Cyberpunk 2077

The game from CD Projekt RED, the creators of The Witcher, based on the tabletop game Cyberpunk 2020 by Mike Pondsmith. The player is sent to the year 2077, where their created character named V must become a legend in the futuristic city of Night City (California) and find salvation from an incurable disease. The task is not easy — the metropolis is torn apart by gangs, intrigues of transnational corporations, and everyday conflicts due to glaring social inequality. A wide selection of weapons and a dynamic combat system offer an exciting gaming experience.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a first-person RPG action game with immersive sim elements. When driving vehicles, it switches to third-person view. The action takes place in the vast open world of Night City, where every corner is filled with characters and activities, and adventures can be found in both abandoned buildings and bustling streets. The combat system allows you to hack into computer systems and implants of enemies, shoot or slice enemies in melee combat. The chosen backstory of the hero (corporate, gang member, or street kid) does not affect the main story but provides unique dialogues with secondary characters.

The game implements the setting — "cyberpunk" — in the representation of 80s science fiction writers. Not dark, cold, and technological, but bright, kitschy, and crazy. There is a mix of human and machine. Everywhere there is active augmentation of people with cyber-prosthetics and brain implants. Free artificial intelligence. Urban landscapes of a metropolis devastated by economic crises, street gang wars, and corporate conflicts. Streets illuminated by neon lights and hieroglyphs. This is a world where high technology coexists with a society in decline and a low standard of living.

We learned about the start of work on the game based on "Cyberpunk" in 2012. The full announcement took place at E3 2018, and after a series of delays, the game was released in December 2020. The release was accompanied by technical issues that negatively affected the ratings of Cyberpunk 2077. However, the creator of the universe, Mike Pondsmith, praised CD Projekt for how the developers realized the setting, atmosphere, and game world — preserving the spirit and theme of the tabletop game.

Over the next 3 years, CD Projekt improved the game, enhancing its overall state with a series of patches. They created a new wanted system, introduced vehicle shootouts. They reworked the artificial intelligence, teaching NPCs, police, and enemies to react adequately to events. Completely revamped the skill tree, refreshed controls. Significantly improved the graphical component. With patch 2.0, the open world, role-playing system, and interaction with the police worked as they should have at release.

The structure of the world in Cyberpunk is very different from our reality: technology developed more intensively, and elective democracy was replaced by corporatocracy, that is, the rule of transnational corporations. At the beginning of the 21st century, half of the American states gained autonomy from Washington, but the USA did not collapse and formed a confederation. Under pressure of circumstances, California was divided into North and South, with the border between them running south of Night City.

The city was founded in 1994 by billionaire Richard Knight, who wanted to build a utopia without crime, poverty, and government dictatorship. Corporations supported him, attracted by the freedom in the field of unethical developments. But everything turned upside down when Richard was killed, and corporations seized power by force. Night City became a symbol of how high technology can be used to enhance social inequality and exploit people.

By 2077, due to economic crises and prolonged wars between gangs and corporations, most areas of the metropolis had plunged into chaos and anarchy. Corporations abolished human rights and take over any successful business, while street gangs have nullified the value of human life.

Bright spots in this dark reality are heroes of the past, such as Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves' character). The leader of the band Samurai actively fought against injustice through his songs before ending up in V's head. At one point, he blew up the headquarters of the Japanese corporation Arasaka with a portable nuclear bomb, completely changing Night City. This is where the game differs from the tabletop version.

The ideology of the residents is simple — know how to present yourself favorably and stand up for yourself, which has increased the number of freaks, crazies, and maniacs on the streets. Night City has become a city of adventurers who come here in search of fame and self-realization. In reality, these are just empty expectations, illusions, and lies, for which most give their lives.

