They were always going to be hamstrung once they started taking DEI nonsense into the equation. The minute they announced the removal of gender from the character creator and stated they were going to be more "inclusive" it was obvious the story was going to be maimed as a result, because you can't tell a compelling story without conflict, and conflict has to involve uncomfortable stances one way or another if it doesn't involve a generic war setting.

We saw the exact same thing happen with Starfield -- a game where your character was a blank slate, but they were so intent on not offending anyone, they had nothing to say either through the characters or the scenarios. It was all just generic.

It was funny because the one storyline that tried to get into the weeds of Night City's depravity resulted in people complaining about the story being too dark -- I think it was the Evelyn character who committed suicide after being gangraped/abused and used for dark web content after she was kidnapped?

Whether as a premade character or as a blank slate, the game just seems really slapped together, and it has no grounded character tone or consistency to its world. In many ways it feels like a giant modded version of GTA V with better graphics.