It has now been eight years since CD Project RED first confirmed that, as well as on The Witcher 3 (released three years later), on a new title called Cyberpunk 2077.. This new project immediately promised a futuristic setting far from what was shown in the adventures of the witcher, as well as a style particularly appreciated by users: the “Cyberpunk”; this above all because of the themes dealt with and the aesthetics represented over the years by various authors, directors and developers. All this, then, would clearly have gone to combine very well with the excellent skills of the Polish studio to create highly successful RPGs.
Cyberpunk 2077 thus ended up officially showing itself to the public with a demo in the course of 2018, during a live broadcast on the official CD Project RED channel, to then be made available last year, more precisely during E3, and later at Gamescom. On these occasions we have in fact had the opportunity to play with the first demo of the title which allowed us to get to know the wonderful Night City, as well as some of the main characters who will support our protagonist. Also during E3 we discovered probably the most awaited information of all: the release date scheduled for April 16, 2020; this then ended up slipping until November 19th to be able to optimize the title to the fullest (with timing even more aggravated by COVID-19).
We are thus just two months away from the release of a title that has been long overdue, especially considering the mammoth expectations that has been created around the years.. However, let's talk about a date that ends up overlapping the release of the next generation consoles, and in fact Cyberpunk 2077 will be released, not only on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Google Stadia, but also on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X ( and S). In the case of these last two platforms, however, according to the latest statements released by the development studio, to take advantage of the improved version for the next-gen you will have to wait a few months (but the upgrade will be totally free as soon as it is available).
V for… protagonist
Having taken stock of the situation, we begin to talk first of our protagonist, now known only as V. Unlike Geralt, he is a character that can be customized in every detail, and we would like to emphasize that this is not a euphemism: apparently the degree of personalization and choice of details will deepen up to the shape and size of the genitals. All without even worrying about the “male / female” binary system; a choice made precisely to allow everyone to create a character in which they can feel at ease and identify themselves as best they can.
In addition it will also be possible to choose, as in the most profound role-playing games, the origins and life path of our V through three types. This choice of the so-called "lifepaths" will then affect the plot and gameplay in a minor way, sanctioning how our adventure will begin and unlocking, under certain circumstances, unique dialogue options for our protagonist. They will therefore be available on Street boy (with numerous connections in the slums and used to the cruelty of Night City), the Nomadic (inhabitant of the desert Badlands that surround the city) and finally the Corporate. (member of one of the corporations that dominate the city involved in his political intrigues).
The degree of customization of our avatar will then be expanded thanks to the so-called "Ripperdocs“, Real cybernetic surgeons specialized in replacing limbs with metal models. These will allow us to upgrade and update our body, using a particular currency within the game world, to transform it into a real war machine. Finally, it would not be an RPG without numerous choices and possibilities that will be proposed to us during our adventure and that will radically change the development of the plot; this to the point of making it possible completing Cyberpunk 2077 without ending the main campaign, paving the way for several epilogues.
The dangerous Night City
All the events of this new project will take place in the aforementioned Night City, the setting for Cyberpunk's entire "pen and paper" RPG series (and on which the whole game is based on a concept level), namely the Cyberpunk 2013, 2020, V 3.0 and the most recent RED. It is a coastal metropolis consisting of a total of six districts: Westbrook, Watson, Heywood, Pacifica, Santo Domingo and Centro Città. To be precise, there would be a seventh district, namely that of the so-called Badlands, a desert area that surrounds the portion of the city not bathed by the sea (and which is home to the Nomads). A very unique thing that we have been able to discover during the “Night City Wire” is that every single street has been named by the developers, an element that might seem superfluous but that contributes to the level of immersion and realism.
With regard to the different districts of the city, the developers have repeatedly specified how much they will be extremely well differentiated from each other, in such a way as to be able to understand in which area we will be simply by looking around.. These are differences not only related to the structures and architectural works present there, but also related to the type of inhabitants (between simple clothing and lifestyle) that we will be able to find there. Each of these districts will then be divided into several “sub-districts” which share among themselves what we could define as the “main theme” of the district, while maintaining some distinctive elements capable of making them unique.
