If you have been present in video game news circles for the past decade, there is no doubt that you have heard of Cyberpunk 2077, considered to be the most anticipated game of all time through 2013 when the first trailer dropped to its release in 2020. With how game developer CD Projekt Red (CDPR) described it, Cyberpunk was thought to be the best video game of all time, but only bolstered on by delay after delay after delay. But when it was finally released to the public, once previously rabid fans turned into rabid dissenters. The game was filled with game-breaking bugs and glitches that had players feeling betrayed and scammed. To many, this made Cyberpunk 2077 one of the worst disappointments in gaming history and a permanent stain on CDPR’s reputation.

But I am here to tell you that Cyberpunk 2077 is really a master- class of a video game that belongs up with legendary RPGs like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dark Souls.

In Cyberpunk 2077, you play as V: a mercenary (or merc) in the dystopian, futuristic metropolis of Night City that is ruled by all-powerful corporations. Technology has reached its peak, to the point that life-changing cybernetics are commonplace and even expected. Corruption and crime are common, and you as the main character have to resort to that in order to survive. As V, you take a dangerous job to steal from the biggest corporation in the world, Arasaka, and it ends up going sideways. Now, you have only a few months to live from a mysterious terminal condition, and have to fervently find the cure.

Cyberpunk’s main storyline is by far its biggest strength and is what makes it unique. While other typical role-playing games (RPGs) have you playing as the “chosen one” or the “hero,” in this game, you aren’t. You are just an average person trying to find a way to keep on going in a world out to get you. While yes, you do things that have major consequences, in the end, you won’t be recognized as somebody meant for the history books. With a more small-scale story, Cyberpunk pushes an idea that we all needed while in the pandemic– connection. In reality, this is a story about making connections with others, despite how dark and grim your future might be. Through all your missions and quests to try and help yourself, you inadvertently help other characters, and through that, build meaningful relationships. With CDPR’s top-notch writing, you can put yourself in V’s shoes and really connect with these characters in an immersive experience. You might experience tragedy and the world might not be fair, but you’ll always have somebody to pick you up.

But the story and writing isn’t the only thing to be praised—the gameplay should be as well. There are a plethora of ways for you to defend yourself in the grim world of Night City and through the hundreds of hours I have in this game, I still haven’t tried out every playstyle. If you prefer stealthy ranged combat, you could utilize the Techtronika Grad to snipe enemies from afar. If you’d rather jump right into the thick of things, there are plethoras of spread-fire weapons to pick from. Would you prefer melee combat? There are blunt bats and razor-edged katanas to pick from if that’s your taste. Want to ditch weapons altogether? You could employ cybernetically enhanced fists to pummel your enemies. Maybe you don’t even want to enter physical combat at all and instead hack your enemies without so much as a trace. You can mix and match or stick to one playstyle; each and every one is viable and so, so much fun to play. Not to mention that each quest has multiple ways to complete it and depending on how you play, it will have different outcomes. To truly get the Cyberpunk 2077 experience, it’s a must to play it at least twice.

Yet the major downfall of this game is the bugs and glitches: mistakes in the code of the game that had news outlets crowing, and by extension, players. Many believed it left the game unplayable and a mess, but I am here to tell you that those accusations are blown hugely out of proportion. I pre-ordered the game and I played it on launch day on the Xbox One—the perfect conditions for a terrible gaming experience, as reporters would have you think. But in reality, my experience was phenomenal. I rarely found bugs that made the game “unplayable” as people claimed, and whatever bugs I did experience were just funny little blips that I forgot about after fifteen minutes. While I do believe that some people did experience bugs and glitches, they have been exaggerated for the most part. It only got better with each patch that rolled out, and now? It is an amazing gameplay experience.

So, if you haven’t given Cyberpunk 2077 a try yet, I highly suggest that you do now. With the announcement of the first major expansion coming in 2023, now is the perfect time to get into it. I could not recommend it enough.