Dex

DEX is easily the best 2D cyberpunk experience I’ve! ever!! had!!! The story flows seamlessly and never feels dull, side quests are meaningful and have well-written narratives. The atmosphere is incredibly immersive with stunning visuals and detailed environments that perfectly capture the cyberpunk spirit and the game’s large, carefully designed world is a JOY to explore!!! One of those rare games that will stay with me for a long time!!

Dex is not a great game, the combat especially is pretty bad, but it depicts a very good-looking, well realized, well written, well-acted game world that walks you through a familiar story in an interesting way. I wouldn’t put it in any Game of the Year lists but, for the asking price, especially on sale, you could do a lot worse.
If you like cyberpunk stories, as I do, and if you’re looking for a shorter game to play after spending over 200 hours in a AAA juggernaut, as I did, this is a great choice.
Just remember to set your expectations accordingly.
I made a video review with some deeper thoughts, if you'd like to hear them:

Personally I would describe Dex as chill and fun. It's not the best game out there but I enjoy it, and I find myself coming back to replay it once every few years perhaps. It has its flaws sure but I think people get too caught up in the idea that games should be 'perfect'.

Regardless of any balance issues or glitches I think this is an interesting game with good world building that would be worth checking out for people who like cyberpunk style games. Besides, its not exactly long and if you don't feel like it after a bit Steam refunds are valid within 2 hours of play time.

Very nice little cyperpunk RPG. I remember having some trouble when it was first released but returning to it after a couple of years later, I enjoyed it very much. Combat is not the best and hacking can get stale at times, but it is a good indie RPG with an engaging story.

This game is so fun and such a good example of a cyberpunk game, the art is amazing, the music is great, the setting is perfect! And you have all the Cyberpunk elements, I absolutely love this game!

it seems that this game is a bit of a hidden gem.
If you are looking for a solid 2D side scrolling Cyberpunk themed adventure, this game is for you.
Graphics, atmosphere, music, everything fits well together, and pulls you into the game world. Paired with pretty solid story and side quests it was very enjoyable experience.
Gameplay is also interesting, as it allows you to get pretty creative in combat, whether you want to use hacking to stun your enemies, hijack automated turrets, sneak behind enemies and take them, or do full frontal assault with heavy weapons. Or any combination of that, depending on what skills you invest into and what implants you pick.
On the other hand, hacking minigame is a bit tedious, but if you invest into the related skill it becomes pretty okay.

I can't help but feel that the name Dex doesn't do this game justice since it is such a mundane name. It's like a chef spending hours preparing a decent meal then calling it "dish". The little more than half a day I spent with this game revealed a flawed yet heartfelt labor of love.
Characters & the World
The most notable part is the voice acting. It is not partial, not low effort, but full blown, good voice acting. It's something that deserves more appreciation for an indie project like this. And while not inventing new tropes, characters do feel distinct personality wise and dialogues feel natural, which are further elevated by the voice acting. Streetslangs in this game are also integrated into the broader worldbuilding context.
Combat & Progression
Combat is a mixed bag. Don't expect some fluid actions like Nine Sols or Hollow Knight, but it is still serviceable. Confronting an enemy head on was frustrating at the beginning especially when the game didn't do a great job with tutorials. But once you get the hang of it it almost becomes too easy. Enemies don't have much variety in their attack patterns, once you can fight one, you can basically fight all. Minus some bulky or heavily armored enemies, most can be takedown instantly from behind. This would have made stealth interesting, but then the game gives you an ability to stun enemies by playing a quick minigame, which allows you to initiate "takedown" on them even you are detected, and it has infinite free use.
Speaking of stealth, since this is a 2D side-scrolling rpg, we have one less degree of freedom to work with. On top of that, some enemies' placement just straight up won't allow full stealth. You either need a cloaking cyberware that expend limited consumables or get an infinite one late game. My ideal design for a stealth system would be one that is fully doable without any upgrades (like Dishonored) and upgrades only serve to make things easier and unlock alternative options.
Perks are directly tied with attributes, leveling up an attribute will gradually unlock its associated perks. This is more streamlined than rpgs that have separate attribute points, skill points and perk points, and tightly fit into the pacing of the game.
Exploration & Movement
The first area was probably the best in terms of exploration but still not that impressive, which speaks volumes to the rest of the game's map. Too many times I entered an empty room with neither loot nor stories, and just served no purpose afaik. There are cyberwares you can install that aid exploration like high-jump, but I didn't feel there were enough opportunities, and the few I had, the rewards weren't adequate to justify the effort to overcome the somewhat janky platforming.
Movement was fine until you enter a vent or climb a ladder. It is reasonable for a character to be slower when performing the two aforementioned actions, but it was tuned to an almost intolerable degree. Lucikly you have infinite stamina and can dodge roll, so that solves the vent issue. For ladders, you can use high-jump to skip a portion of the ladder when climbing and take a freefall and lose some health when descending, but I would much prefer if my character doesn't move at snail speed while on ladders.
Conclusion
Although the game has 1500+ reviews and a "very positive" rating at the time of writing, I still think this is somewhat a hidden gem. In some ways this game is similar to Replaced, another cyberpunk side scroller released this year. Dex arrived 11 years earlier without the most eye-catching art style and cinematic lightning, but it's nonetheless a classic cyberpunk story.