A World of Neon and Metal: First Impressions of 'Cyberpunk 2077'

Have You Played?

By Culture SlatePublished 3 years ago • 8 min read

Cyberpunk 2077: The biggest and most anticipated game launch in 2020. While the launch itself had its own issues and I myself had a number of crashes and bugs, overall, my limited time with Cyberpunk 2077 so far has been positive. Disclaimer: this is not a game review, nor will I be seeking to write one, I'd just like to share some of the things I've experienced in a game I've been looking forward to for a long time.

Character Creation: Cyberpunk 2077 has a pretty robust character creation screen. Most of the usual options are there: hair styles, hair color, eye color, makeup, scars, piercings, tattoos, and, naturally for this game, cyberware cosmetics. I was at first a bit disappointed in that I could not make a slight build male V. Most RPG's I have played have had the ability to customize your body shape, but that option is not available here. You have the choice of a male or female body, and whatever parts for whatever gender you decide on, but the body shape remains a pretty buff, muscular build. That is not a bad thing, but usually I try to make my character less masculine, and basically thin.

But the thing to keep in mind, and something that I myself had to remind myself of, is that this is not an RPG where you are free to create your own character. You can do a lot of customization, and basically V is your version of the character, but essentially you are customizing V, the protagonist of the story. So V seems to have a muscular build, which I have no problem with. And this suits the mercenary career perfectly; it makes sense that V would have that body shape. This is not really the type of RPG like an Elder Scrolls game where you can make an old, overweight, or even underweight character. I think the developers have gone into this with the story and V's career in mind, and this makes sense and is totally realistic.

I totally love The Elder Scrolls games for the most part, but I have found that one of the differences between them and CD Projekt Red's The Witcher games is that the TES games give you more freedom for your own personal character. But a lot of the time, the choices you make do not ultimately affect anything in the story or the world. You also control a silent protagonist. In The Witcher games, you cannot create your own character, as you control Geralt. The trade off is that by developing a single voiced character, there is a lot more scope for roleplaying, as choices and consequences affect the story and world around you.

For Cyberpunk 2077, it is not surprising to me that for their next franchise, while you can customize V, it is still similar to The Witcher games in that it is a powerful story focused on one central character. The difference is that you can change V's hair color and make her or him look completely different from someone else's V. I am not sure how Geralt would look with black hair, but he certainly would not fit the description of the White Wolf. Although the Black Wolf certainly has a cool ring to it.

Car Driving: Having chosen the Nomad Life Path, I was introduced to my first car: a beaten up, red and silver hatchback. I am not sure what type of car it was, but it kind of looked like a Polish cult classic Polonez with retro-fitted futuristic tech bolted on. The car looks hella cool, with black and white chequered stripes, large wheels for racing across the dusty badlands and even a couple decals. Even the interior has not been skimped on, with so much detail crammed into the tiny space – a dog statuette on the dashboard, the ThorTon logo dangling from the mirror and a leather satchel fixed to the passenger door. The gritty cyberpunk feel mixed with Mad Max vibes make for some seriously cool details, including interface displays, electronics, and wiring. CD Projekt Red have really pulled out the stops for this, going through a lot of effort for a car that I assume is only used in the intro sequence.

Driving the car was a lot of fun, and although I could not really go wild because of the limitations of the intro sequence, it was still exhilarating. I've seen some criticism toward the car driving. To that, I answer: the game is primarily an RPG; it is not a racing game, and I am thinking that the driving is not the primary focus of the game development. So the driving was fine, it was completely functional, and actually really fun. It is not something that I've experienced much in an open world RPG, so to me, it is more like a bonus and a refreshing change from riding horses in other games.

Combat: Speaking of Cyberpunk 2077 being primarily an RPG, one should not go into the game thinking it is going to be an amazing first person shooter. It is not an FPS, but in the same way as the driving, it is fine and is completely functional. So to have it in the game is actually really amazing, and for me, personally, it is a breath of fresh air, a change from the bows and arrows I am limited to in Skyrim. I haven't had access to a lot of weapons so far, so I haven't been able to try out more powerful guns, and shooting using the basic Unity pistol doesn't seem very accurate, especially as I am used to first person shooters like Destiny and Borderlands where often there is a zoom function to get a better shot. No scope on the pistol, combined with a fairly faint crosshair in the middle of the screen meant my accuracy was probably pretty bad. It could have also been because I am not that great at shooters. And I also have not upgraded my weapons or crafted my own gear, things that I will definitely be doing in the future.

The other main weapon that I had access to was the Black Unicorn katana, a bonus weapon available as soon as I reached V's apartment in Night City. The katana is a seriously cool and apparently powerful weapon, so I look forward to causing a bit of havoc among enemies in a fight using it. Similar to a TES game, there is a stealth mechanic that causes you to go into “stealth mode” when you crouch, darkening the screen slightly around the edges. This was particularly satisfying when sneaking up behind enemies, because you then have the option for either kill or non-lethal takedown. As someone who usually plays thieves and mages in RPGs, I will probably be using stealth and intelligence over strength and brute force.

Immersion: One of the main strengths of Cyberpunk is the immersion. What CD Projekt Red have created here is amazing, a vast and beautiful world of neon and metal. Throughout the rescue mission and outside V's apartment, I really got a vivid impression of how dark and gritty this world is, the poverty and oppression in contrast to the bright lights and shiny metal. A couple arguing, a hooker standing around smoking and tons of garbage littered around the corridor reveal at a bleak and dismal future. And there are adverts everywhere, even in the car garage at the start of the game, there was a TV playing a loop of what must have been at least five minutes worth of fictional ads. And instead of doing what the mission wanted me to do, naturally, I stood there and watched all of them.

From V's window, looking out across the darkness of Night City, massive glowing billboards advertise everything from Mac N'Cheezus to Milfgaard. It is very Blade Runner and although the apartment is small, there is something very comfy and likeable about it. From the hexagonal tiles on the floor to the curved lines on the edges of the architecture, the compact work station to the relaxing lounge area, it is a very cool and chill place. Apart from the omission of a kitchen, I imagine in real life it would be a pretty nice place to hang out with friends.

So those are my first impressions of Cyberpunk 2077. Having barely scratched the surface of Night City, I will probably be playing the game for many months to come. I have not even upgraded my cyberware or crafted anything, taken on any side missions, or done any hacking. I have a lot to do. I have been looking forward to exploring the neon light washed darkness of Night City for years, and now the time has finally arrived. If you enjoy open world RPGs and particularly the cyberpunk genre, this may be the game for you. So boot up your cyberdeck, shrug into your leather jacket and grab your katana.