If all goes well, we’ll finally have the chance to play Cyberpunk 2077 next month. We’re only a little over a month away now, or at least I hope we are. It’s been eight years now since the game was announced back in May 2012. We’ve played through an entire console generation in that time, and we’re now poised to start the next one. It’s kind of amazing to how much has happened in gaming and in the world in general since the wait for Cyberpunk 2077 began. The thought that it’s finally going to be coming out in a few weeks, it’s actually kind of unbelievable.

The thought I can’t help but get out of my head is this: what will a game that’s been in CD Projekt Red’s cooker for 8 years actually look like? I’m not one to expect to moon when it comes to new games (not anymore anyway), but I still wonder if the reality of Cyberpunk 2077 is actually going to be able to stand up to the fantasy. All the gameplay we’ve seen and all the story trailers we’ve enjoyed paint the picture of a game laden with even more story than Witcher 3 and whose world is even more fully alive. Can such a game truly exist? I’m not entirely sure that I want to find out.

I mean, I’m certainly going to play once I’m able to get my hands on a PlayStation 5, but I almost don’t want to. I, like many out there, have had the better part of 7 years to dream my perfect, fantasy version of Cyberpunk 2077. In my own head, it’s basically become the game that has everything and I’m kind of loathe to give that up. There’s no way that the real Cyberpunk 2077 will be anywhere near as fun and exciting as the version I’ve thought up, so I’m just not looking forward to the inevitable disappointment (unreasonable though it may be).

It’s rare for a game to spend so many years in development and then actually make it to release, and for good reason. Games with such long development cycles inevitably take on a sort legendary status within the community, one that’s difficult to match even if the game turns out to be excellent. Sometimes it’s better to just let a project die rather than stubbornly drag it forward to release too. I mean, just look at what happened with Duke Nukem Forever. The game spent something like 15 years in various stages of development only to release as a borderline awful game. I don’t think anything nearly that bad will happen with Cyberpunk 2077; I’m actually confident that it’ll be great. It’s just amazing to me that it’s still on track to release at all.

Still, it’s kind of crazy isn’t it? A world where Cyberpunk 2077 has finally released and is even pretty darn decent. I won’t say I never thought I’d see the day. This isn’t something like Star Citizen after all. It’s just, I’ve spent so much time looking forward to this game that’s going to feel a little weird to finally be able to play it, no matter how good it turns out to be. I wonder what the next big game to look forward to will be. For me, it’s probably Metroid Prime 4.

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Will Cyberpunk 2077 be the game we’ve all dreamed it up to be? And if it’s not, will we be okay with that? I’m sure it’ll be fine, but it’s still interesting to think about. Don’t you agree?

Image is official promotional screenshot from CD Projekt Red’s site