Following the debut trailer at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 2018) earlier this month, details about Cyberpunk 2077 have finally started to roll in.
The highly anticipated project has been in development for several years now, coming from none other than the same Polish storytellers who previously handled the Witcher trilogy — CD Projekt RED.
There is still a lot that remains to be revealed by the developer but what has been shared so far does well to raise expectations. Here are seven confirmed features that will convince naysayers to immediately put Cyberpunk 2077 on their wishlist.
The binary character creation screen
The option to start afresh with a brand new character of your own making is quiet standard in a major role-playing game. It was missing from the Witcher trilogy because Geralt is already an established character in the original lore. With Cyberpunk 2077, however, CD Projekt RED will be allowing players to craft their protagonist based on personal preferences.
You will start by choosing your sex, which will bring up a gender-specific character model of the one specific person (mercenary) that everyone will play in the game: V. There will be no option to customize facial features and the same for physique seems a bit limited. What will be there is the option to customize hair, clothing, tattoos, scars, and perhaps other stuff related to cosmetics.
You will then be able to choose your desired stats from a basic list that includes Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, Reflexes, Tech, and Cool. The last one there has everyone talking for the time being and while the developer is not saying much, the Cool stat is presumed to be related to charisma. There might be more added later on as well.
The most important segment in the character creation screen, however, will be the ability to select a backstory. This will deeply affect how interactions go with other characters, and will open up new dialogue options and potential content.
The huge, seamless, and interactive world
It has been teased for years that Cyberpunk 2077 will have an open world much larger than the one from the last Witcher installment. However, scale is not the only factor to marvel in this regard.
There will be six districts to explore, each having a completely unique theme and ecosystem. The difference will be apparent as soon as moving from one district to another. The architectural details, environmental aspects, residential behavior; everything will have a different feeling across each district.
The one commonality among all the districts, however, will be towering structures for the populace. There will be a lot of buildings to see but not all may be entered. Some, called Mega Buildings, will have multiple floors for exploration and be bustling with activity. They can be taken as miniature districts inside the main districts. From the current standpoint, it would be safe to say that most missions and activities will require players to spend time at their local, mega structures.
The environments will also be highly interactive. For example, advertisements on the sidewalks can be approached to purchase items and cover can be created on-the-fly during combat through destructible elements in certain areas.
It should be noted that there will be no loading screens and transitioning from one district to another, entering or exiting a building, will be seamless.
The real-time dialogue system
It is customary for role-playing games to lock two characters during conversations. The only way to be free is to follow through the dialogues or opt out from the dialogue wheel. Cyberpunk 2077 changes this with massive improvements.
The conversations will happen in real time, meaning that players will be free to look and move around. The dialogue options will appear once you focus on a particular character in the vicinity. However, this does mean that the dialogue wheel will not be that robust. For the time being, it appears that there will be only three or four options to choose from and conversations will mostly not last long.
The developer explains this by noting that “there is no longer a clear distinction of entering and exiting a conversation” with someone. Everything flows and blends together. For example, characters may interact while the dialogue prompts keep appearing. The world will not freeze during any conversation. If anything, certain situations will require players to be quick about choosing their replies in accordance with the changing setting.
The personal transport system
There will obviously be some way to fast-travel between different locations but for those wanting to enjoy the beautiful dystopian setting, there will an option to personally drive vehicles around districts.
Cyberpunk 2077 will feature “hundreds of cards, bikes, and other types of vehicles” for exploration. In similar fashion to the Grand Theft Auto franchise, players may even steal vehicles for use. Unfortunately, the flying cars will not be accessible for some reason. There will be some missions that include their use but they will not be available on a grand scale in the open world.
Just how deep the driving simulation will be is not known for now. It would be really surprising if the vehicles comes out as more than just a means of transport.
The extensive romance and nudity
There will be a lot more sexual encounters and nudity in Cyberpunk 2077 than the Witcher trilogy but rest assured that they will not be there for shock value. It has all to do with the particular genre and how transhumanism has resulted in vast body augmentations to curb the sacred connection with naked flesh.
There will be opportunities for complicated relationships that continue and evolve over the course of progression, and casual instances that matter less. There will be open nudity that go in line with the night life of the city and open nudity that are a norm for walking androids.
In addition, romantic pursuits will be decided by the players themselves and not be restrict to just two sexual orientations. There are straight, gay, and bi characters roaming the streets, waiting to be encountered.
The action-packed gunplay
Unlike with the Witcher trilogy where battle sequences involved swordplay and sorcery in third-person, Cyberpunk 2077 will change directions by bringing a lot of first-person shooting to the table. The combat will also be much more aggressive than before, almost landing in the chaotic category.
There will be an extensive armory for players to go through, ranging from traditional firearms to futuristic weaponry. There will be modifications that open up new upgrades such as blowing up barricades and punching through armor. There will even be different ammunition that likewise offer options to consider such as tracking enemies behind corners or disrupting electronic systems.
The weapons, however, only form one part of the heated gun battles. They will combine with abilities unlocked by players through body implants. Some of these augmentations include optical improvements to see through objects, limb improvements to be far more agile, and others that will be revealed with time.
There will also be a covering system in addition to being able to destroy certain areas in the environment to create new cover.
The absence of loot boxes
There is one incredible reason for everyone to love the way CD Projekt RED works in the video game industry and that has to do with consumer-friendly practices.
Cyberpunk 2077 will feature no loot boxes or microtransactions, not even for cosmetics. Instead, the developer has promised to release free add-on content packs much like it did with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
These should help players with their character customization options and progression by including new weapons and other assorted gear.
While this does not rule out paid expansion packs, those are likely to feature great value in terms of content.
