“Cyberpunk 2077” was set to be one of the biggest games for new generation consoles in 2020. The original release date was April 2020, however, they released it much later on Dec. 10, 2020. The game costs around $45 to $60 which is average for most new Xbox games. Unfortunately, many players were left disappointed. There were no released gameplay clips for last-generation consoles and caused a lot of confusion when the game came out and wasn’t up to standards. There were graphics issues on the Xbox One which caused the game to be unable to run. 

Since it has decades of lore to go through, the most important thing to know if you’re going to get into “Cyberpunk 2077” is that this set in an America that is far different than the America we know. Night City, where most of the game occurs, is a heavily populated, crime-ridden area.  Most people make a living with illegal technology or jobs supporting or combatting the megacorporations that own just about everything. V, the character that you play as, has a lot of different jobs. You can customize V’s background, gender, voice and more.

I chose the Streetkid route which means that V grew up on the streets of Night City. The life path you choose doesn’t impact the overall game too much, though. V goes through a series of tutorial-like missions until the main plot gets started. They were stealing a biochip implant called the relic that gave immortality to a man named Dexter DeShawn. The temperature of the biochip dropped because of the damaged container and V ends up putting the biochip on themself. This and a few other outside elements caused V to relive memories of rebel ex-military deserter Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves). Silverhand’s consciousness inside of V’s mind causes them to start dying because of it. The rest of the story follows the attempt to save V and save others along the way. I thought the plot was interesting and I enjoyed the option to converse with most of the characters. “Cyberpunk 2077” has been critiqued for multiple reasons but has also been praised for its progressiveness in romantic subplots and especially in the way players can customize their characters. Sexuality and gender are two very prominent components of life nowadays and it’s great to see a video game represent that. 

Overall, my Xbox One S has hardly any trouble running the game and although there have been a few glitches, they are minor and haven’t prevented me from playing the game. “Cyberpunk 2077” is overall better than people have been saying. All of the complaints I was reading online prepared me for horrible graphics and glitches every two minutes but it runs quite smoothly despite my older generation console. 

The gameplay is about 20 hours, so if you’re looking for a short plot, look no further. It’s a good balance between dialogue and actual gameplay so you won’t be bored skipping through it. Before buying the game, read up on “Cyberpunk” lore because it’s heavily detailed and interesting for some. If you don’t, you won’t be lost in-game but it is helpful to understand the politics of the game’s cities and states. “Cyberpunk” gets a good review from me despite setbacks in release date and gameplay problems.