All this is essential to create a city as alive as never before and which is very suitable for exploration; exploration which, in this case, is mainly of the vertical type due to the numerous buildings present and the layers that make up each district. Here too, as in the case of The Witcher, exploration is an extremely rich and important part of the title, and this can lead us to clash with a hostile gang that hangs out in a certain territory, to receive a call from one of our contacts who will want to inform us of a job nearby, or even run into an event that will allow us to meet new characters and new stories. These are many small details that will help make not only Night City unique, but also our gaming experience as a whole!
Another element linked to that of the districts is the presence of different gangs that interact with each other and compete for the various parts of the city. We will in fact have i Maelstroms (aesthetically unique psychopaths), i Valentines (group of Hispanic gangs), i 6th Street (in the style of "true American patriots"), i Voodoo Boys (as the name suggests, more dedicated to "out-of-body practices"), the Animals (of the muscle masses out of the head), i Tiger Claws (in perfect oriental mafia style), le Moxes (mainly women apparently connected to the prostitution ring of the city), I Wraiths he Aldecaldos (both Nomadi gangs). To be precise, there is a last group, but it is not exactly a gang, namely that of the Mercenaries, of which our V is part.
Tools of death for all tastes
Cyberpunk 2077 would not be an RPG with all the trimmings without a huge arsenal able to satisfy every kind of taste of the players. In fact, different types of weapons, armor and offensive upgrades (and more) for our protagonist have been included that could even allow us to complete the entire title using a non-lethal approach. These can be purchased directly in shops, obtained from enemies or from some crates scattered around the city. Speaking first of all of firearms we will have three main types: intelligent, technological and energy ones; each of these will have a peculiarity capable of making them useful in different situations.
As for those energetic, they will have the ability to bounce their bullets off surfaces, so as to be able to hit an enemy hidden behind cover, or possibly hit even with wrong aim. The weapons technologies on the other hand will be able to accumulate electromagnetic energy to fire projectiles at very high speed, so as to be able to pierce solid surfaces and also hit enemies in cover. The weapons intelligent, finally, they are able to take aim at a target and keep the aim even if the enemy moves away or goes into cover; the shots fired will then go to chase and hit the target in all circumstances.
In addition we will have the possibility to use melee weapons, such as katanas, hammers, spiked clubs and sticks, as well as the aforementioned upgrades called "Cyberware". These are real grafts that modify our arms making them unique weapons; during the second "Night City Wire" we in fact got to know the Mantis Blades (lethal hand-to-hand weapons), the Gorilla Arms (reinforced arms to be used to hit, and probably also to use heavy weapons that are normally fixed) and the Projectile Launcher (a real portable missile launcher). These will surely be just some of the many upgrades to equip and take with us into battle, we will discover those remaining only after the game is released.
Let's not forget, however, that Cyberpunk 2077 is first of all an RPG, and as such the developers wanted to include a progression and customization system even in the case of our equipment. First it was said that as the game progresses V will become more and more efficient in the use of firearms, for example improving the speed of reloading or aiming, accuracy and speed of aim (although it has not yet been clarified if it will be improvements, chips to buy or other). In addition we will be able to modify the weapons with some accessories (such as barrel, stock, sight) or with real mods that guarantee improvements to the statistics or types of bullets more effective against some enemies.
The last element related to weapons (and also in this case it is a classic of role-playing games) is that linked to their rarity. In fact, we will have weapons with different degrees of rarity, from the simplest common to the so-called "Legendary"; in the latter case it is the most difficult type of all to find, but on the other hand the one with the best characteristics. We are talking about characteristics that are not limited to simple numerical statistics (for example of damage), but of real unique skills that make them extremely attractive. Obtaining these will be strictly connected to some particular missions or choices that can be carried out.
And this is only the beginning ..
Even before the release of Cyberpunk 2077 we already have three very important elements that can make the difference in the choice of buying this title or not. It is indeed important to always keep in mind the plans for the future that each development studio has for their games. In this regard, CD Project RED was able to confirm first of all that Over time several completely free DLCs will be released, which we remind you to be minor contents such as new weapons, armor or quests; this basically as happened in the case of The Witcher 3 with 16 of these DLCs. This is certainly an important support but still minimal, but the best part comes now.
