Cyberpunk 2077 Review Thread | 83 OC, 87 Meta

[SvennoJ]

Nautilus said:

SvennoJ said:

Again context.

my experience is that there are aspects of the game that feel lost in translation, invoking cultures that aren't adequately explored or contextualized. Characters in one side quest use the word "ofrenda" as if it means "funeral" when it's actually a particular kind of altar primarily for Day of the Dead--it's unclear to me if this is a translation issue or an overall misunderstanding of Mexican customs, since you do put together an altar during the event that's being called "the ofrenda."

The complaint is not about the quest, or mentioning the day of the dead. She's questioning whether some things are lost in translation. Even weirder, funeral is the same word in English and Spanish, yet funeral translates to pogrzeb in Polish which translates to entierro in Spanish which translates to burial in English. Ofrenda translates to ofiara in Polish which translates to victim in English. Translation problem is likely.

As another example, you can go to a clothing store in Japantown and buy "yukata" that are just wrap shirts bearing only the slightest resemblance to real yukata. It's not that Cyberpunk always gets everything wrong in its incorporation of a variety of cultures and backgrounds but that the world is so big and unruly that I never knew what I would find around any corner or if I'd understand what the intent behind it was--I just grew to accept that whatever I did find, at least in terms of setting and worldbuilding, would likely be superficial.

The complaint or rather observation is about the lack of depth, using terms, words, images just because they look good / sound cool, without properly using them or proof reading the text/translation, further leading to the game feeling superficial. At least it's no where near call of duty level rewriting history, but either make up your own words or use/translate them correctly.


Perhaps she's too critical or thinks too much in terms of movie set building where everything generally does have a purpose to the tiniest detail in the background.


I don't really want to defend this particular review, I haven't played the game yet either so I have no idea whether she has a valid point. What irks me are the kneejerk reactions to an 'out of line' score, while the actual review is well written and backed up with clear examples. I learned a lot more about what to expect and what not to expect from this review than from most of the gushing 100 reviews.

(I dared take a peek into the comments on that review, I should have known better lol. Where on Earth do people get the idea the reviewer is offended by the game?)

No, the reviewer seems offended/troubled not by if something was lost in translation, but that he "appropriated" aspects of other cultures to be used in the game on topics the reviewer didn't like, and thus he brings it up as if it is something negative. That's why he brings up the translation part. He can't "believe" that someone would bring other people cultures into the game that the developer/setting isn't a part of, as if that is something awful to do.

Again, I do think the overall review is at least decent. The reviewer does bring up valid points in favor and against the game. But that part in which the reviewer bashes the game for no good reason, like the ones brought up here, seems superficial and stupid.It brings nothing to the table, and says nothing about the game, other than exclusively the view of the reviewer on something completely personal, that has no bearing on the quality of the game.That's what people got hung up, for better or worse.

Where do you get that from the text? "on topics the reviewer didn't like" She indeed says those topics don't get adequately explored or contextualized, but not that she doesn't like them being in the game. Just that putting real world references into the game without using them correctly adds to the superficial feeling of the game.

"He can't "believe" that someone would bring other people cultures into the game that the developer/setting isn't a part of, as if that is something awful to do."

That's purely your interpretation, it's not stated anywhere in the review. Although the bad points section at the bottom adds the trigger word
"The incorporation of different cultures and backgrounds is wildly inconsistent, from good to inaccurate to downright offensive"
which is puzzling, since the offensive part isn't mentioned anywhere in the review itself. The good and inaccurate part making it inconsistent, that she addresses. I think the offensive part comes from the transgender add. "The result is that there's a fetishization of trans people at every turn, in a game with only one very minor trans character"

What it says about the game is, forget about the real world references, they won't help you get more immersed in the game since they are often used wrongly leading to misdirection. That's not a big problem, certainly not for those that don't even know what ofrenda and yukata mean, yet some Spanish and Japanese players might shake their head at the wrong use of words from their language. It's minor, but it subtracts from the immersion rather than adds to it. And that's what the game is about, providing an immersive, believable world to get lost in.


Anyway this is all very minor compared to the rumors of early footage on the base consoles. I saw a short clip of some gameplay, without the day one patch for sure, it was ugly, very ugly. That day one patch needs to perform miracles.