Like it or not, Cyberpunk 2077 is finally out in the wild!

The long anticipated open-world futuristic game by CD Projekt RED is in the hands of gamers around the world and is receiving not-so-good critiques. If you’ve picked it up on PS4 or Xbox One, you’ve likely experienced a smorgasbord of bugs, glitches and crashes. In many ways, it doesn’t even look like the screenshots the Polish developer released over the years. It might as well have been released as a PC and next-gen console exclusive as it runs quite solidly on those platforms.

Underneath the gruff, though, Cyberpunk 2077 is a well-crafted open-world experience that takes you on a journey through a futuristic city. You interact with its dark underbelly, meet cybernetically enhanced characters of various backgrounds, and fight through grueling missions using your own set of implants and augmentations.

There’s a lot to love here and we’ll be putting it all out there in the open in this Cyberpunk 2077 PS5 gameplay analysis.

Not a Shooter

For all the fast-paced shooting action we see in the videos, Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t, in fact, a first-person shooter in the traditional sense. For all intents and purposes, it’s an RPG.

Shooting an enemy that is several levels above your own squarely between the eyes won’t do as much damage as you’d think. That isn’t to say that aim doesn’t matter in Cyberpunk 2077. The not-so-friendly denizens of Night City will take critical hits should they be struck at their weak points, which are typically their heads.

What this also means is that your weapons need to be swapped out as you grow stronger. You can’t keep running around forever with that level 5 shotgun you’ve been cuddling with. Aside from acquiring higher level gear, you’ll also need to enhance it with mods and augmentations. Luckily, the game makes item rarity quite evident as it employs the same color-coding system games like WoW and Destiny have.

If this has been giving you “bullet sponge” whiplash from Tom Clancy’s The Division, you’ll be happy to know that Cyberpunk 2077 is nothing like it. The dev team have done an excellent job of making fights feel engaging. Enemies don’t typically take long to take down if you’re at the appropriate level. Naturally, taking on a foe 10 levels above you will pose a problem.

Night City Might Chew You Up

One aspect that makes Cyberpunk 2077 an immersive experience is its world.

The fictitious city of Night City is an incredibly large place to roam around and interact with. Despite a lot of bugs being found with its population AI, walking around makes you feel like the city is alive, bustling with energy and excitement. You can talk to pretty much anyone you meet, even though most random NPCs won’t have much to say.

As you walk or drive around, you’ll encounter all kinds of colorful characters that will give you missions and tasks to perform. Taking on these quests opens you up to a whole world of side-stories that flesh out Night City and the tales that have brought it to its current state.

More than One Way to Skin a Cat

In Cyberpunk 2077, you take on the role of V, a cybernetically enhanced gun-for-hire – or netrunner as they’re called.

While guns, knives and swords will be your tools of destruction, you’ll also have the ability to mess with your enemies in other ways. Your biotech augmentations afford you the ability to hack into enemy implants and disrupt them in various ways. If a fight is looking like it will be a bit much, you can tip the scales in your favor by causing an overload on a few hapless foes while you’re in stealth.

Speaking of stealth, not all missions are going to be achievable by going in guns blazing. In some cases, you’ll need to keep your head down and sneak past heavily armed enemies in order to get to your target. With your cybernetic enhancements, you’ll also be able to take control of cameras and other security devices to see what lies ahead or create a few distractions. If all else fails, you can still use a stealth takedown that allows you to choose between outright killing your foe or knocking them out. Either way, you’ll need to hide the body if you don’t want to be found out.

Gotta Ride ‘Em All

One of the most fun aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 is that you get to build your own collection of vehicles.

Like some futuristic, filthy rich badass, you’ll be given opportunities to buy and earn rides of various shapes and sizes. This might sound somewhat controversial considering the game isn’t getting rave reviews about its driving mechanics. V can primarily own a variety of trucks, cars and motorcycles. Depending on its class, each vehicle has a price it commands. Some can also be acquired by completing specific side-missions.

One of the practicalities of owning vehicles is that cars specifically have their own storage space. This is separate from the storage you have in your apartment in Cyberpunk 2077. Another is that your owned cars and motorcycles can be summoned at the click of a button at any time. Sure beats remembering where you parked, right?

If you’re short on cash and don’t feel like ponying up for your own ride, you can always grab one from the street. Stealing and hijacking cars work pretty much the same as in GTA V. The main difference is that higher class cars have a set of stat requirements before you can break into them. The fancier the car looks, the higher the difficulty to nab it. The downside of stealing is that you can’t turn stolen vehicles into owned ones. After you exit a stolen set of wheels, it despawns after a while. Either way, collecting vehicles is a big chunk of the fun you can have while you’re adventuring across Night City.

Simply a Lot!

And that’s a wrap on our Cyberpunk 2077 PS5 gameplay analysis. Overall, the game has a lot for you to do and a lively world in which to do it. If you currently own a PS5 or an Xbox Series X or robust enough PC, grabbing a copy will net you many hours of futuristic open-world adventuring.