Wow. What a journey.

As CDPR games go, this one relies heavily on the world around you. The main story is there, and it's not as long as you might think - it might take you a bit over 8 hours to finish the game if you ignore all of the side content.

But what if you change your mentality about the side content and considered it as stories of their own?

This is why I'm singing praises to the writers of this game. Most of the side quests in this game are actually side stories and I find them all very entertaining. From Delamain quests to River's investigation, from Judy's storyline to Johnny's narrative - it's all very well written, and, in all honesty? The entire main story felt like a side quest. But in the end of it, all you will have left is a dried heart and a lot of tears. CDPR writing team never fails to completely obliterate anyone who gets to experience their stories.

The world of CP2077 - in this case, Night City - feels alive. At certain point when you complete everything in the game (you go through every side story, complete every checkmark on the map, get all the achievements, etc), you might feel like there isn't much left to do. All there is for you to do is to enjoy the city and be the most powerful thing in existence. There's always police chases, there's always hostile gangs, and there's always places to go.

And while we're on topic of enemies - the gameplay. For CDPR's first take on First Person Shooters with RPG elements, the gameplay basics were very well executed. The AI itself, not so much. If you played any of Far Cry games after Far Cry 3, you will get the same sense of familiarity with this one. Otherwise, the VAST majority of gameplay elements remind me of The Outer Worlds - the regions for clothes, the ammo types, the weapons, weapon modifications, the weight system, the crafting system, the consumables, the stealth system, the time slowdown mechanics, and even the skill trees. All of it feels like a carbon copy of The Outer Worlds. And, personally? I'm not against it. I really liked The Outer Worlds, and seeing so many familiarities between that game and Cyberpunk 2077? A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. What makes CP2077 stand out is the Cyberdeck. You may treat them like spells that damage your enemies, apply some nerfs to them or act as an utility. And as someone who loves this sort of gameplay, Stealth Netrunner was my go-to build for the entire game.

Speaking of. The game provides you with dozens of components for you to choose from and adjust your gameplay according to your preferences. I'm personally running a legendary Netwatch Netrunner build with AOE quickhack spread. It's a very lazy build, but it's ridiculously overpowered if you prefer to play in stealth.

The other real option is Sandevistan, and it's for those who prefer open and dynamic combat. If you ever wanted to know how it would feel to use King Crimson - that's as close as it gets. The biggest downside of it for me, however, was the complete absence of any quickhacks.

And the music. The Witcher 3 had a very medieval score and I wasn't sure if CDPR could muster something futuristic. Boy, was I cathegorically wrong. CP2077 has an amazing soundtrack, and for me, it's up there along with Breath of the Wild and Freelancer. Judy's romance theme is stuck with me for a good week now.

It took me a bit over 85 hours to complete this game. Now I'm waiting in hybernation for the DLC and - hopefully - New Game+.