So I'm 34 hours into the game, I've done a mix of main and side quests and a whole lot of just following interest points on the map.
My experience of Cyberpunk so far is that it feels like I've played it before, nothing feels new. It's like a mix of GTA and Far Cry only it doesn't quite feel as well refined as those games. For example cars dont drive aswell as GTA, night city feels like GTA5 but more clumbsy and difficult to navigate. The first person gunplay doesn't feel quite as satisfying and fluid as Far Cry (yes I know Cyberpunk is an RPG, but its built to play like an fps...)
It also needs quality of life adjustments. The UI, map, item menus and journal all need an overhaul because it's difficult to follow what quests what and where it is on the map because all markers look alike. The enemies, knowing whose who and what the markers mean, how do the police work etc. Knowing how to do things, what you can and can't do in stealth mode, menus seem hidden in strange places, how to craft, where to find items you need, who the hell is the person calling you and WHY are they calling you.. etc.
There's a lot of fun in the game but it's sad that it took me like 20 hours in to get to grips with how to play and how the game works. But my biggest gripe with the game and the one I'm most surprised about so far, is how poorly the story progresses and the lack of a substantial introduction to it's world for the player. There's very little organic flow to character introductions, the people that call you for jobs, of story events, of why V's motivated to do the things he does etc etc. There's no agency in the protagonist until Jonnhy Silverhand comes along (which saved V's character because he was downright generic until that part).
I think this might be more of a personal preference thing but I genuinely don't think the first-person perspective has helped story and narration at all. CDPR's main strengths, what they excell at, is story telling, world building and atmosphere. So far I'm only seeing it in bits and pieces. Personally I think story events and character driven moments in the game would have worked so much better if they were done in third person, cinematic style. Like leave the gameplay first-person but animate the cutscenes in the style of Witcher 3. I actually thought this was how it was going to be done because of the gameplay footage they released last year when you do the mission with Jackie and he's bleeding out in the car? It was all animated cinematically and looked great. Now it just feels like I'm playing Far Cry, events don't hold the weight they should and I feel like I'm missing the heart of the story and it's characters.
I know this is negative. It's certainly not a bad game, it's just very different to what I was expecting, no doubt due to the insane hype over the game. Needless to say, after settling down with the game and resetting my expectations, I'm enjoying it for what it is now. I think I'm about half way through the game and I'm looking forward to completing it and seeing what else it'll throw at me. It's just, when comparing it to the standards that the Witcher 3 set, this falls short by quite a bit. It's hindered by iffy design decisions and gameplay systems that needed longer in development.
