immersion, and that is likely what happened with this release. That being said, the amount of effort and detail put into this game and Night City is to be applauded, not griped at. So, mostly ignore my gripes, as the game positives FAR outweigh any minor negatives.
Graphics:
Not having played the PS4 version, I am not sure how “enhanced” the PS5 version is, however overall, it looks gorgeous. The resolution and frame rate are great and I personally noticed zero frame rate slowdowns no matter how intense the action got or crowded the streets were.
There is a performance and a quality mode, and I played on performance, likely just sacrificing ray tracing. The city details are strong, including all sorts of advertising and character models. Vehicles are aplenty also; however, they were not as important to me, despite my real-life love of cars. To be honest, I walked on foot 75%+ of the time.
Many of the character models are extremely detailed, at least for most all the interactable personnel. Melee weapons and guns all have different “skins” also, adding further uniqueness to the world. Plus, V is fully customizable both in initial set-up, and further tweaks both through cosmetic clothing or useful armor sets. And, if you wind up hating your initial look, you can always go to the mirror and re-shape your V’s visual appeal. I myself wound up changing V’s look to match the story beats.
Fun-level:
Night City is an absolute blast to discover. Player freedom of technique and choice enhance the experience. So many weapons, play styles, powers, upgrades and choices are offered that virtually any type of gamer can enjoy the experience thoroughly. Smooth and exciting combat never got old to me, and I was always eager to discover a new task to complete.
This game was immersive and fantastic, with an emotional storyline and excellent gameplay.
Downloadable Content (DLC) Review:
Spinning out of the regular story comes an extremely well plotted addition, “Phantom Liberty.” This DLC add-on features a long and winding (but never bloated) addition to the campaign, and opens up a new chunk of the city map for further exploration. The new map is fantastic and much less “static” than the base game’s areas.
Again, the player is tasked with finishing missions while making stark moral choices, all leading to many more outcomes, including some that affect the base game’s endings as well. This content is some of the best DLC to come out for any game, and is well worth any money spent. The “Ultimate Edition” of Cyberpunk 2077 comes with this content included.
Final Score: 9.5
DLC Score: 9.5