Always talking about the last chapter of the witcher saga, a good part of the overall success that the title has received is due to the two magnificent paid expansions (Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine) which have considerably enlarged the contents offered to users. . Apparently this new title should also follow the exact same line by offering "no less expansions than The Witcher 3". This confirmation comes directly from the director of the Polish studio, Adam Kiciński, during a Q&A with investors. In addition, we also know that these additional contents will follow the same launch line as those of Geralt's adventures: through an official announcement about three months after their release.
However, the post launch support is far from over: it has been confirmed for just over a year that Cyberpunk 2077 will also have a multiplayer sector, which will however be made available only later. The announcement does not come from a press release, but rather from an announcement (published on the CD Project RED Twitter page) of new job positions dedicated to this modality. Currently, however, it is not known whether this component can be focused on the cooperative or competitive; the fact is that a title of this type could very well lend itself to both. The only certainty is that, apparently, there will be micro transactions dedicated only to online mode, but that these will not have a particularly heavy impact within it. The addition of multiplayer could also justify the choice of making Cyberpunk 2077 shorter than The Witcher 3.
A future made better
In conclusion, we cannot fail to focus on the technical sector of this new title. In fact, during the various live events, demos and videos shown, we had the opportunity to discover how much CDPR has dedicated to the creation of a living and wonderful world. With this we do not want to dwell only on the "simple" graphics and the aforementioned organization of the game world, but rather we want to refer to the aesthetics and inventiveness that allowed the birth of such a unique world.. Although the cyberpunk genre is exploited (taking for example a Deus Ex from the videogame world and a Ghost in the Shell from the editorial / cinematographic one) it is in fact always important for every creator to make it his own, to then put on paper (or digital) the own vision.
Speaking of the graphics, it is clear that the team did not want to skimp on any kind of detail. Starting from the latest 4K screenshots shown during the third “Night City Wire”, up to the oldest announcement of the actual presence of ray-tracing in the finished game. Cutting-edge graphics reach the highest level on PC (with these requirements) thanks to the technical partnership with nvidia with the introduction of four immersive effects with ray-tracing in the game (diffuse lighting, reflections, ambient occlusion and shadows) in addition to the NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 technology that improves performance. All effects are based on DirectX 12 Ultimate's DR Raytracing API and are optimized for GeForce RTX graphics GPUs and dedicated ray-tracing cores.
The partnership with NVIDIA will also allow users to be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 from the launch date through GeForce NOW, the streaming service for PC, Mac, SHIELD TV and Android devices that allows playback at 1080p and 60 FPS.. As for the consoles, it is not yet clear what the difference between those of the current generation and the improved version of the next one could be; nevertheless we hope that the use of the PS4 and Xbox one version on PS5 and Xbox Series X / S will allow better fluidity from the launch (going from the expected 30 to the fixed 60), and then definitively improve with the upgrade we already have. discussed.
The last element on which CD Project RED has repeatedly emphasized is the sound, and in particular the music that compose the soundtrack.. We have in fact several musicians and composers, and among these stands out Raney Shockne music composer who has taken part in the writing and production of music for many famous American artists, as well as for those of Dragon Age: Inquisition, Star Wars: Battlefront II and The Sims; we also have music composed by Grimes and the Samurai band. The latter is a band linked to the original game world, but it will be the Swedish group of Refused to take its place, bringing as front man none other than Keanu Reeves.
And this was all the information that has been released for this title to date. With Cyberpunk 2077, CD Project RED really wanted to go big by creating a large number of expectations that, knowing the studio, can hardly remain unfulfilled. In the fervent expectation that these last two months pass, and that we arrive at November 19th, we therefore leave you by recommending you to continue to follow us by promising you a complete review of this huge title as soon as possible (so as to find out if it will be able to not only live up to it. expectations, but also the standards these developers have always accustomed us to).
► Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG-Adventure game developed by CD Projekt RED and published by Bandai Namco for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 10/12/2020
Cyberpunk 2077 is a game to own at all costs: we decided to evaluate it with a 95%, if you are interested in learning more you can read the Cyberpunk 2077 review
