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[PC Gamer] How Cyberpunk 2077 clawed its way back from disaster to complete one of the greatest redemption arcs in gaming history

Ozzie666

Member
The most successful financial 'flop' of all time. Sure it was a reputational flop and full of controversary at release, it did some damage to their reputation and maybe company value?. Even with returns made available or being suspended from sold. Didn't seem to dent their wallets much.

A game like Anthem was a flop, with broken promises and roadmaps. Give credit to the devs for making this game what it was supposed to be, and possibly more. The Redfall developers should take this to heart.
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
Honestly I haven’t played since the first several hours I put in at launch because I was sick of the glitches, and figured they could work that shit out and I’d eventually have an RTX card and such…and here we are, I started a new game and I’m pretty into it. Night City feels huge and actually lived in compared to anything in Starfield. The maxxed out graphics running at 80+ FPS are insane. The mechanics feel much newer and fresh. Having a lot of fun.
 

EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
I can hear EDMIX’s keyboard clicking away from here. 10,000 word post incoming…

Too late

nerd-ackchyually.gif


hack-ghost-in-shell.gif


As far as I remember, Cyberpunk 2077 wasn't a total disaster. Wasn't it pretty good on PC? I'd say No Man's Sky had a better comeback, and the devs arent even done improving and adding stuff to it.

I think its function was good on PC, its features and designed lacked on all platforms as I believe most were upset based on missing features, elements, core functions that later would appear while they development this early access lol.

I don't give a shit how you guys see that term btw, that is what this game basically was when you look at BG3 and CP2077. One "released" in 2020, one started early access publicly in 2020, yet one is complete in 2023 and one is magically putting out Ai and car combat 3 years later. The wonders of what a little honesty and transparency could have done for this company.

I'm happy for those are are enjoying the update, but its clear they could have went about this a completely different way as I'm sure many of us, my self included would have actually supported them if they wanted to just say it was an early access. Thats what I did with BG3. Heard it was still not done, I waited.

No anger, not feeling like I was ripped off or scammed or wasting time playing something over again cause the new, final, oh REAL final version this time is done or something lol Don't do that dumb shit man. Just make a complete game or just tell people its an early access thing and I'm more then positive we would have respected them much more for that vs all this.


To No Man Sky's point, I think a lot of it is seen as a bigger come back as they didn't really promise massive functions that ended up missing. Out side of the warm and the MP, its core concept of flying in a in ship, building it, going to outer space in real time from the planet and lots of its concept was intact, so they simply didn't have that far to drop. CP2077 on the other hand was out here making a AAA open world game and launching missing some massive core element that simply make zero sense to launch without.

That would be like GTA 6 fucking releasing with no Ai driving cars regarding combat, but shit 3 fucking years later update it and act as if all that is normal? So that simply isn't going to be seen as some extra, where as No Man Sky not having the MP or that worm isn't that big of a deal, they not only added all that, but shit we never even seen prior like the base building and VR all sorts of shit. I think maybe No Man Sky not being some single player story type thing makes it easier to look past that, but when you beat a story years ago only for them to be like "oh my bad, the game isn't done yet....ok now it is" lol you'll have a different response.

So I don't know if they can have a No Man Sky type thing as I'd prefer they just move on to the sequel at this point.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Right so. Never played this after the backlash.

If I play this game in 2023 for the first time, am I in for a Witcher 3 style GOAT tier game?

I saw all of the memes with the shocking police AI etc when the game came out. Still the case?
 

Bojji

Member
Sex scenes optional or is it forced? Not bothered about the swears or violence but awkward pixel sex scenes is abit weird

From what I remember there is one (really intense) sex scene in main story (around half of main story?) but other than that only some nude boobs here and there.

You will know that it will happen when they start talking about Alt.
 

Fess

Member
I played it at launch on PC and it was probably my GOTY, looking forward to phantom liberty as I have my 100% save on Xbox but im just not sure when I will get to play it as I'm still busy with Starfield.
Yeah it was my GOTY on PC, and it was never a disaster imo, it had bugs but was still fantastic in so many ways.
But in hindsight it was a good thing that people were shitting on it because it wouldn’t have been as great today without the complaints.
Will jump into 2.0 and Phantom Liberty as soon as I can stop playing Starfield, it’ll be fun to return to it!
 

EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
But in hindsight it was a good thing that people were shitting on it because it wouldn’t have been as great today without the complaints.

This.

