Cyberpunk 2077 offers a fully customisable gaming experience
CD Projekt‘s latest venture is Cyberpunk 2077, an M-rated RPG with a major focus on dynamic decision-making and unique quests, releasing on April 16th 2020.
When you load the game, you’ll get to create your own character (a mercenary named V) and select their gender, ethnic background and backstory.
Players will also be able to customise V’s hair, tattoos, clothing, voice and backstory, amongst a host of other features.
Custom characters
Until E3 2019 we had very little idea that character creation would be a feature in the game, but CDP’s quest director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz shed some light on the feature to Gamasutra, explaining that character creation won’t be limited by gender.
“One of the things we want to do in the final game is to give players as many options of customisation in the beginning of the game as we can.”
For example, the ‘Cool’ stat will determine how well you handle stress and impact a multitude of abilities, including weapon accuracy.
The demo also showed us that we will be able to change V’s strength, constitution, intelligence, reflexes and technology.
Finally, backstories can also be chosen, with each type having an origin story, unique dialogue options and place of birth. These paths include Nomad, Corpo and Street Kid, and you’ll have to make your decision early on.
Morality system
Cyberpunk 2077 will let you play the game and progress through the story without killing a single person – a notion that will please fans who don’t enjoy the bloodshed.
CD Projekt confirmed after E3 2018 that most of the weapons will have non-lethal options – with an exception to single-purpose weapons like the bazooka.
In an interview between GamingBolt and Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, the topic of morality mechanics was brought up – when asked if the game could be completed without killing anyone, Tomaszkiewicz answered:
“To complete it non-lethally you have to be very good at stealth”, so you would be wise to invest in points that add to V’s stealth and use weapons that allow you to incapacitate an enemy, rather than kill them.
This seems very similar to the mechanics used in The Witcher 3, where moral choices were left in the hands of the player, leaving them with a truly bespoke experience.
Multiplayer
Note that bad behaviour will sometimes get noticed by Night City’s law enforcement, but you are far more likely to get caught in the affluent City Centre than in a rougher area like Pacifica. Save your violent activity for the outskirts of the city.
Multiplayer mode will be introduced once all of the initial free DLC is out the way.
Multiplayer has been teased as a possibility from as far back as 2013, in an interview between Eurogamer and CDP’s managing director Adam Badowski. Though multiplayer was confirmed, Badowski was careful not to upset loyal fans with his wording, saying:
“It will be a story-based RPG experience with amazing single-player playthroughs, but we’re going to add multiplayer features”
In 2017, amid a lot of tension within the Cyberpunk community over microtransactions, CDP responded to their concerns with a tweet:
This reassured some fans that they will still be getting an engaging single-player story, like in The Witcher 3.
Pre-order & Collector’s Edition
Cyberpunk 2077’s collector’s edition (Game exclusive) can be ordered ahead of the release date for £249.99 and will be available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
The Collector’s Edition comes with the following physical items:
- Collector’s Edition box
- Case with game code and soundtrack CDs
- Collectible SteelBook
- 25 cm / 10-inch statue depicting V — the game’s protagonist — in action
- Hardcover artbook
- Metal pin set
- Quadra V-tech metal keychain
- An annotated copy of A Visitor’s Guide to Night City sealed in an NCPD Evidence Bag
- Embroidered patches
- World Compendium detailing the game’s setting and lore
- Postcards from Night City
- Map of Night City
- Sticker bomb set
