Finally Became the Game It Was Meant to Be

Story

The main story of Cyberpunk 2077 follows V, a mercenary in a city that eats people alive. After a botched heist leaves you with the digital ghost of rock legend Johnny Silverhand in your head, you’re forced to share your mind and fight for survival. That setup leads to one of the most personal and engaging narratives in modern gaming.

What makes the story shine is its humanity. For all the chrome and neon, it’s about people trying to matter in a world that forgets them. The relationship between V and Johnny is complex and layered. Johnny, played by Keanu Reeves, is not just a sidekick or an antagonist. He’s a mirror that forces V to question who they are and what kind of legacy they’ll leave behind.

The story also does a great job of balancing the main narrative with deeply written side quests. Characters like Panam, Judy, River, and Kerry each have full storylines that could stand alone. Their arcs explore loyalty, love, and regret in ways that make the city feel alive.

Then there’s Phantom Liberty, the expansion that turns Cyberpunk 2077 into something even more compelling. It shifts the focus from corporate drama to espionage and betrayal. Idris Elba’s Solomon Reed is a fascinating counterpart to Johnny, representing a different kind of idealism. Phantom Liberty is tighter, darker, and arguably stronger than the main story. It proves that the world of Cyberpunk works just as well when told through the lens of politics and secrecy as it does through rebellion and survival.

Few RPGs manage to deliver a story that is both epic in scale and intimate in execution. Cyberpunk 2077 does both with confidence.

Gameplay

Underneath the story is one of the most flexible gameplay systems in the genre. Cyberpunk 2077 mixes first-person shooting with deep RPG customization, and the result is a game that feels fluid and rewarding.

The gunplay is excellent. Each weapon type has its own weight and rhythm. Precision rifles and revolvers hit with authority, shotguns tear through enemies, and smart weapons let you play tactically from a distance. The melee combat, once awkward, has been refined. Swords, hammers, and mantis blades all feel powerful and satisfying to use.

The skill trees and cyberware systems give players real freedom to shape how they play. The 2.0 update rebuilt the perks into clear, impactful choices. Instead of passive stat boosts, most upgrades now give you new ways to play. You can focus on stealth, hacking, melee, or heavy combat and each feels like a distinct playstyle.

Netrunners can clear an entire room without firing a shot by overheating enemies and shutting down cameras. A stealth build can cloak, assassinate, and vanish before alarms go off. A brute-force build can crash through walls and throw enemies across the room. The system encourages experimentation, and every build feels powerful in its own way.

The only weak spot is vehicle handling. Cars often feel floaty and unpredictable, especially when turning or braking. Motorcycles are much better, but the physics can still break immersion at times. It’s not enough to drag the gameplay down, but it stands out next to the polish in every other system.

Exploration

Night City might be the most visually impressive urban world ever built in a game. Every street, billboard, and building feels designed with purpose. The lighting, color, and density create a sense of scale that few open worlds achieve.

Walking through the streets is an experience in itself. You can hear people arguing in alleys, smell the street food vendors in your imagination, and watch rain bounce off the chrome and glass. The city feels alive at every turn.

But exploration in Cyberpunk 2077 has limits. For all its skyscrapers, most of the world is horizontal. You can’t enter many of the tall buildings, and there’s not much to discover above street level. The illusion of verticality is strong, but it doesn’t always translate into gameplay depth.

Outside the city, the Badlands stretch for miles, offering a welcome contrast to the neon chaos of Night City. The deserts feel lonely and harsh, dotted with abandoned refineries and crumbling shacks. Yet once you’ve seen them, there’s not much reason to go back. The world outside the city lacks the density that makes Night City itself so engaging.

Phantom Liberty improves exploration dramatically. Dogtown feels different from the rest of the map. It’s vertical, layered, and full of hidden encounters. It shows what Cyberpunk 2077 could have been if more of the game’s districts were designed with that level of density and interactivity.

Compared to something like GTA V or Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077 feels smaller but more focused. The world is less about size and more about texture. It’s not a playground you roam for hours at random. It’s a city you inhabit, one that rewards immersion over discovery.

Immersion

If there’s one thing Cyberpunk 2077 does better than almost any other game, it’s atmosphere.

From the moment you step into Night City, the game wraps you in its world. The hum of traffic, the flicker of neon lights, and the pulse of electronic music all work together to pull you in. Even standing still in the middle of a crowd can feel cinematic.

The first-person perspective enhances that immersion. You don’t just watch V’s story unfold, you live it. Conversations happen up close. Gunfights feel chaotic and immediate. The camera never cuts away, which makes every moment feel grounded and personal.

The sound design deserves special praise. Each district sounds different, from the bass-heavy industrial tones of Watson to the sleek corporate ambiance of City Center. The soundtrack itself is unforgettable, blending dark synth and ambient tones that perfectly match the mood of the world.

There’s something hypnotic about the way Cyberpunk 2077 makes you feel like you’re part of a living city. It’s not just the visuals. It’s the way people move, the way rain falls, and the way the music changes as you cross from one block to another.

The result is one of the most immersive gaming experiences ever created. Even after finishing the story, it’s easy to lose hours simply wandering and soaking it in.

Replayability

Cyberpunk 2077 is built for multiple playthroughs.

Each lifepath – Street Kid, Corpo, or Nomad – gives you a different start and unique dialogue options. They don’t rewrite the entire story, but they add flavor and context that makes a second or third run worthwhile.

The variety of builds also changes how the game feels. Playing as a netrunner is completely different from playing as a brawler. Hacking lets you manipulate the world from the shadows, turning security systems against your enemies. A stealth build rewards patience and precision, where every encounter is a puzzle to solve. A combat-focused build is pure chaos, all speed and aggression, with bullets and explosions lighting up every street.

Each playthrough gives you new reasons to approach missions differently. Even side quests take on new meaning depending on how you’ve built your character. You might intimidate your way through one encounter in one run, then outsmart or out-hack your enemies in another.

The game’s endings also invite replaying. Your choices with Johnny, your allies, and even minor characters can change how the story concludes. Phantom Liberty doubles that replay value with a branching narrative that leads to entirely different outcomes.

The 2.0 overhaul also made respeccing easy, so experimenting is encouraged. You can reinvent your build mid-game and experience a fresh take on familiar missions. That flexibility keeps the game engaging long after the credits roll.

Final Thoughts

Cyberpunk 2077 is a story about second chances. That theme applies to both its protagonist and its development history. V fights to reclaim their life from a system that tries to erase them. CD Projekt Red did the same thing with the game itself. They took something broken and rebuilt it until it became something worth believing in.

The end result is a game that’s both thrilling and reflective. It asks questions about power, identity, and what it means to live authentically in a world that rewards control. Night City is a warning and a dream, a place where everyone wants to be someone, even if it costs them everything.

For all its imperfections, Cyberpunk 2077 stands as one of the most impressive and memorable games of its generation. The gunplay feels incredible, the story leaves a mark, and the world pulls you in like few others can.

If you played it at launch and walked away disappointed, this is your invitation to return. The game that exists today is not just fixed. It’s transformed. And if you’re new to Night City, there has never been a better time to dive in.

Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t just a redemption story. It’s proof that great games can earn redemption too.