I see both perspectives, I think its ok to like this game for what it was at launch, but what it was marketed to be, wasn't what the final game was, thus is just someone question those missing elements. I ended up liking parts of the game never went into for in the first place. I like the gunplay, hated the Ai, hated the story and liked the general setting of the world and wanted more of an actual RPG vs shooter with skill try type thing like you get in Far Cry

But I don't hate Far Cry, but at least when I play it, I know what it actually is and don't feel like I'm going into it with some false promise of certain elements or something. I don't really think such games should be some mystery box type thing were you don't know what you are going to get or something, there must be some baseline that makes sense and because its great if you go into it and love what it is, what about those who expected what was marketed?

Someone can buy a racer that was marketed to be Forza, but really a kart game and fucking love it

BUT

Someone can buy that same game expecting Forza and its just for them to be upset. Its not saying the kart game is bad, merely why not just say that is what the game is from the start?

So I'm more happy to see that they are actually putting in an effort to make it this living world with functions that make sense in an actual city to support that narrative and those gameplay elements return, but I feel none of this needed to happen this way and maybe this publisher should have trusted that gamers will respect honesty and will still support a project in early access, they simply want to be aware that is what it is.

I don't know when I'll be able to jump into the DLC to talk about it with you guys as I'm swamped with work, school and other projects and knee deep in Baldur's Gate 3, about to jump in Starfield like you lol I'll see in Spring or Summer to go thru it. I think I'm too burned out to go through that base game again lol, but the DLC is enough for me to jump in and do Sci Fi things lol
 

SABRE220

Member
While I dont like the redemption narratives that portray studios that purposely allow disastrous launches to take place hiding behind lies and misdirection, I have to atleast give CD project some credit for not just abandoning the game after getting their sales. So many studios just patch the bare minimum to get the game running and then abandon the project until the next offering. CD project atleast went alal the way here, In its current state Cyberpunk is a legit great game. Also damn I would never have guessed the anime would end up a savior to the game but damn it was amazing and legit had people running back to the game when most had abandoned it.

That being said, I wish media would keep a more balanced perspective here, the narrative that CDproject were like punished snake here and got backup from ill-deserved adversity is far from accurate. They were dishonest and used misdirection to set the narrative before launch and released a the game in a disastrous state. They came back and salvaged the project back to what it should have been at or immediately after launch it needed but the damn avengers they are not.
 

Mortisfacio

Member
It’s a master piece even at launch compared to Star Field 🤣 yet CP was shitted on without end .. all for clicks .

I think Starfield is garbage compared to CyberPunk, but at least Starfield was playable on the platforms it launched on. I had no issues with either on PC, but CyberPunk should have never been released on anything with a HDD
 

Fess

Member
This.

I see both perspectives, I think its ok to like this game for what it was at launch, but what it was marketed to be, wasn't what the final game was, thus is just someone question those missing elements. I ended up liking parts of the game never went into for in the first place. I like the gunplay, hated the Ai, hated the story and liked the general setting of the world and wanted more of an actual RPG vs shooter with skill try type thing like you get in Far Cry

But I don't hate Far Cry, but at least when I play it, I know what it actually is and don't feel like I'm going into it with some false promise of certain elements or something. I don't really think such games should be some mystery box type thing were you don't know what you are going to get or something, there must be some baseline that makes sense and because its great if you go into it and love what it is, what about those who expected what was marketed?

Someone can buy a racer that was marketed to be Forza, but really a kart game and fucking love it

BUT

Someone can buy that same game expecting Forza and its just for them to be upset. Its not saying the kart game is bad, merely why not just say that is what the game is from the start?

So I'm more happy to see that they are actually putting in an effort to make it this living world with functions that make sense in an actual city to support that narrative and those gameplay elements return, but I feel none of this needed to happen this way and maybe this publisher should have trusted that gamers will respect honesty and will still support a project in early access, they simply want to be aware that is what it is.

I don't know when I'll be able to jump into the DLC to talk about it with you guys as I'm swamped with work, school and other projects and knee deep in Baldur's Gate 3, about to jump in Starfield like you lol I'll see in Spring or Summer to go thru it. I think I'm too burned out to go through that base game again lol, but the DLC is enough for me to jump in and do Sci Fi things lol
Agreed 👍

And that is a perfect post for so many games where peoples opinions vary.

I had a roller coaster of a start on Starfield for the exact reason you mention about having an expectation and not getting what you thought you would get. Fortunately for me it turned out to have other things I liked more than I thought I would, so for me it became better and better the more I played and even though there are so many things I think they could’ve done better I still love it.

