I think CDPR has always been what it is now. Just that nowadays people enthusiastically jump on the internet bandwagon, whatever direction it might be, positive or negative.

That is to say, it’s the same as Owlcat. Initially buggy, but amazing and GOTY after patches. People always forget that Witcher 3 was a mess when it came out, as was Witcher 1. There was a big deal about the fact that CDPR made their big content/bug fixes updates for free with Witcher 1.

I honestly don’t remember how witcher 2 did on this spectrum, though.

Right. But I just played it, and it has nothing to do with GTA. It’s literally witcher 3 in first person. Same level of branching, same slightly shallow rpg mechanics and shallow ish combat. It’s much more action, though and theoretically stealth is an option unlike witcher.

Ok, what rpg element was removed? I just played it (without dlc), and it’s basically first person witcher 3 in cyberpunk setting, including all the faults. Basically true to type with CDPR.

I guess it’s the graphics and the weird keyboard combo? Because otherwise I don’t really see what’s the issue. It was so influential and good when it came out that you can get into actual arguments if any successor games are actually better than the original series (disregard the remake).

It’s basically still top tier stealth game, but the keyboard interface is weird as fuck initially. But you get used to it within hours, if you want to.

The graphics might be insurmountable for many people.

You people need to watch the GDC Talk by the spiderweb software indie dev from like half a decade ago. He said, loud and clear, that the 30 cut is great and worth it for what he gets. Sure, lower cut is always nice, but let’s not be stupid and say that the devs don’t get their money’s worth.

Hmm, I haven’t played it. I avoid everything epic store stuff (even though I would have gotten it for free, since I’m childhood friends with one of the devs). So I’m curious, what’s the problem? I’ve heard like three people say that it’s their game of the year already, so I’m curious what’s the issue for you?

That’d be more meaningful if Bethesda had ever managed to create a story with any worth. Sometimes the bones of a decent story are there, but the execution is usually amateur hour.

Wasn’t that Black Isle? Or had they already evolved into their future downfall? It’s been a hot minute since I’ve last looked at BG credits.