I was planning in picking this up eventually but everything I've read so far makes me lean towards skipping it instead.

If by eventually you mean after a few more patches, I wouldn't let negative comments scare you away (assuming you're getting it on PC). It's a good game with the potential to become a great one.

I don't mind them occupying the same space at all. I DO mind being unable to order noodles.

You should keep in mind that those with complaints are much more likely to write about them than those who are enjoying the game. In some places, like the subreddit, those who want to focus on the negative are outwardly hostile to people who don't. Not saying there aren't issues, but I am saying they are overblown and likely giving you an inaccurate picture of the overall player experience (assuming you have the hardware to run the game well)

For my part, The Last of Us is 2 is my GOTY, but Cyberpunk 2077 is my favorite game of the year. And I've really loved some other ones (Ghost of Tshushima, FFVII Remake, AC: Valhalla, Hades, the aforementioned TLOU2, etc)

One of the most annoying things that has happened to me in my 45 hours is a proprietor of a resturant telling me they had a special Silverhand sirloin, and then finding no such thing on the menu. >:(

Yep as usual the vocal minority is always loudest and gets what it wants.:(

Wont deny the game has issues also and I shared what bugs I had. It still didn't stop me from enjoying my first play-through. It was a great story driven experience.

It's a shame the main campaign is meh but the side quests are where the meat is. I'm also glad I didn't play the game on older consoles with their inferior hardware.

10/10

To be honest, I'd be fine with the Skyrim crime system, guard telepathy and all. Unlike in Skyrim, it would make sense in Cyberpunk.
"We have you in our ubiquitous, omniscient policing system; pay a bribe to our incredibly corrupt officers or face imprisonment - whereupon you can bribe our incredibly corrupt guards."

I liked the crime system in Gothic. You got caught committing a crime, you got your ass beat. End of story. :)

It would be nice if NPCs reacted to you taking stuff from a dwelling or store. I wouldn't want cops showing up or a fight every time, but at least call me a thief or something.

Well, I'm not especially worried about the bugs to be honest. How bad can it be? (Coming from someone who loves both Arcanum and V:tMB.)

What puts me off is rather what I read about mechanics like poor crime system, bad and immersion breaking loot system, meatshield combat, poor stealth mechanics etc. Add level scaling and it's starting to sound like a game I'll be annoyed by as much as I'll be enjoyed by it. That ratio should definitely be less than 1:1…

So… I’ve played only 33 hours. The game looks phenomenal, the atmosphere and attention of details in making this city is off the charts, can't compare it to any other games I've played.
Yes, there are bugs, but I've played many games full of bugs and I've never seen those games so insanely criticized. Then again the other companies did not promised that the game will work on 7 years old ps4 shit console… which was even then dated hardware compare to a decent PC.
PS1: yes the crime system is a crime :) also yes anything from Gothic should be in any decent open world game, THEY SHOULD TEACH THAT IN game development schools!!!

PS2: The Last of Us is 2 is shit. Ghost of Tshushima rules.

Their biggest mistake was trying to support outdated consoles. They should have just dropped them from the support list. Someone got greedy most likely and wanted to sell more. Now it bit them in the butt. I doubt their would have been such a shit storm otherwise.

I think dropping the existing consoles would also have hit them badly. That would be the biggest chunk of the market gone in a stroke, and a massive drop in sales. I think their problem was just the reality of getting all the work done, vs the dates and expectations they created for investors.

So one is your "game of the year" and the other is your "favorite game of the year". What's the difference?

Best and favorite are not the same thing.

Only one of those things is true, from my perspective. The crime system is poor/nonexistent.

Loot, well, that's something everyone seems to complain about in every game. I think it's very good. A good variety of guns, mods, lots and lots of armor/clothes, conversation shards… I find useful items all the time, even after 45+ hours.

I play on hard, and enemies aren't meatshields. It doesn't take me that long to kill anybody, especially with headshots.

Stealth is well implemented and has tons of options with perks and hacks. I don't know why anyone would consider the stealth mechanics to be poor.

There is no level scaling, so I don't know where you got that from. Missions are rated in difficulty relative to your level and it's a persistent rating. In other words, if it's "very hard" and you level up several times it will become "hard", then "moderate" and so on. If there was level scaling, it would remain the same difficulty no matter what your own level was.

So what's the difference then?

I'm asking because for me it's the same. The game I have most fun with is my vote for the GOTY.

Thanks @JFarrell71! Good to hear regarding stealth. The loot system still doesn't sound good to me but glad you enjoy it. Great to hear there is no scaling, that's my biggest pet peeve.

The Last of Us 2 was, for me, a rewarding but also punishing experience. Put me through the emotional wringer. So it was fun to play, but also not, if you get me.

It is the sort of game I like, but Cyberpunk is moreso the kind of game I like (the setting interests me more, partly because of its relative novelty, and I like large RPGs more than I like focused action adventures).

TLOU2 is a highly polished game by a studio at the peak of their powers. Cyberpunk 2077 is messier, buggier, good but not as good in the areas of writing, acting and visuals. But again, its basic structure and makeup is something that I enjoy playing more, and will play for much longer. I also look forward to DLC for Cyberpunk. I wouldn't want DLC for TLOU2 even if it were planned (the story was told, and very well; nothing more is needed or wanted by me)

To sum up, TLOU2 is an extremely well made game of a sort that I like a bit less than the sort of game Cyberpunk 2077 is. So even though Cyberpunk is not made as well, I have more fun with it. (and it is made pretty darn well imo, bugs notwithstanding)