In the latest episode of Night City Wire, we got a closer look at the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077. In the 25 minute stream, developer CD Projekt Red dove into the character backgrounds, known as “lifepaths,” and the assortment of weapons we’ll be using across the city and the badlands.
There will be three different lifepaths to choose from. The street kid sees you — as the name suggests — take the role of a character who was raised by the streets of Night City, giving you practical skills such as knowing who all the big players are in the underworld. The nomad background puts you in the shoes of someone raised in the badlands: a much simpler, more freedom focused life, but not without its dangers. Finally, there’s the corpo life path that sets your story inside the corporations that rule Night City.
In the livestream, CD Projekt Red claim your lifepath will affect your playthrough from beginning to end, with different skills and quest routes exclusive to different backgrounds.
As well as these role-playing elements, we also got a look at the gameplay. Weapons are split into categories: smart, power, tech, melee, and cyberware. Power and melee appear to have standard first-person shooter mechanics, but the others open up different playstyles. For example, tech weapons seem to be beneficial for stealth builds, as they can go after enemies that don’t even know you’re there, according to the developers. Cyberware, in particular, has a unique look to it, as it is augmented into the player itself.
One of the developers said in the stream that they are working hard to fuse the combat with RPG mechanics. For example, as you level up, they claim that you will feel more “in control” of your shooting, with accuracy and reload times improving. It will remain to be seen how dramatic this change will be, and if you feel out of control in the early game, but CD Projekt Red summed it up saying: “V changes from a small town mercenary to a legend in the world of Night City.”
Lastly, the team showcased the music of the game. Johnny Silverhand’s (Keanu Reeves) band, Samurai, is played by a real-life Swedish punk group, Refused. They spoke about the challenge of having to get into character, such as singing in a different accent and making music they would not typically create.
Cyberpunk 2077 is set to release November 19, following some delay due to the situation surrounding COVID-19. It will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and Google Stadia.
