Cyberpunk 2077 In Preview: An RPG With Huge Ambitions

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29

Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in the dystopian city of Night City and shares the foundation with the "Pen & Paper" RPG Cyberpunk 2020, on which the game is based. The world is obsessed with glamor, power, legends, and body modifications. The poor live next to the rich and the eyes of the mega-corporations watch over them all.

The attention to detail in this massive world immediately stands out. Not even five minutes in the game catch the eye, offering everything you can think of. The rampant consumerism and behavior of society shapes the game world, and that is immediately clear to every player. This sets the starting point for the upcoming moral values of the protagonists and the population. Night City is divided into six areas, plus the surrounding "Badlands". Each district has its own style, vibe and of course its own dangers.

The attention to detail and especially the mature background story of Cyberpunk 2077 also pose a small danger for some players: overwhelming. I always appreciate that a story and its characters are built on a solid foundation, but Cyberpunk 2077 throws words, phrases and puns around it from the start, which could confuse some people. The feeling arises that a university preparatory course is required to understand the world from the beginning.

You play as a lawless mercenary named V. A cyberpunk that is out of the reach of large corporations and uses its weapons, underground connections and cyberware to create its own legendary path in Night City.

The big goal: an implant. That is supposed to have the key to immortality. Your path to legend is up to you and your decisions.

An RPG through and through

It is clear from the start that Cyberpunk 2077 places great value on customization options. No matter whether in the character creation (yes, you can even adjust your penis / vagina) or in the decisions you make during the game.

Depending on the background story, you get different interaction options

In the beginning, you commit yourself to one of three possible background stories: Street Kid, Nomad or Corporate. Depending on which one you choose, the game starts at a different location in the city. Your interaction options also differ within the conversations. A street kid, for example, has a deeper knowledge of the culture and customs of the street. The origin story should not only have an impact at the beginning of the game, but also in the further course of the story. You can only see if there are really big differences after the release.

The RPG focus, however, comes to the fore with your character attributes and skills. You can take on any role you want and adapt it to your style of play. The depth of the skills is breathtaking and can even be a little overwhelming. It is entirely up to you how you want to play with V. Cyberpunk 2077 gives you complete freedom to develop.

Note: I was only able to play the English version, so I cannot list the German terms yet.

Your character has five main attributes:

Body: Improves health, reduces ball scatter of weapons, increases melee damage and existing stamina.
Reflex: Increases the chance of critical damage and the speed of attack, improves your evasion option (i.e. how easy or difficult it is for opponents to hit you).
Intelligence: Reduces the difficulty of the hacks used, accelerates the speed of your hacks and increases your "memory pool". It's like your "mana". Hacks can be seen as a kind of magic in Cyberpunk 2077.

Here you can see the memory pool in action

Technical Ability: Grants armor, improves your chance of loot for crafting.
Cool: Improves stealth, slows the speed at which NPCs discover you, increases critical damage, and increases your resistance to negative effects.

By putting points in your character attributes, new paths open in the respective abilities. Each attribute has an extremely large number of abilities, which are again divided into subcategories. For example, you can focus on pistol or assault rifle damage. Or on a stealth build. As I said, freedom is absolutely breathtaking.

And it doesn't stop there, because the clothes you wear also have stats that can have a decisive impact on your playing style. And even then the fun doesn't stop there. Because your cyberware is still in the room.

Cyberware, what is it?

Your cyberware is your built-in implants. At so-called Ripperdocs you can have them planted. The cyberware also affects your playing style.

Cyberware is divided into three categories:

Active: Requires your input (push of a button) for activation.
Triggered: Activates as soon as certain conditions have occurred. For example, if your life points fall below a certain level.
Passive: Provides instant buffs after installation that do not require manual activation.

You install the cyberware in different slots that represent the body parts of V, so to speak. This allows you to apply and run different effects at the same time.

Cyberpunk 2077 - PlayStation 4

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What the hell is brain dance?

Braindance is not only the most popular entertainment option in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, but also a source of information.

This neural technology allows you to access memories and emotions. Here you see a certain section and can manipulate it freely to get useful information for your given mission.

Which information you can spot and how you incorporate the knowledge gained into the mission is again up to you.

In the Braindance Editor you can view different levels to get important information

It's all well and good, but how does Cyberpunk 2077 play?

Since it is a game from CD Projekt Red, it is a change for me to play first person. Especially in conversations, since you can't see your own character. However, the camera settings in the conversations are not scripted and you can look around freely in the conversation. Immersion is really immense and adds a lot to the gaming experience.

The mission in which you had to get a military bot from the Gang Maelstrom stood out the most. The approach is entirely up to you.

The freedom of play is also shown here. At the end of the mission, a developer said to me: "Oh, I've heard of the end, but I've never seen it myself." Lots of decisions, lots of freedom and the constant question in mind: "What if …".

The replay value is enormous, and each of your decisions can be questioned. For example, I did not have a boss fight in the mission mentioned because I killed the gang leader immediately at the beginning of the mission. As a street kid, I also had a different way of interacting during the conversation. Since I had the background knowledge of the drug shown and knew directly what its ingredients are and what it does.

The gunplay is better than expected and the hit feedback was successful

Cyberpunk 2077 has been doing a good job from the start, explaining the complex structure of society, as well as the relationships between the gangs and the mega-corporations.

And one thing I can already say, the weapons have a much better handling than I would have expected! In addition, head hits make a decisive difference so that the opponents do not mutate into a ball sponge in an RPG. The hit feedback was successful and all weapons feel different. One of my biggest worries is already over.

I cannot say this when driving and in close combat. The driving experience is getting used to. I was allowed to try two different styles. The arcade style and the simulation style. Arcade is easier to use than simulation. Which driving style will be implemented in the final game is not yet known.

Because of the first person perspective, the hand-to-hand combat appears somewhat inaccurate. I was hit by several blows, although I shouldn't have been hit at all. It all feels a bit awkward and not precise enough. If that doesn't change until the release, my build will definitely not be melee.

When driving, you can switch to the "3rd person" perspective

Even after the four hours of play, I feel like I've only scratched the surface. And by that I don't mean the entire game, but really only the surface of the prologue. I would probably still be sitting in front of the screen if I could have done all the side missions.

By postponing the release to November 19, 2020, the developer gained more time to fix bugs and glitches. Only after the announcement was I disappointed with the delay, however, some bugs are quite fun to play. For example, a door locked on the main mission and prevented me from progressing. I do not expect a bug-free game, especially not in such a large game world, but so free from errors that normal gaming is guaranteed.

Don't get me wrong: bugs are normal and common, especially in the development process. But now I have a different eye on the shift. And one thing can be said at the end: Oh. My. God. Cyberpunk 2077 looks extremely good graphically.

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I can't wait to get lost in Night City in November and explore every corner, build my own legend on the streets and make a name for myself. But most likely not as a melee …