Cyberpunk 2077 is not a cyberpunk-themed Grand Theft Auto. Very few decisions by the player fundamentally impact non-scripted NPCs or have a palpable impact on environmental mechanics, let alone the story's narrative. The player cannot deck out their homes, build relationships with any NPC of their choosing, or play craps at a futuristic casino.
The beautiful world of Cyberpunk 2077 -- composed of Night City's soaring skyscrapers (which the player cannot explore due to a lack of verticality; the player can only roam the streets on foot or in vehicles and explore select floors of select buildings), twisting highways, gritty alleyways, bodies of water, and even a desert wasteland ("Badlands") -- is limited to garden-variety sidequests: 1.) Aiding NPCs by incapacitating a gang or gathering items/intel or 2.) exploring every nook and cranny of the city for malfunctioning vehicles, Tarot cards, or graffiti. The player does not have the luxury to shape Night City, which is wonderfully realized and beautifully architected, or dissect how your actions disturb the goings-on of its residents.
In addition to these shortcomings are the myriad bugs, crashes, and glitches that detract from or interfere with the gameplay and story events. At best, these issues distract from dialog or actions of NPCs or objects with whom the player is interacting; at worst, these issues force the player to restart the game or reload previous checkpoints that were ostensibly more stable.
Despite the performance issues and the lack of features offered by some of the most refined open-world games from the nigh-indominable Rockstar Games, Cyberpunk 2077 excels in delivering well-crafted characters and an interesting story. Indeed, the most memorably aspects of this game are derived from personal sidequests by secondary characters, in which V, the game's protagonist, comes to their aid, or the main quest, in which V must confront a condition -- brought on by the Keanu Reeves' character, Johnny Silverhand -- that will eventually kill them. The main quest and select sidequests offer a great deal of gameplay variety, from sneaking into a warehouse to gather items and intel, to scuba diving and exploring the ruins of an NPC's childhood home that is now located at the bottom of a lake. The stories of secondary characters Panam, Judy, Rogue, or River will likely strike a chord with players in more than one way. This is a remarkable accomplishment by the game's developers that cannot be overlooked.
Another strong element of Cyberpunk 2077 is its fun, varied gameplay. Whether using "hacking" skills, non-lethal melee weapons, a plethora of firearms, stealth takedowns, or a combination of any of these, Cyberpunk 2077 allows the player to explore a variety of situations in a number of different ways, with the exception of certain scripted sequences that force the player into non-stealth action. Additionally, CD Projekt Red succeeds in integrating RPG elements that allow the player to upgrade V in a variety of fulfilling ways that complement the player's preferred playstyles. Although the majority of sidequests boil down to the same task, which inevitably leads to repetition, the fluid, diverse gameplay helps to stave off boredom.
In the end, after experiencing one of five different possible endings (depending on particular dialog selections throughout the game), it's impossible to overlook Cyberpunk 2077's weaknesses and strengths, but, as always, it is the preference of the player to determine if the pros outweigh the cons. The performance issues and glitches may be fixed with future game updates in the form of patches, but the shortcomings in its core, open-world structure will likely remain unaltered, which may be good news or bad news, depending on the player. If this game's strengths are able to shine through, then the player is rewarded with a rich, deeply memorable adventure worth experiencing. For some, however, this may not be enough.