For Cyberpunk my expectations were lower. Originally I didn’t even want to play it since first person shooters used to make me motion sick and it did look like a first person shooter to me in the first video. The hype still built up and at launch I was no doubt excited but not enough to be disappointed at what was indirectly promised through the videos and talks like many others. And I played on PC so it was certainly not as broken. And no motion sickness and 100 or so hours later when the credits rolled it was my GOTY.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
Well, 8 hours into this new run, closer and closer to confirming this (cringe) redemption.

It may as well be a different game with how much additions, fixes, and Polish they added.
 

Inviusx

Member
Hmm, I was always a fun despite the issues but it's not THAT different to launch. Many inexcusable bugs have been fixed, new features added and promises about them tweaking the wanted system have been kept but let's not let the narrative go overboard here. It's fun, the graphics and design are top notch but it's not a GOTY now compared to launch or anything. It's like a solid 8 instead of a 6.
 

ShakenG

Member
I can't express enough how much i approve of the update.. its a dramatic improvement.
The upgrade structure to the pace of the game, changing the way you attack.

I found the game before, too OP. You become powerful way too fast. Im about 5hrs into a new playthrough so ive still gotta give it more time.

My suggestion to all. start a new playthrough.
 

Luipadre

Gold Member
While 2.0 is really good, game is still a jankfest sadly. Its so immersion breaking when you have this beautiful world and after a cutscene the questgiver main NPC cant drive away, because he hits the first fucking object and cant drive away... jank as shit with its brainded AI thats still not fixed. Also NPCs just walks through cars.
 
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GymWolf

Member
Nice story.

But today i still lost 5 hours of progress because of a bug that was also there 3 years ago, so they still have some work to do to put it mildly.
 

Shubh_C63

Member
I never stopped believing in CDPR. A company who wanted quick bucks wouldn't do the gamble of an ambitious game like Cyberpunk or Witcher.

It was just unfortunate, and management stepping in to cut their losses. Who knows if they hadn't stopped entire CDPR would still be making CP77 and risking bankruptcy. Unfortunate.
 

RavageX

Member
The game still sucks as far as I'm concerned AND is still buggy. It still isn't what they claimed it would be, and it never will be. I don't understand the Starfield trashing either. Been playing it with no crashes and it has been pretty fun.

IDGAF what actor they use, doesn't cover up what a shit job was done overall.

For those of you that enjoyed the game since day one...good for you but don't pretend it had no issues, that's just a sick thing to do.
 
Always had faith in CDPR. So much so when their share price tanked I invested a decent wedge in them as I knew they would turn this around. That's paid off nicely and I expect in a couple of months I can take that investment out after tripling my money. Cant ever imagine that happening with the likes of Ubisoft 🤣

When did you buy? It came out Dec 2020. It looks like the stock has only gone down since then.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
It’s a master piece even at launch compared to Star Field 🤣 yet CP was shitted on without end .. all for clicks .

You think starfield hasn't been shitted on?

Sony literally pulled the game from PlayStation. Don't forget that.

I always liked the game so 🤷
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
The game still sucks as far as I'm concerned AND is still buggy. It still isn't what they claimed it would be, and it never will be. I don't understand the Starfield trashing either. Been playing it with no crashes and it has been pretty fun.

IDGAF what actor they use, doesn't cover up what a shit job was done overall.

For those of you that enjoyed the game since day one...good for you but don't pretend it had no issues, that's just a sick thing to do.
I feel like for all the talk about how big Starfield is, its mechanics make it feel really small. You just fast travel everywhere. Meanwhile Cyberpunk has the rogue AI car quest that has you driving all around Night City and the outskirts to get acquainted with it, and it feels like a massive, lived-in city. The dialogue sometimes makes me cringe but the actual plot is much more gripping and engaging. Graphically, while being an older game, it’s still on the bleeding edge with path tracing and DLSS 3.5, so it just fuckin pops, while Starfield is just another baby step from Fallout 4.

If you told me a month ago I’d be back on Cyberpunk after dropping Starfield after several hours, I wouldn’t believe it, but here we are. Cyberpunk is just that much more interesting
 

Bojji

Member
You think starfield hasn't been shitted on?

Sony literally pulled the game from PlayStation. Don't forget that.

I always liked the game so 🤷

They pulled it mostly after CDPR mentioned refunds, Sony was really Salty about that LOL. There were absolute disaster releases on PSN before that and not one game was treated like that.



