Between E3 and Gamescom, the hype for Cyberpunk 2077 keeps building as CD Projekt Red keeps dropping new juicy tidbits.
Today we saw a 15 minute deep dive live stream along with an interview featuring members of the level and quest design teams.
While what we’ve seen so far seems to have no particular connection to that first jaw-dropping teaser trailer back in 2013, the extensive character creation options and new hints of the branching prologue options look very promising.
Plus, we got to hear the breathtaking Keanu Reeves unexpectedly say the phrase “rat’s dick” so that’s something!
Today we got a glimpse at three character “life paths” to choose at the start of Cyberpunk 2077:
- Nomad
- Street Kid
- Corporate
Based on what we saw, they appear to serve somewhat as cross between the Etiquette options from Shadowrun Returns and the starting background package in Dragon Age.
Which group you choose will impact quests throughout the game long after the opening prologue segment.
We also learned there are no standardized classes, and instead players will make their own classes by choosing skills and assigning perks to skills. The deep dive video focused on three types of builds:
- Strong Solo – Terminator fantasy who tackles problems head on
- Techie – Hardware class with a Flathead robot to command
- Netrunner – Stealthy hacker who handles situations behind the scenes
That final option in particular seems to open up the playstyle options as main character V can hack people, objects like cameras and turrets, and even the background environment like vending machines.
On the flip side of that, it appears some enemies can hack you and mess with your vision and shooting abilities.
Aside from character options, the deep dive showcased a new look at the actual cyberpunk elements themselves, like getting into a bathtub full of ice — which is a very different take on connecting to a digital world than with Shadowrun or The Matrix.
Out in the real physical world, V took some time to explore the bombed out Pacifica district, which was originally a swanky upscale area filled with high rises that were never finished and is now is host to dangerous gang warfare.
Vastly different from other areas we’ve seen in previous teasers, Pacifica is dominated by Haitian refugees and the hacker gang The Voodoo Boys, who approach cyberspace as a sort of holy religious place.
If you missed the live stream, here are the two big take aways you need to know about:
- Cyberpunk 2077 is extremely non-linear with a big focus on choice, both in overall play style and in specifically how you want to complete missions — including mostly pacifist runs
- Night City was designed by real world city planners focused on giving players enough interesting elements to interact with that they won’t want to use fast travel
Are you looking forward to the game arriving on April 16, 2020 and what character type are you hoping to play? Sound off in the comments below!
