The game has an incredible atmosphere, I don't think anyone could disagree with that. The characters you follow, the town it all takes place in, is (by design) a masterpiece. However, the beauty of the city is just a façade. There's a lifeless feel behind it that you wouldn't expect from a studio like CDPR.
Sure, some scripted areas feel alive, but the open world as a whole doesn't. You can increase the population density as much as you want, but your game will never achieve the desired "lively" feeling that a game like RDR2 has. The soundtrack is truly impressive. It sets the tone perfectly. The characters, writing and voice acting are excellent. My favorite part of the game.
This game lacks any serious core gameplay mechanics. Everything from the equipment system, customization, quick hacking, character progression through skill trees, etc. Everything is incredibly dim. They seem to put minimal effort into these basic factors. Not to mention the monstrous artificial intelligence and non-existent traffic/police system.
I don't know what went wrong with this game. It really shouldn't have been released for at least another year. Fixing all the bugs and improving the system would make this game much better.