Not sure 100% because I didn't listen to him much, but fact is: most people expected different game to what they got with SF. BS/Todd had to tell some bullshit or half truths before release.
 

StueyDuck

Member
🤣🤣🤣🤣 wtf they smoking. They added ray tracing and made the game 15% more like the original game they promised people.
 

Tomeru

Member
Not sure 100% because I didn't listen to him much, but fact is: most people expected different game to what they got with SF. BS/Todd had to tell some bullshit or half truths before release.
I know, unless my english is really bad or I messed up - I said that taking notes wont stop todd from pulling things outta his ass. Basically, the way bethesda develop games hasn't changed in the last 20 years and is just now biting their ass (MAYBE).

But their loyal fans don't care, so I guess any point I make is moot 💁🏻‍♂️
 
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Deerock71

Member
I hate this bullshit propaganda. How many times have we heard this story by now? Is this gonna be a new norm? Release a broken game, lie to your customers, disappoint everyone, but then get showered with praise a few years later when you finally finish making the damn thing?

how-high-reggie-noble.gif


Good for them for finally fixing the game, but I really have a problem with how stories like that are being framed because it only normalises the issue and encourages other publishers to pull the same tricks on us. Don't think for a second that anyone should forget about the disaster that it was 3 years ago and how they took everyone's money for an early access version without telling anyone that it's gonna be an early access.
Battlefield 2043 next, pls.
 

LordCBH

Member
It was never a disaster. It was a game with few bugs that was essentially witcher3 in a city but people expected it to be gta.
People overhype how bad games are

I’ve finished it just fine on release.

Did you play on PC or console at release? Because the console version was astoundingly awful. It was, in fact, a disaster.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Did you play on PC or console at release? Because the console version was astoundingly awful. It was, in fact, a disaster.
pc on a 3080.
I got 3080 on it's release and cynerpunk came out very shortly after. So of course it was great
 

Vblad88

Member
Those overhaul patches are Paynin' Diaz. I liked the game back when it was 1.5 patch I guess (I don't remember well), ain't gonna touch version 2.0 as they probably changed interface as they did with Witcher 3 among other things. They have no idea what they are doing - or it is a backdoor GaaS-ing of single player games. In a few years, reaching a consensus on how we rate games would be nearly impossible - someone will remember Day One versions differently than GOTY. Thank you No Man Sky, pioneers of scraping the progress from retail released games because of ill-considered mechanics. Great Job CDPR, go punk yourself.
 

DryvBy

Gold Member
I finished the game, have the platinum because I played the vanilla so much (I only hit 2 bugs in the game that stood out). Why are people freaking out about 2.0?
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
It's so good to have something that genuinely launches PC to the forefront again.

This looks absolutely bonkers and the wizardry that nvidia tech is pulling off on this game is jaw dropping.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
I finished the game, have the platinum because I played the vanilla so much (I only hit 2 bugs in the game that stood out). Why are people freaking out about 2.0?
they overhauled the progression system (again) and made changes to police behavior, AI, etc.

FWIW I popped in the game last night because ND-OSU was boring and 8 hours later I finished act 1. I rarely, rarely, almost never play vidya like that, like not getting up from my seat in 3 hours. I thought it was unbelievably good. Maybe I'm just a normie but I had so much fun and can't wait to get back into it.
 
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The cybernetics overhaul changes the game completely imo.

Even the gun mods seem to change things more than anything ever did before.
 

ANDS

Banned
Not even bothering with any article that uses the word "flop" to describe a wildly successful launch that was marred by a company being forced to release their game on weak hardware.

. . . this is "engagement journalism" at it's worst.
 

Imtjnotu

Member
I poured a lot of hours into the game. It improved a lot. This time.. it feels almost like a new game with the new 2.0 Patch. I barely recognize it on a new playthrough, after many months hiatus, after beating it. 9/10
i only made it two hours in back when it released. might have to re install and give it another shot
 

DrFigs

Member
The game was a huge success at launch. so already the premise of the article is wrong. And it was also just a good game. Yeah it was buggy but the base game itself was well crafted. I really enjoyed it on the ps5 at launch even though it would crash every 30 minutes on me.
 

Nankatsu

Member
Game was bad at launch. As someone who played it on PC during that time, and although I had fun with it, game was a pretty nice mess.

It's nice that they managed to complete their redemption arc and Cyberpunk 2077 is now a completely different game, but that is not an excuse to release a half-backed videogame.

More and more this is the industry norm and it shouldn't be.

I'll be sure to get the complete edition for PS5 when it drops.
 
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