I hit 2000 hours today, completing my latest playthrough. I've developed some thoughts on the game, and in no particular order I'll lay them out, beginning with my accomplishments, particularly this playthroughs:
-I completed all gigs
-I completed all remaining endings I had yet to try
-I finished with the "secret" variant of the sun ending, aside from completing the king of cups and the king of swords.
Throughout this and my other playthroughs, I've done most missions/gigs 10+ times, and have completed the game more times than I can remember. I've done all 3 life paths multiple times to completion, with nomad being my favorite.
Nomad was my first, so I thought it fitting for it to be this playthroughs.
This game was like changing. It's changed the way I see other games, if not ruined them for me. I've yet to play a game that so accurately captures the human condition, and is able to touch my soul so deeply.
Mike Pondsmith paved the way for a masterpiece. The folks that CD Projekt Red truly displayed talent, even considering the games rocky launch. Thank you to Mike, the Devs, the voice actors, writers, and everyone involved in its creation. You really touched my life, and I know I'm not alone in feeling this way.
The game is even what pushed me to get my ham radio license. How those two things are related I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's the superfluous technology and antennas everywhere in the game world.
That's something that stuck with me actually. Why are there antennas everywhere you look? Every trailer, apartment building, skyscraper, shack, etc. Seems to have an antenna on it. Not just dish/microwave antennas that'd be needed for wireless networking propagation, but antennas commonly used for VHF/HF/low frequency audio transmissions. It's always seemed weird to me. Maybe the DataKrash led to a resurgence in analog radio for comms?
The amount of tech in every corner really sold the cyberpunk theme. I feel like part of being cyberpunk is superfluous levels of technology in every facet of life, vast arrays of servers, even in everyday folks homes. High technology, low living.
It'll be a long time before another game compares for me. Probably not until Cyberpunk 2? Until then, every games feels less lived in, less lively. NC feels like a living world, and I'm glad to have gotten to experience her. Are more playthroughs to come? Probably, definitely, but I think a break will do me some good though.
Keep living it big in NC everyone!