Cyberpunk 2077 ending, Stadia, post removals, etc

Obligatory spoiler notice for Cyberpunk 2077

I recently made a post regarding Google Stadia and C2077 (though it was mostly Stadia). I want to continue my thoughts on that.

On Stadia

Stadia continues to be useful regarding what I said in the linked post. I want to correct one thing and double-down on another. - Stadia's bitrate: This continued to be the same level of issue that I mentioned in the other post . It was present across all of my play sessions. - Stadia disconnects: I don't think this was a Stadia issue, but probably a memory leak within C2077. The disconnects would get more frequent along with more visual stuttering as I played for longer. If I quit the game and re-entered, the issues would be resolved.

On Cyberpunk 2077

I can't talk about Cyberpunk without comparing it to Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Cyberpunk themes, dialog having a major effect on how thing play out, etc... The biggest difference for me is C2077's quickhack feature and how much more linear DE:HR is. I think DE:HR is the better of the two games. The downside of a fully open-world game like C2077 is that it can be hard to fill the world without making it feel disconnected, and C2077 certainly suffers from that problem. DE:HR doesn't have a Night City sized map to explore, but the open world sections it does have are incredible. If you enjoy the feeling of virtual words/environments, I recommend getting DE:HR instead of C2077.

Anyways, I made it through two-and-a-half endings in Cyberpunk, and made it mostly through a third.
The first ending I did was the gun ending. I suppose it ended exactly as I expected it would, and I think I'm happiest with that ending out of the three. That said, I don't think it was a (moral) good ending. Judy's reaction was certainly the hardest hitting and I won't do it again for that reason alone.
The second ending was the Hanako/Arasaka/Devil ending. In this case, you side with Arasaka and end up as a test subject until you decide to wreck the testing facility's room. You then get a choice of either submitting to becoming an engram (and signing away your rights in the process) or returning to earth to live the last six or so months of your life. Either option ends with the same set of messages from V's friends. At least Judy isn't crying in this one.

Anyway, some quick thoughts on the game overall:

Positives

• The voice acting is excellent. There were minor points where volume/tone changed between lines, but those times were rare.
• Dialogue options didn't constantly feel forced in a certain direction, or that they didn't reflect the actual dialog (unlike Fallout 4).
• Prologue is of good length and is well-developed. Likewise, everything after the point of no return (on the routes I tried) felt like they said everything they needed to without being overlong.
• Character customization has plenty of options.

Negatives

• The crafting system feels almost totally unnecessary. Doubly so for upgrades. The only things I made were quickhacks, grenades, and healing items.
• The main story felt very short, overall. When I saw the message for a point of no return, I still felt like there was at least an act or so left.
• "Romance" cutscenes are unskippable.
• Character appearance can't be changed after creation (not even a haircut).
• Some questlines end feeling unresolved (such as the Jefferson questline).
• Many, many bugs.

Neutrals

• Quickhacking is fun, but can be super overpowered. By the end of the game I could launch some Short Circuits and Contagions to take out entire groups.
• Driving around Night City was a pleasant experience. It never felt tedious when I had to drive instead of using the fast travel
• There were bugs when I played, but none that were bad enough to make me drop the game. 90% of them were visual, and the rest could be fixed by quicksaving and reloading.

Other Section

The big questions are "do I feel it was worth the purchase?", "do I think I'll come back to play again?", and "would I recommend it to others?". The anwers, in order, are: yes, probably, and maybe. I've certainly had plenty of fun with C2077 - enough to make the 60$ price tag well worth it. I still want to see the other endings, finish overworld jobs, and try out a body-focused build. But I don't think this game is for everyone. If you had set your expectations as high as the hype and advertising pre-launch, then you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you approach it with expectations of open world Deus Ex: Human Revolution with more bugs", you'll get what's on the tin. For a visual explanation of this, please consult this Nerf NOW!! comic.

Removed Posts

Basically, I removed some posts that I didn't like the content of. Nothing else to say.