For better or worse, in the year 2002 of our Lord, video games are now rarely complete products. They have grown, developed and changed over time and in many ways challenge the conventional wisdom of awarding year-end awards. Is there any better example than Cyberpunk 2077?
Even Baldur’s Gate 3, which has been incredible from the moment it launched, has undergone huge changes in the past few months – tweaks, changes, additions. It’s also been in early access for a few years. Street Fighter 6, my personal Game of the Year for 2023, was released with the clear understanding that it would grow in size over its lifetime—perhaps doubling in size.
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Cyberpunk 2077 was originally released in 2020, and well… you all know how that happened. To put it mildly, I was one of those people who was fooled by CD Projekt’s approach to the review process. I played it on my high spec PC and thought it was great, the classic open world launch bug I think will be fixed over time. I ended up giving it a positive review on another site of mine.
On iGamesNews, James fared better and gave it a 5-star rating, prompting a wave of abuse when CD Projekt never let us see how bad it was on the console version. I even ended up writing a “review addendum” warning people not to conflate the positive PC scores with the PlayStation and Xbox versions; something I’d never done before.
But three years later, it’s fair to say it’s a very different game. And, the theme of this article is: I think if you look at all the games released in 2020 and think about which games I would recommend someone play… Cyberpunk 2077 is truly the game of the year in 2020.
Obviously, no one would argue that at the time. These bugs and issues are so obvious that even though people can see the great game behind them, it’s eager to burst out. But even if we put aside 2023’s new expansion, Phantom Free… I think this is the best game released in 2020. With version 2.0 of Cyberpunk, the game is finally reaching its full potential. This recognition puts it ahead of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, my Game of the Year for 2020, as well as other contenders like Streets of Rage 4, Microsoft Flight Simulator, The Last of Us 2, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Obviously, none of this fully absolves CD Projekt RED of its sins in 2020. The truth is, this game shouldn’t have been released on last-gen consoles at all – and the company has to realize that if it had, it could become one of its most popular games, just like The Witcher 3. This can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially when combined with the ritual humiliation that follows the game’s release. We should forgive, but we should not forget. This is an important lesson for developers, publishers and even media outlets around the world. For some fans, it’s also a cautionary tale about the dangers of hype.
But to their credit, CDPR didn’t ride off into the sunset with their tail between their legs and head straight back to The Witcher for a quick show of goodwill. The company wanted to save their reputation and the Cyberpunk IP, so they invested a lot of time into it. The end result is undeniable.
In the pantheon of video game comebacks, this one ranks high. It’s on par with Final Fantasy 14, but I don’t think that matters because the release of FF14: A Realm Reborn isn’t a fix for an old game, it’s an entirely new game built in record time and Simply replaces the old game with the new one for free. The only other similar case I can think of of a released game with a real-time benign fix by the player base is No Man’s Sky – which is an equally huge achievement.
Combined with the fact that the expansion Phantom Free is itself one of the best video games of 2023, I don’t think Cyberpunk’s prowess can be denied anymore. When I look back on 2020 in the coming years, this will be the game that stands out the most – but only after understanding what happened afterward.
