Tl;dr; expansion pretty much change whole game, reworks core game mechanics and adds whole new district. Plus Idris Elba and more of Keanu with expansion having almost as much lines as core game.
Fairly-priced expansions are 10000x better than garbage micro-transactions and DLC, I don’t get why anyone would be annoyed with this
Literally this. Even in older games journalism there was a difference between additional content and true expansions. We used to call developers out for labelling something as an expansion that didn’t have enough additional content. This is pretty close to what full expansions used to cost ($20-25 is what I remember for something like Shadows of Amn), and the amount of additional content fits.
I think a lot of people are used to the incremental and constant content release for live services games that are generally free. More is not always better, though…and free is not always free lol.
Wouldn’t the controversy be that Cyberpunk is incomplete, and this expansion is actually the finished game?
I don’t get that. Cyberpunk is by no means perfect. But how is it not a complete game? I put in a ton of hours and thoroughly enjoyed it. Are you saying that because the AI was bad, it’s incomplete? Cause very, very few games are complete if that’s the benchmark we use.
It got over hyped, but capital G gamers did what they do best and blew it out of proportion as if someone kicked their baby.
Note: I played on PC several months after launch. Maybe it was incomplete when it came out, but it sure as hell ain’t now.
If there was something that was incomplete about Cyberpunk, it was the stuff that they’ve done to the game up to this expansion that fixed problems it launched with. A game isn’t incomplete just because they add more to it later.
I think additional content is fine, even if it’s expanding the story. That’s not super unusual even going back years ago to Baldurs Gate 2’s expansion finishing the story, and is often referred to as a trilogy due to the expansion, or Lord of Destruction.
It sounds like the changes made to the base game will be implemented even if you don’t buy this DLC which is good. Base game changes and improvements to AI shouldn’t be sold separately.
This is one of the things I love about Paradox games, when they release expansions they always release a free big patch with them to include all the non-expansion stuff.
There wouldn’t be any controversy if people stopped buying unfinished games, though.
Once you’ve bought it, you’ve signaled that it’s complete enough for you.
It’s weird to me that people say it was ever unfinished (prev gen consoles aside) It was buggy and wasn’t the life simulator nerds wanted but the story is among the best in video games and the game play is incredibly satisfying. While also having the best looking graphics of any game to date.
the overhaul is free though so you’re only paying for new story content
The totality of those expansions in a lot of cases ended up costing $30 and having similar amounts of content. Dishonored had two story DLCs for $15 each, part 1 and part 2. So…that’s $30. Yeah, if there’s a controversy here, there shouldn’t be.
100%. Charge me what you think is a fair price for your content and I’ll pay for it if I also agree that it’s a fair price. I prefer to pay for a full game, and then pay for actual expansions. I will not buy a battlepass or pay for microtransactions, no matter what. Funny enough, if a game is free, I usually immediately write it off as likely MTX-filled nonsense, but if they throw a $70 price tag on it and don’t add MTX, I’m more likely to play it. Maybe I’m just getting old, lol.
For predominantly single-player games, I fully agree. Sell me a meaty expansion, don’t trickle things out as little pieces of DLC.
I don’t think the expansion model really works for multiplayer games though. You end up fracturing the community. It’s why I think cosmetic microtransactions are a net positive, but only in the context of multiplayer. It’s why games like Apex, Fortnite, and CSGO are not only still relevant, but actively updated and improved for so many years after their release.
MMOs have done expansions well. I personally wouldn’t ever pay money for micro transaction cosmetics, but I will buy every decent expansion for an MMO I’m playing.
I can see why people would be at least skeptical given the way the game released. And while they keep reworking the game mechanics the core game story and vibe is pretty disappointing.
I am totally OK with this.
CDPR did what few devs are doing and fixed the game. Turning it into what should have been released and better in many ways.
This isn’t a MT either. It’s a full on expansion, so it being at $30 is more than fair, providing CDPR keep up the momentum and work they have accomplished with Cyberpunk. And so far, all sign are pointing to a very optimistic launch.
Still can’t pre order though. That’s a different bucket of crap we don’t have time for.
IMHO, as I’m sure it is for many, the Cyberpunk 2077 launch was awful. However, once they patched it and got rid of all the bugs, the storyline, graphics, and content of this game is incredible! I would much rather pay for a DLC than have a bunch of micro transactions. Im excited to see what they have in store for “V” and crew. 😃
@Eights_wsh Please stop linking Kotaku.
Please add something productive to the conversation instead of whining about Kotaku.
Any reason why “not Kotaku”?
My only curiosity is if this takes place after the events of the main story. When I beat the game, I remember I had to revert to an old save just to keep playing as there was no new game+ or free roam after the story ended.
Is that still the case?
V is still sick and there’s a lot of Johnny content in the expansions so I’d say that clears it up pretty well - this takes place before the final mission. I also read rumors that it adds a new ending to the game too.
I think there’s still no NG+, unfortunately.
The expansion takes place somewhere between the beginning and the end of the game, even reworking or adding endings as well. This isn’t a continuation of the story, just adding to the bulk of it.
I feel like everyone should get access to the game rework, not just the people who buy the DLC. This what the base game should have been, what they promised.
And they do - the expansion is the expanded content. The rework is a patch that launches at the same time that goes out to everyone with and without the expansion. This is similar to how CDPR did The Witcher 3 expansions.
This is why I’m part of the patient gamers group. Once a game released that I might like, it goes straight into the wishlist and forgotten about until it goes on sale. With so many other titles to play through until a given game reaches generally recognizable decent quality, I’m happy for the beta testers and bleeding edgers to pay to bugfix a new release for me. Thanks, guys!
Expansion packs are the way to go.
In an age where a digital hat can cost $30, I don’t think many eyebrows are actually being raised at this.
If Idris Elba is as annoying as Keanu then I wish they’d used that money for the game rather than stupid actors who have no relevance to it. Silverhand is one of the many reasons why I really dislike the story. Either way, not going to buy this shit until it’s 80%+ off or something.
Keanu is one of the most cyberpunk characters ever.
https://www.gamesradar.com/matrix-johnny-mnemonic-keanu-reeves-cyberpunk-movie/
I mean, if they don’t bomb its release like the main game’s and actually provide content worth $30, this pricing doesn’t seem unreasonable. I’m gonna wait and see how good it is, how solid it works and what actually comes with the DLC, before making a decision. If they deliver $30 content, I will pay $30.
They can’t really fix the main story, but hopefully this one is better and I can enjoy the newly reworked systems alongside it.