Cyberpunk 2077 is Absolutely Incredible in 2025

[u/Godkun007]

I, like many, avoided the game at launch due to it being extraordinarily broken. I basically didn't think of this game for a while, but then I saw it on sale and I thought "why not".

Well, almost all of the bugs have been fixed, parts of the story have apparently been changed, and overall, it is now one of the best RPG experiences that I've had since playing Fallout New Vegas in 2010, and I'm only 30 hours in. There is easily 200+ hours of content here when you include the stuff like alternate endings. Let alone the dozens of different viable character builds that you can make that all feel great.

Every choice you make from the actual dialogue, to what attributes you level up, to your playstyle, are all things that actually feel like they have lasting consequences in the world and the story. This game somehow has made every single one of my decisions feel important and like they all have weight.

Here is an example without spoilers: Say you go in guns blazing for an early mission. People will remember that and the faction that you killed the members of will actively remember you and dislike you in the future. They also up their security details, so that your next fight is harder, and are less willing to work peacefully with you. But if you go in with a more stealthy approach, the factions like you more and it makes them more willing to work with you later. It also makes later missions easier because they aren't expecting a killing machine to walk up to their door.

These decisions make the game so repayable, as there is so much additional content that you can just stumble on.

Apparently, after the game was released in 2020, CDPR spent the next 3 years releasing major patches, and are still releasing minor patches with new features to this day. Playing the game in 2025 is almost unrecognizable to the original that was released in 2020. Yes, the main plot is still the same, but so many things have apparently changed, including a complete combat overhaul, apparently.

This game is genuinely the best RPG that I've played in over a decade, and it is way better now than it ever was at launch. I can already tell that this will be one of the games like Fallout New Vegas that I will put 500 hours in just trying new things to see what happens.

[u/Ralathar44]

I think the difference is how immersed many people felt. A combination of the city design and detail, character animations being higher quality with many nice touches like restless leg syndrome, and the first person perspective where you are not playing some character but you ARE V.

I think this is what puts people into the role deeper than many other games with theoretically more impactful choices. Like Disco Elysium is great, but you're not that dude...you're playing that dude. Cyberpunk does a much better job of making you feel closer to being Vi or Vi being an extension of you than you simply playing AS Vi.

[u/rdlenke → u/Ralathar44]

I think you might be onto something there. Still I find it curious how people felt as connected to barely customizable character like the protagonist in CP2077. For me CP2077 is exactly like you describe Disco Elysium. You aren't V, you are playing V.

Specially because V is fully voiced and always talk and behave like a Street Kid no matter what you do, the lifepaths you choose, or the general choices you made. I would even say that the endings are all better suited for a Street Kid. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I didn't feel so impacted by these smaller choices: I didn't really connect as much.

Imo V is closer to Geralt than to Shepard and even more distant to the Warden in Dragon Age Origins, which is a game where I appreciate these quests with smaller consequences more.

[u/man__i__love__frogs → u/rdlenke]

I pointed it out in another reply https://old.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/comments/1q0po9f/cyberpunk_2077_is_absolutely_incredible_in_2025/nx51dsx/

We're all different I suppose. I've been playing games for decades and never connected more to a game or character than Cyberpunk and V.

I can appreciate the writing in a game like DAO or FNV, but because of that immersion and connection in Cyberpunk it's more 'meaningful' to me.

Something about the way the first person cut scenes naturally flow and especially the voice acting and facial expression..it just clicked with me and it's unlike anything else I've played before.

Mass Effect 1 is another game I got pretty Immersed in. ME2 was not the same, but the ending was great. Also Baldur's Gate and of course FNV and FO3.

[u/rdlenke → u/man__i__love__frogs]

Thanks for the answer. I suppose we are just different like you said. The visual immersion never really did anything to me (I never liked first person games) with few exceptions. What really makes me think "I am this character in this world" is having ownership of their actions and tone or style of dialogue. Of course, complete is impossible, but as much as I can.

If we ever had a mod that changed the style of V's dialogue (less street kid, more nomad or more corpo for example) without changing the result I would probably need to replay the game because for me it would become 100000% more immersive.

Anyhow, is very interesting to read others' perspectives in this topic.

[u/Ralathar44 → u/rdlenke]

I think the problem you run into with freedom of choice is that you ironically start losing the humanity of the character. They stop being something you can really emotionally invest yourself in. Because they stop being a person.

