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Jaxon Arnette explains how the company behind the Cyberpunk franchise has managed to revive itself.
Is the cyberpunk franchise back?
Is the cyberpunk franchise back?
By Jaxon Arnette
By Jaxon Arnette
Three years after its initial release, Cyberpunk 2077 is back. With the brand new 2.0 update, the game is completely overhauled with new and improved features and gameplay. Many of the complaints that gamers initially had with Cyberpunk are now fixed. While the journey to this point was rough, CD Projekt Red and the fans still held onto hope for this title, even years after its release…but how did CD Projekt Red do this?
On Sept. 13, 2022, Netflix released an anime adaptation of Cyberpunk 2077, almost two years after the game's release, called Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. This show captivated the hearts of fans and newcomers to the series. The show was just an overall enjoyable experience that got many people back on Cyberpunk. IGN says “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners delivers a satisfying return to Night City that does a better job exploring why Mike Pondsmith’s famous location became so iconic in the first place.” People who abandoned the game after its initial release were unaware that CD Projekt Red were making constant updates and patches to the game so, when they got on after a year, they were surprised to see the game was slightly better. According to GamesRadar, after the release of Edgerunners, Cyberpunk sold a total of 20 million copies. While the game was still far from perfect, the show made people eager to delve into the world of Cyberpunk once again.
Image from Cyberpunk Wiki
With the combination of the exciting release of the Edgerunners and now the new 2.0 update, Cyberpunk is back. People now can get on the game and play it how they have wanted to since its release. What makes this new update so good, though? Well, some of the main critiques of the game on its release day were game-breaking bugs, poor gameplay that could not compete with other games of the time, and just not meeting the expectations that the company set. With the new 2.0 update, however, these problems are nonexistent.
Images from GameRant and PCGamesN
The game is actually playable and, when running into a bug in the game, it does not actually break your game and it is usually something small the player can laugh off. The bugs used to make textures not load, missions overall not work, and basic functions in the game would not do what they were supposed to. The actual gameplay was also lacking during its release. The gunplay felt clunky and dated and didn't live up to the action-packed expectations that the company made. The skills in the game felt mostly useless and overly complicated but, now, CD Projekt Red completely rewrote all the skills in the game to properly attribute to players' playstyles. Instead of having pointless skills that don't really do anything significant, the skills you pick will ultimately determine the playstyle of your character.
To go alongside with the new update, CD Projekt Red released a new expansion of the game called Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty. This new DLC has proved to be a great addition to the game. It has a great slow-burn story that can refresh players old and new. This new DLC gives fans something new to do in the world of Cyberpunk and the dedicated fans will latch on to anything with the Cyberpunk name associated with it. Metacritic, a site used to critique games, RPG Site states “With Cyberpunk 2077 version 2.0 and Phantom Liberty combined, the result is undeniable: this game is excellent. The original game is drastically improved, if not transformed, by the combination of the free 2.0 and paid Phantom Liberty additions...If Cyberpunk 2077 had released in this state, it might’ve been lauded as an instant classic, an all-time great - but the fact that this has arrived two years late shouldn’t detract too much from the strength of the experience.” This review really holds up because getting on Cyberpunk now feels so refreshing and makes the experience feel like what it should've been all along.
Image from CD Projekt Red
The transformation of Cyberpunk 2077 is something that fans have been eagerly waiting for and, now that it is finally here, fans couldn't be happier. The complete rehaul of the game came years late but has finally made the game into the spectacle that it's supposed to be.
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