Note that No Man's Sky did the exact same fucking thing: the method is "fine you have to release when Sony says because they're fucking idiots who don't understand how anything works" followed by "and the proof of that is the conventional wisdom that 85% of your sales is in the first week."
I have yet to play Phantom Liberty but I'm a little maudlin over the fact that CDPR had to abandon their game engine after Cyberpunk. It's a masterpiece for a certain type of person, and I'm that person.
as a fan of the total war games and the paradox interative games: a lot of titles are just not worth buying on release. a few years onward, they're cheaper by a third or half, they're much more stable and bugfree, and they have much more content. the only reason to buy in right away is to experience the highs and lows of it before it's been picked clean by gamer andies who treat the world like a speedrun. but if you're able to avoid that kind of person then you'll be fine to wait as long as you want. the game will only get better.
The Discord server where most of my 'gaming' takes place is a good example of how easily someone can be swayed. We all bought Elden Ring, those who were Souls players knew they'd get it anyway, so no harm done. But there were plenty of the group who'd never played those games before and wanted to 'join in' on the fun while it was fresh. Most of them hated it initially, some never completed it. And it wasn't cheap. Granted Elden Ring didn't need much tweaking outside of a few horrific bosses that had to be nerfed, but the desire to experience it alongside everyone else even though they normally wouldn't care about a game like that, was present. Hype can be so insidious.
For multiplayer games its nice to be in before everyone either left or got waaay to good. Completely agreed that old single player games are wonderful.
So far the three big boppers of my own personal game-release-shitstorm have managed to turn things around, surprising me each time. No Man's Sky Cyberpunk 2077 Battlefield 2042 (it's vastly improved, and fun, but my tongue was severely burnt by this particular number.) One particular developer I'm always happy to throw money at is Supergiant Games. Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades and upcoming Hades II. Loved em all. They know what they do well and I am comfortable expecting quality out of Hades II. As I say this, I realise that I will also be throwing money at SquareEnix with the upcoming FF7: Rebirth. But I have to get that or my childhood self will travel into the future and kick me in the head.