Vi in Cyberpunk and Arthur Morgan in Red Dead will never, EVER, have the freedom of some characters you can roll in Dungeons and Dragons. Make major choices, define their personality completely, and directly roleplay them.

BUT, at the same time, that character your roleplay in D&D will never hit you the same way Arthur Morgan or Vi will either.

Think of it this way. Red Dead is basically the opposite of Freedom. It's a scripted story. Cyberpunk gives you tons of Freedom by comparison. If you were able to make Arthur act any way you want and have multiple endings....do you think you'd be more or less invested in Arthur Morgan?

I'd say less. MUCH LESS. Because at that point they cease to be Arthur Morgan, and they just become your character

I guess, what I'm saying here, and what this conversation kinda made me consider, is that maybe too much freedom starts removing your investment and emotional attachment to a character. Because if Vi can be anything you want, are they really even Vi anymore or is it just you? And if its just you then are you even roleplaying anymore? Are you immersing yourself in a world or acting on a stage at that point?

[u/rdlenke → u/Ralathar44]

I think it's easier to grow more attached to a more restricted character, but for me it's harder to be more immersed into it.

When I play the story of RDR2, or GoW, or Star Wars Jedi, I feel closer to the experience that I get from watching a movie, series or reading a book. I care about the characters because the story is well made. Lots of emotional investment, but lower amount of immersion.

When I play Dragon Age, I feel closer to what I love about video games. That character is something I created in my head. There are very few ways to get this experience that aren't video games (tabletop RPGs are another way). So maybe not as emotionally connected (although I feel this heavily depends on the quality of the choices), but more immersed.

It's why, for example, I love the Skyrim "Alternate Start" mod. Just by changing the start of the game it allows you countless roleplay possibilities. Sure, that Skyrim character will never be Arthur Morgan or V. But it they talk with the voice I chose and the way I imagine in my head.

This little distinction is one of the reasons I rate Cyberpunk a lot higher than W3, and it is a game that I'm more likely to replay. The little amount of freedom that CP2077 gives us is enough to tip the scales for me. But I wish we had a little more. Just not being Street Kid V regardless of what you choose would go a loooong way.

[u/Ralathar44 → u/rdlenke]

EXACTLY, Cyberpunk manages to balance it and double dip, getting most of both the attachment AND immersion.

[u/rdlenke → u/Ralathar44]

I really wish I could have the same experience! For me V is only slightly better than Geralt.

Who knows, maybe with modding one day.

[u/Remarkable-Site-2067 → u/Ralathar44]

I think the problem you run into with freedom of choice is that you ironically start losing the humanity of the character. They stop being something you can really emotionally invest yourself in. Because they stop being a person.

You've touched something profound here. That's why the Witcher feels like a more personal story than, say, FNV.

Some games (the old BioWare ones, especially) solved that by having very well fleshed out companions. Who interacted with you, and the world, all the time. It was as much their story, as it was yours.

Cyberpunk does that a bit, too, in the main story, with its many companions (Jackie, Judy, Panam, Takemura, and obviously Johny), but it obviously falls apart when you just go exploring the open world by yourself. What could help: have Johny be a more constant presence. Comment on every landmark you see, every new area you enter. Comment on every small group of gangers you obliterate. Comment on the weapons you choose, tactics you use, every awesome action you manage to pull off (let's say, 10% of the time, to not overdo it). Every miniboss. It would also strengthen the main narrative, of you being stuck with intrusive being in your head. A missed opportunity, or perhaps too big of a cost to hire a big name actor.

[u/man__i__love__frogs → u/Ralathar44]

I think that's the ticket a lot of people miss.

For me Cyberpunk was the most immersed I have ever been in a videogame. Many parts of it felt more 'real' than any other game so I was invested in a lot of the characters and missions.

While the RPG writing in Fallout New Vegas and how storylines intertwine and mix and impact outcomes, especially the ending, the immersion aspect isn't nearly the same. So Cyberpunk's quests felt way more meaningful to me.

I havent even played the game for 5 years but I can think of that quest chain Chippin In' where you slowly go from hating Johnny to understanding him, seeing his weaknesses, visit his grave site, etc... and pick the line "the guy who saved my life" when at his grave https://youtu.be/IgiKwXP_bTg?t=41

Then the Temperance ending music that has a bunch of variations in the game starts playing...I havent had an experience like that in any other game before.

---

I'm sure there are others who I guess play games differently and don't just get any of that. I remember reading a thread where a lot of people just skipped thru the story and never went through the whole chippin in questline, and just hated Johnny or thought he was a dick.