Is Cyberpunk worth buying now in 2024?
As a long-time gamer and content creator focused on RPGs, I couldn‘t be more enthused to wholeheartedly recommend picking up Cyberpunk 2077 in 2024. This ambitious game set in the stunning futuristic city of Night City had a notoriously rocky launch back in 2020 riddled with glitches and performance issues. However, over the past 2 years, developers CD Projekt Red have worked tirelessly to fix the myriad of technical problems – resulting in a massively improved game that finally delivers on its enormous potential.
With impactful storytelling, incredible sights and sounds that immerse you in this dystopian world, and some of the deepest RPG progression systems out there, Cyberpunk 2077 deserves a second chance from players who wrote it off early on. Trust me when I say this sprawling saga has evolved into something really special particularly with the upcoming Phantom Liberty DLC arriving in 2024. Let‘s get into the details so you can see why now is the time to grab this diamond in the rough!
Cyberpunk 2077 in 2024: What‘s Improved and Brand New
The most important change in Cyberpunk 2077 now compared to launch is straight up playability and stability. As per the official 1.6 patch notes from CDPR, over 500 fixes were implemented to address crashes, visual bugs, gameplay problems, quest blocks and quality of life annoyances. Just take a look at this snippet of the enormous list of patches:
| Issue | Fix |
| Game crashing when entering areas with lots of foliage | Optimized foliage rendering to reduce chance of crash |
| Silverhand‘s arm appearing in wrong spot during Johnny/V interactions | Fixed limb positioning |
| Car tires bouncing excessively | Improved vehicle suspension logic |
| "The Heist" main job getting blocked | Fixed condition causing progression block |
You get the picture – hundreds of irritants big and small squashed. This compiled with under-the-hood performance optimizations such as improved memory management on PCs and consoles makes for a butter smooth 60 FPS experience.
But it‘s not just about fixes – a bunch of new features have been introduced over various free DLC updates that enhance different aspects of the game:
- Transmog System: Allows changing armor appearance without affecting stats
- Alternate Vehicle Handling Modes: New driving models for different preferences
- Vehicle Customization: Visual & performance tweaks for rides
- Cross-Progression Support: Share saves between platforms
- Quality of Life Improvements: Better menus, minimaps, tutorials etc.
While these were completely free drops, 2023 brings the paid major expansion called Phantom Liberty starring Idris Elba as a new character. Very exciting stuff!
Oh and let‘s not forget the game now runs wonderfully on next-gen consoles after dedicated PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades. You can appreciate Night City‘s neon-drenched visual splendor in buttery smooth 4K 60 FPS glory.
Cyberpunk 2077‘s Worldbuilding & Storytelling Still Shines
Now that we‘ve established the game actually runs properly following its "No Man‘s Sky-style" redemption arc, the other pillar that makes Cyberpunk so special is Night City itself. The incredible art direction built on the pen-and-paper Cyberpunk universe makes this dystopian megalopolis overflowing with colorful characters one of the most stunningly realized in all of gaming.
From the sun-drenched corpo plazas of City Center to the neon-bathed alleyways of Japantown to the desolate Badlands on the outskirts, Night City is just begging to be explored. And what treats await as you take on jobs for fixers, befriend gang lieutenants or uncover corporate conspiracies! The stories told here featuring multiple endings and genuinely difficult choices stay true to the genre by questioning transhumanism and rampant capitalism pushed to extremes.
It‘s also worth reiterating that character creator is exceptionally robust especially after patch 1.6 decoupled gender appearance from voice allowing for greater identity expression – embodying the cyberpunk ethos by transcending boundaries.
As my nomad V drifter hero character rolled into town dreaming of hustling his way into major leagues of mercing, I became enveloped into this gritty world where violence erupts yet humanity perseveres.
Satisfying Core RPG Gameplay Loops
Beyond the stellar worldbuilding, where Cyberpunk also delivers bigtime is the deeply satisfying RPG gameplay loops centered around gunplay, hacking systems and character progression across four distinct classes.
The gunplay featuring over 66 unique weapons feels fantastic with plenty of impact, a slick slide maneuver and brutal finishers – shotgun rushing through a scav hideout never gets old. Mixing stealth hacks that can manipulate machinery along with parkour movement creates interesting infiltration opportunities as well in sprawling level design.
Speaking of hacking, the Netrunner/hacker class opens up even more strategic possibilities with a literal digital toolkit that can turn enemy weapons or vehicles against them! I enjoyed toggling between stealth quickhacks, tanky defensive protocols and deadly offensive daemon viruses to great effect against formidable corporate security forces.
Whenever I unlocked a new badass katana or a latent quickhack like the Projectile Launch quickhack that weaponizes enemy grenades against them, I felt my character tangibly get more powerful reflected through my options in tackling missions.
And we haven‘t even gotten to the crazy weapon and cyberware mods or the player choice-driven dialogues with branching consequences during pivotal story moments! Everything from custom HUD skins to epic loot rewards make character progression insanely addictive and rewarding as you mold V into a top-tier mercerary.
Some Valid Criticisms and Controversies Around Launch
In keeping with an objective review focused on helping players decide for themselves, I have to acknowledge Cyberpunk 2077 absolutely bungled aspects of its launch – primarily technical performance and failing to show the actual console experience.
Choppy framerates, frequent crashes and buggy open world behavior created massive backlash around promises made versus the reality on OG PS4/Xbox One hardware. Fueled by years of excessive hype, delay after delay and suspicious review guidelines, disappointed fans felt deceived.
Controversy also erupted due to insensitivity around an in-game ad depicting a trans model designed to critique hypersexualization by corporations ironically leading to accusations of exploitation by CDPR instead.
These accumulated controversies coupled with the technical debacle created an online firestorm and immense financial blowback including Sony pulling the game from its digital store temporarily.
The Verdict: Cyberpunk 2077 Deserves Your Attention in 2024
However, over the last 2 years, CD Projekt Red have worked extremely hard to steadily improve technical issues, introduce new features, expand content through free DLCs and rebuild community trust by communicating frequently and allowing refunds.
As a big fan of RPGs, I am thrilled to see Cyberpunk 2077 make this remarkable comeback and achieve its obvious potential following a very rough launch. With so much added and an exciting expansion lined up starring Hollywood talent, Night City has never been more alluring to enter especially at a discount.
Between the 60+ hours it takes to complete the sprawling cinematic story along with the myriad quality side hustles and open world stories that react to your choices, Cyberpunk 2077 in its current state provides tremendous value and bang for your buck. If you enjoy narrative-driven open worlds stacked with gameplay options from shooting and hacking to driving and romancing, do yourself a favor and jack into Cyberpunk 2077. I can‘t recommend it enough in 2024!
So what do you think – are you ready to give this ambitious and impressive cyberpunk RPG another chance? Sound off in the comments!
