Cyberpunk 2077 Gameplay: Biggest Takeaways From The Reveal
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After Cyberpunk 2077's stunning E3 2018 trailer, folks have been clamoring to see gameplay of the upcoming sci-fi RPG. Much to our surprise, developer CD Projekt Red hosted a livestream that finally gave everyone a glimpse of what the game will play like by showcasing combat, customization, dialogue choices, and more. Suffice it to say, Cyberpunk 2077 is shaping up to be a beast of an RPG.
You can upgrade your character's augmentations (aka cyberware), and modify weapons and equipment to tailor to whatever playstyle you want to pursue. For example, you can take on upgrades that increase your level of maneuverability, allowing you to perform a double jump and the ability to bounce off walls. There's plenty more in store in the game's high-level skills, which seem to allow for some exciting and unexpected moments during a firefight.
Aside from your abilities, the world itself--Night City--displays an astounding level of detail with a host of different factions and inhabitants to interact with. Not only that, the world will be completely seamless, allowing you to run around and drive across its map without interruption. There seems to be a great degree of choice and possibility embedded into just about any route you take in the game's missions.
The debut footage was loaded with talk of mechanics and narrative, so we understand if you missed anything in the show and awe of it all. To help run you down on everything that was shown and discussed, we've compiled this feature containing all the interesting things the demo showed you can do in Cyberpunk 2077. Though, if you're clamoring to watch it all again, we've broken out debut gameplay in full for you.
The footage has been making the rounds for quite some time at this year's E3 and Gamescom. "What we're releasing today was recorded from a game deep in development," explained game director Adam Badowski. "Since many of the assets and mechanics in the current version of Cyberpunk 2077 are most likely to be modified, we initially decided to show this gameplay only to media. Elements like gunplay (both in terms of visuals and how RPG stats influence it), netrunning, car physics, or the game's UI--everything's pretty much still in the playtest phase and we felt uneasy about publicly committing to any particular design. Animation glitches, work-in-progress character facial expressions, early versions of locations--all this made us hesitant to release what you're about to see."
"However, we are also well aware that many of you want to see what the media saw," Badowski said. "Although this is probably not the same game you'll see on your screen when we launch, we still decided to share this 48-minute video with you. This is how Cyberpunk 2077 looks today. Let us know what you think!"
Cyberpunk 2077 is expected to launch on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. No release date has been announced, but in a recent interview, producer Richard Borzymowski said Cyberpunk 2077 is playable from start to finish, so hopefully that bodes well for details concerning a date being shared sometime soon. If your excitement for the game is reaching high levels, be sure to check out our in-depth feature discussing Cyberpunk 2077's ambition and scope, as well as our interview with Borzymowski about the game's world.
What did you like most about the Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay reveal? Let us know in the comments below.
Creating A New You
In Cyberpunk 2077, players will be able to customize their own take on the central protagonist V. In addition to male/female options, ethnic background, and stylistic options--including tattoos and hair color--you'll can also select a particular background for your version of V. Some of these backgrounds include being a newcomer to Night City, or a long-time resident, all of which add more flavor to your character.
Partner in Crime
The beefier fella from the E3 2018 trailer of Cyberpunk 2077 is actually your AI partner in-game. His name is Jackie, and he'll help you out during certain missions, providing you cover fire in a gunfight and just being an all-around tough guy.
A Place To Call Home
In Night City, you'll have a place to call your own. While at V's apartment, players can examine emails and messages from other characters, and also customize their look and switch up their loadout from the armory. With your closet full of jackets, you can gain unique stat boosts and additional Street Cred, which act as the experience needed to interact with some areas of Night City. Your pad is a great place to unwind and take yourself away from the hustle and bustle of big city living, even letting you listen to some of the game's original tunes, which includes music from Rockerboy Johnny Silverhand, a returning character from Cyberpunk 2020--the tabletop RPG the game is based on.
Seamless and Sophisticated Open-World
Unlike The Witcher 3's Northern Kingdoms, Cyberpunk 2077's Night City is a seamless open world with no loading screens. Crowds and AI systems have been upgraded, as all characters you come across have a specific title and role in the world's hierarchical structure (Corpo Rat, Slacker, Dirtgirl, Dirtboy, Street Vendor, etc). Characters also have their own programmed routines that shift and change throughout the day.
