Cyberpunk 2077 - Everything Wrong With the Demo

One Angry Gamer looked at Cyberpunk 2077 and wrote what they didn't like about the demo.

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Instead, the Cyberpunk 2077 demo talks a lot about choice but we don’t see any of it.

Now granted, if the game is still two years out from release one could be forgiving to CD Projekt Red about this sort of thing; but then I’m at the point of saying why even show the gameplay demo and talk extensively about choice and options when you’re not going to show us any choices or options?

You can defend CD Projekt Red all you want, I don’t care, but if you’re going to talk extensively about choice and options, I would like to think you would have a few on display that actually highlights that point. Otherwise, why talk about it?

That’s not to mention that the choices the player are presented with seem superficial at best. After completing the main mission at the centerpiece of the demo you’re given a few dialogue options to address the corporate stooge and Dex, the ghetto pimp. The options basically boil down to saying very similar things in different ways.

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Thanks Farflame!

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Okay its a more in depth analysis than i thought.. but why attack the company now, when they still have lots of time to work on the game. Let them do their job... they did a great one for the Witcher 3.

SJWs see a penis->Mass Hysteria.
Anti SJWs see a vagina->Mass Hysteria.
Entire USA should be quarantined until this lunacy ends.
Seriously though, that's a trash site, it's like citing Anita Sarkeesian as a "video game critic".
They actually did show different consequences, but not in this demo ( journalists were, according to some reports, kind of giving suggestions during live gameplay): if you have a very limited time to show a small segment of the game, you will not replay entire sections for that end.

BoboTheMighty said:

SJWs see a penis->Mass Hysteria.
Anti SJWs see a vagina->Mass Hysteria.
Entire USA should be quarantined until this lunacy ends.
Seriously though, that's a trash site, it's like citing Anita Sarkeesian as a "video game critic".

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Generalizations are bad Bobo.

My opinion is different as that site exposed a lot of hypocrisy in the gaming, and movie world. Then again it's easier to turn a blind eye, and just call people crazy.

I'll throw you a bone though and say the article is nonsense, and full of satire.

I didn't have any serious issues with the preview besides some cringy dialogue and writing, but it wasn't all that impressive, and didn't seem like much of an RPG.

I actually appreciated this article.
I don't fully agree with it, but it does make some good points.
I too felt very disappointed with the demo, and the reasons he mentioned are pretty good!
The atmosphere was lacking, the gun play was a little boring; The character was a specific character that you can develop in a set way, that seems a little too directed for the games I like to play that allow a wide range of types of characters to play (including not having to play as a wet socialistic degenerate).

I was disappointed, and appreciated the article as a critical article worth listening to at least a little bit for a different point of view!!

Heresy, there's nothing wrong with the demo.

Burn

Stahl33 said:

I actually appreciated this article.
I don't fully agree with it, but it does make some good points.

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Criticism is ok, but plain ignorance ( while going on about SJW nonsense) is something else. He goes on about the game world not looking like a "true Cyberpunk"( that "classic look" : neon nights reflected on wet, dirty streets at night) without even looking where it takes place in: Watson ( immigrant melting pot). It would make no sense for people to be stepping onto piles of trash in the streets in a place like this.
Combat zone, on the other hand, will look very different.
Well designed world has to feel believable, "authentic" ( in context of the setting).
It has already been explained NC is divided into several major districts with different design/ambiance, instead of blueprinting Bladerunner across entire (game)world.

The article has some really valid points. The whole "SJW" nonsense though, geez. As if there's some great conspiracy going on because V isn't sexy enough in his opinion? Poor guy.

I couldn't view the article before, but yeah, this guy is your typical right-wing American nutjob. And for the record, V looks both sexy and punk.

Aside from the crazy paranoid rants about leftists, most of his other points are valid

- Dialog choices seemed superficial
- The protagonist's personality is forced on the player
- It was missing the gritty atmosphere typically associated with Cyberpunk
- The city doesn't look that original, comparing it with a GTA V mod
- Gunplay and AI was subpar, and not anything new or innovative

There's nothing valid about his opinions unless you agree with them. I can't say I do for the most part.

The protagonist having a preset personality seems legit, but the rest are pure speculation or flat-out bunk.

I'm changing my post because you edited yours.

A valid point doesn't necessarily mean it's a correct one. It means that it's a fair position, and worthy of consideration and debate.

He's not the first person on the internet to make any of those criticisms, and he provided several reasonable arguments to reinforce why he believed in each one. Aside from the unhinged SJW nonsense, it's a well-written opinion piece.

Cool, but what does that have to do with anything I said? I didn't claim he was objectively wrong.

His points are simply his opinions, nothing more. I didn't find most of them valid, nor do I find it to be a well-written article, but you're welcome to agree or disagree as much as you like.

