Rating of
4/5
Cyberdeck on my Steam Deck
Matt - wrote on 12/28/25
I generally don’t play large, open-world, sandbox games. They take so long to finish, especially if you want to 100% the game, and time is a precious commodity. My friends know this well about me. I do, however, like the idea of the open-world sandbox. When Skyrim was a thing—has it ever stopped being a thing?—I played it for almost 30 hours, and then didn’t pick it back up. I lost interest. I’ve also wanted to play CD Projekt franchises like the Witcher. Heck, I own all the games, buying them on sale for dirt cheap. Someday I will play them.
But for some reason, I chose Cyberpunk 2077 for one of my backlog embiggenings games. Not sure exactly why I chose it, and I know those same friends questioned my judgement. But it was probably because, deep down, I wanted to experience the open-world and freedom that would come with it. The genre was calling me, I guess. It could also be that the dystopian future seems, in some ways, closer than I like. It could be that I am a glutton for punishment. Alas, I chose the game and for the most of 2025, it stared at me in my “Currently Playing” folder on Steam. Then, for the past two months, the game became very interesting, and I played it in all my free moments. I even played half of it on the Steam Deck, which is a technical marvel considering the state of the game when it was first released. You all remember the turd that it was. It was a nightmare on the PS4, and yet it plays perfectly well on the Steam Deck?!?!?!?! More on that later.
Story (4.5 out of 5)
Thinking back to what drew me into the game, it was the story that became interesting in the second act. The first act of the game was a tutorial, setting the stage, providing context, but things became more interesting, intellectually complex, and morally ambiguous as everything progressed. I was generally impressed by the range of choices that the main character, V, can make. The side quests of Panam, Judy, River, and Johnny created a depth for V. They were some of my favorite parts of the game. I especially enjoyed the Aldecaldos and their adventures outside of Night City. The game creatively presents a world dominated by corpos, the military, and banditry, and the side quests navigate these power groups.
The main quest is also progressed and developed well as V gradually is confronted with the pending doom brought upon by a botched job as a merc. It was in the middle of the second act that I really began to enjoy it. And the third act did not disappoint, tying up all the loose ends. In the end, I was wanting to make different choices during the last part of the game, to see how it would all end. I guess that makes a good game if it makes me want to play the ending act again.
Presentation (4 out of 5)
Visually, the game is overly ambitious and impressive. Playing it in 2025 was a much better experience than when it was first released since many, but not all, of the bugs have been ironed out. On my RTX 3060ti at 1080p, the game was gorgeous. I didn’t have ray tracing enabled, but it still looked amazing. Colors were vibrant and contrasty. The game setting was intricately designed. It would be easy to get lost exploring the city, especially if you were the type of person who likes to wander off and look at everything. There were still some bugs. People floating or half-submerged in the concrete sidewalk seemed to be the most common that I found. Sometimes they were to my advantage. For example, one boss became stuck in the air, making him easy to finish off. I didn’t complain about that though. And, why is Judy calling me when she is right in front of me?
As mentioned earlier, I played half of the game on my Steam Deck and came away impressed. Yes, my gaming PC and 27-inch monitor were much more visually appealing; however, I was still surprised by how good the game looked. CD Projekt did a wonderful job optimizing it for the hardware. The “Steam Deck” graphics setting was just right. I rarely felt a dip in FPS that affected gameplay, and the game looked decent on the LCD screen. I’m sure it was much better playing it on the Steam Deck than on a Switch. I was also very pleased that CD Projekt relied on Steam’s syncing of game files. It made playing in the home office and on the go very easy. I wish Epic would take a lesson and leverage Steam’s online saves instead of relying on their own system that doesn’t work so well on the Steam Deck (at least it didn’t when I played Assassin’s Creed Odyssey).
Gameplay (4 out of 5)
The controls and gameplay were decent. I played the game focusing on hacking and stealth. This had me frequently pressing the left bumper to quickly hack enemies, surveillance systems, etc. I did find this somewhat awkward, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. The bugs did affect the gameplay at times, as mentioned above, but combat for the most part was okay. I enjoyed the smart weapons with their locking onto targets, plus they fit my character well. Steering vehicles took some adjustment, but eventually I got the hang of it. The same was true of boss combat. Most bosses were quick and up in my face, whereas my play style was stealthy. I had to adjust and at times found that sprinting was not the easiest thing to toggle.
On the Steam Deck, the system’s ergonomics don’t make it as comfortable as a normal Xbox-style controller. Pressing the left bumper was not as natural, nor is the button layout, but I became used to it, playing the last third of the second act on it. Motion on the Steam Deck was also limited because of the hardware, but it was playable.
Overall (4 out of 5)
Cyberpunk 2077 is a fun game. It made me want to play another open-world sandbox game sometime soon. I would be tempted to give the game a 4.5 if it weren’t for some of the remaining bugs and gameplay issues (the loose controls of vehicles being one that comes to mind). I also found fault in the fact that it wasn’t till halfway through the second act that things became interesting. Yet, this ambitious game is still worth a play-through.