Factions Of Night City
There are several different factions throughout Night City. A few that are specifically named in the video were the Maelstrom Gang, Militech, Scavengers, and more. The Maelstrom Gang appeared as neon-lit ghouls, and they seemed to be a formidable force that would be tough to take down directly. It looks like you'll be worming your way through the game interacting and aligning yourself with certain factions when the situation calls for it, but then discarding them for others to accomplish your bottom line.
Visiting the Ripper Doc For Some Upgrades
In Night City, there are several places where your character can acquire some new hardware, or as the game aptly calls it: cyberware. While the guns are fairly plentiful, you'll eventually have to visit a Ripper Doc to apply new cybernetic upgrades, which can open up some interesting new gameplay opportunities. While some of these modifications include enhancements to weapons handling and sight--allowing you to view stats from NPCs and scan targets--some of the upgrades are far more substantial, taking you further into the black market territory.
Hot Wheels
Considering how massive Night City is, you'll need a reliable way to get around. While you'll initially have access to Jackie's car, a sports vehicle with impressive handling and speed, you'll also be able to find other vehicles to take for a spin. Along with other cars, you can also hop onto fast bikes as well.
Random Encounters Influenced By Your Decisions
As you'd expect from an RPG, there are repercussions for you actions. In Cyberpunk 2077, this shows up in the decisions you make in the game's narrative, but they can also manifest themselves as random encounters out in the open world. For example, the Scavengers that V and Jackie messed with in the beginning of the reveal came back to fight them in a high-speed car chase.
Hack Your Enemies
You can hack into enemies and link into their base's internal network. By placing a backdoor into their system, you can hack into enemy weapons and other devices--in the reveal, we saw them hack enemy weapons, rendering them useless. While it was made apparent that this feature was still in the works, we're pretty excited to experiment with the possibilities of manipulating and hacking foes.
You Can Get Hacked Too!
You can hack enemies, but they can hack into your systems too. In the reveal, a corporate agent hacked into V's head in order to see if she was lying. This provided an extra layer of tension to the dialogue choices, as it was possible for them to see through your deception. The other ways in which you can get hacked remain to be seen, but we're crossing our fingers that enemies might be able to mess with our sight a la the Batou convenience store shootout scene from Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.
A More Personal Approach
Based on your choices, you can open up lethal and non-lethal options for missions. For example, in the encounter with the Maelstrom gang, you could choose the diplomatic route and enter their base and buy a military-grade spiderbot with the money given to you by the corporate agent. However, it's totally possible for you to go in guns blazing, steal the spiderbot, and keep the corpo credits for yourself. CD Projekt Red promises loads of possibilities, so we're eager to see what other approaches we could've taken.
Upon Closer Inspection
Unlike The Witcher 3, you can more closely examine items in Cyberpunk 2077. More than just pretty 3D assets to peruse, inspecting items allows you to learn more about them and find clues that'll help you accomplish missions.
Serious Hardware Found On The Streets
While V can find all sorts of gear after completing missions or by purchasing some of the local gunsmith's merchandise, certain items will be found while out in the field. Starting out with a standard automatic pistol, you'll eventually move up to weapons like shotguns and machine guns--all of which have various modifiers and upgrades attached to them. In addition to street-level weapons, which includes a shotgun that can fire through walls, the protagonist can also acquire special Tech and Corporate weapons that have their own bizarre modifications--which includes homing bullets.
Awesome High-Level Upgrades And Mods
By the end of the reveal, there was a glimpse of some of the high-level upgrades and modifications you can get. A notable weapon upgrade was the ricochet targeting system, which allows you to shoot enemies around corners hiding behind cover. But the coolest one of them all was the Mantis Blades. These are literal blades that spawn out of your arms that you can use to slice up enemies or dispatch non-violently. You can even stab them into the walls for a makeshift perch you can use to get the jump on any unsuspecting guards. These were but two of of the upgrades you can nab later on, but we're already clamoring to hear about more.
Living For The City
Much like CD Projekt Red's pedigree of work, Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG at its core, and one of its strongest pillars will be focused on player choice. Throughout your many dealings with characters like Dexter Deshawn, the Maelstrom leader Royce, and the mysterious Corporate Agent, you'll make several key decisions on how best to proceed with their requested assignments. While you can simply do what they ask, sometimes it may be best to look out for yourself and make some deals behind their backs. While this can certainly pay off in big ways, this can also lead to some serious consequences further down the line. But of course, that seems to be the norm in Night City.