You're conflating a valid opinion with being a correct one, which is what I'm clarifying.

I wont speak for all of his arguments, but specifically regarding the gunplay not being groundbreaking, I agree with it. Ricochet bullets and destructible environments have been around for years, and it's not some amazing thing that hasn't been done before. Also his point about the AI being dumb is true. Enemies stood out in the open waiting to be shot, and didn't react realistically to gunfire or damage.

Did CDPR state somewhere that the gunplay was going to be "groundbreaking"? I must have missed that. Personally, I only care if it's fun. I don't care that some angry right-wing douchebag is upset because it doesn't seem groundbreaking.

I thought most of the article read like it was written by an angst-driven teenager. He actually seems more concerned about imaginary SJW agendas than the game itself.

Journalists were acting like it was groundbreaking, and set expectations that weren't met by the realities of the preview in my opinion. What they showed is technically fine, but not the next evolution of gaming as many were led to believe.

The writer is clearly a loon, but the parts when he wasn't ranting about SJWs I found well constructed and reasonable. I don't advise posting his content in the future however.

You mean some journalists were acting like it was groundbreaking. Most just seemed to think it looks badass, and I happen to agree.

That's the impression I got from most journalists, but whatever the case, I'm still looking forward to playing it when it finally releases in 2077.

Seems to me it actually is new step in video games, though more in a sense of how reiterates and combines strengths of previous trademark PC titles into single game. That is, if entire game lives up to the demo.

- City with even greater scale and dynamic of GTA but also vertical and with indoor open ended level design and with detail of Immersive Sim like Deus Ex… far as I know, there is no other game that does both

- But also with complex rpg mechanics ( stats, perks, lifepaths, skills, streetcred, cyberware, etc) of crpg like Fallout…most open world rpgs have far simpler rpg progression systems ( except for New Vegas, with not so good production values and very poor world design)

In short: Fallout+GTA+Deus Ex at it's core.
New Vegas had strong crpg mechanics, but it was very unpolished with very poor gameplay, nowhere near production values and downright awful world/level design.
GTA has immensely detailed/dynamic world and high production values, but it's gameplay is incredibly shallow with simplistic mission design, and almost no indoors areas to explore
Deus Ex has great level/mission design and interactive world, but it's far less dynamic and narrow in scope and with much simpler progression system.
2077 seems to have strengths/or exceeding all three titles in what they're best known for, but with much better gameplay and coming from CDPR, worldbuilding/storytelling. Guess it depends how people define "groundbreaking/revolutionary", but I'd say this is as close as it gets. This seems, more or less, what I've always wanted to see from TES, but I'm expecting something much more polished and ( of ) higher quality across the aboard.
Star Citizen has greater scope/size, but that one is shaping up to be more an impressive tech demo, with director completely losing oversight of what makes a good core experience, by nonstop chasing after new/latest tech feature.

Plus how game blurs the line between lore and gameplay, dialogue and action..seems a next big step in player Immersion: you can see first hand, cyberware being installed on you as you gain additional Hud information.

New dialogue system also seems groundbreaking for rpgs ( though for some reason they didn't show it more here). Cinematic, similar to cutscene, dialogue presentation but with player control and influenced by player actions…there is no game that does this ( in Far Cry there are no options to speak of, in Skyrim/New Vegas both parties stand around like billboards).
This completely eliminates the boundary between dialogue and gameplay ( that exists everywhere else), seamless flow to entire experience. ( there was a recent interview from P.Mills on how much effort goes into making this work, most gamers don't even realize this)

The reason Journalists were extremely positive is because they see a larger picture here and seem to have a lot better understanding how games look in pre alpha than the players: the lighting, some of the textures, dialogue editing, AI…all this and many, many other things go through a lot of refinement/polishing before release.

Which is kind of funny.

Gamers: We want to see the demo!!!
CDPR: But guys, game is still year and a half plus away from release, there are still a lot of things that need polishing and we know you won't understand this..
Gamers: Yes, we will! Show us the demo!!!
( 2 months later)
CDPR: Ok, here is the demo. Keep in mind, this is still work Work in Progress and..
Gamers: Why does the AI not look so good! Why do some of the textures look fugly? Why the car not control so good? Why?!?

TomRon said:

The article has some really valid points. The whole "SJW" nonsense though, geez. As if there's some great conspiracy going on because V isn't sexy enough in his opinion? Poor guy.

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I think there is a push towards SJW agenda in gaming and other mediums as well. The whole Ciri in the new Witcher TV show is plain SJW agenda, if you don't see it that way, then you are plain blind since the show runners clearly claims it is SJW agenda!

However, I don't agree with this guy in the case of Cyberpunk, I found V to be very attractive in the trailers!