In Cyberpunk 2077, there is a huge open world consisting of two large and roughly equal areas: Night City itself and the Badlands wastelands to the east. The city consists of 6 key districts:

Night City is outwardly beautiful. Here, buildings have rich architecture and unusual shapes. There are giant screens, neon, and regular signs everywhere. Cars fly in the sky. Subway trains whiz by on a monorail. Nightclubs look like something out of cult sci-fi. Characters on the streets, cars, and the appearance of buildings match the descriptions of the districts. In the center, you see corporate types and celebrities in expensive cars, while on the outskirts, it's regular guys in beat-up vehicles. The same goes for interiors: a gaudy shack with plastic and cheap decor in Pacifica is no match for a luxurious apartment with marble and wood in a glass and concrete skyscraper in the City.

In terms of building detail, Cyberpunk 2077 outshines GTA and similar games: there are more bars, clubs, shops, offices, and other interior spaces here. There are many open spaces, even if they're filled with piles of trash and concrete benches. The Badlands also live up to their name, though valuable loot is hidden among the gas stations, motels, power plants, and endless junkyard. The life simulation system is standard. Bots go about their business, flee from gunfire, or chase the player for crimes. The wanted system is similar to GTA's star system.

In the world of "Cyberpunk," there is an internet and social networks in a familiar form. Throughout the playthrough, the player chats, digs through computers, visits websites to buy cars or real estate, and even surfs the internet through virtual reality glasses.

The promised CD Projekt "cyberspace" is implemented as a special way of programming and hacking, a visual interpretation of code. Those who use it are called netrunners. The technology is so dangerous that simply plugging a cable into a head jack won't work — the body functions as a single processor and generates a lot of heat. If not submerged in an ice bath, the body will overheat, and the netrunner will die.

Fans rushed to tweak and improve the game with mods, overhauling every aspect. Modifications for Cyberpunk 2077 are catching up in popularity with Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition and Fallout 4. Developers actively support the modding community by releasing necessary tools. You can download the best and newest mods from our mod database for Cyberpunk 2077.

They enhance graphics and clarity , add radio for every taste, rework the mechanics of machine guns, allow riding the subway and tuning cars, upgrade car physics, add fan service like the Doom sword or the ability to fly.

Attributes — strength, reflexes, intelligence, technical ability, and cool — are the main parameters affecting the character. Each has a tree of perks, which can be abilities, buffs, or improve V's interaction with the world. For example, increasing strength allows you to break into cars, bust open locked doors, or use intimidation. The higher the attribute, the more perks can be learned in a specific branch.

Skills — engineering, endurance, hacking, combat stats, and melee — are small improvements that cater to the player's playstyle. They level up passively as the player performs various actions in the game. So, by using smart weapons, implants, and crafting items, the player levels up engineering, and the skill in turn makes them slightly more effective in crafting and using weapons and implants. Every 5 levels (there are 60 in total), the character receives a passive perk in one of the skill trees.

The third development line is cyber implants (chrome), from 1 to 3, installed in all parts of the character's body. They can add armor and health, speed up regeneration, highlight enemies through walls, increase carrying capacity, damage, and defense in melee combat.

It is not possible to install all the best body modifiers — there is a limit on implant points. Their number is determined by the development of the "technical" attribute. With the 2.0 update, implants play a special role in the playthrough and are as important as the main leveling. For example, the "sandevistan" implant slows down time and allows you to headshot enemies.

The game features melee and firearms in all their known forms, but stands out with five levels of rarity (from common to legendary), damage types (explosive, thermal, electrical, or chemical), and futuristic types.

Regular firearms are called power weapons, they are powerful, but their bullets ricochet heavily. "Tech" weapons based on railgun technology can penetrate cover but shoot slowly. "Smart" weapons fire bullets that track their target until they hit. Weapons can be upgraded to increase damage, accuracy, and other parameters, and their special features, such as bullet ricochet or smart tracking, only work in combination with implants.

Blade weapons, including axes, katanas, long knives, and machetes, are ideal for stealth kills but require getting close to the enemy. With the 2.0 update, katanas and other melee weapons have become more lethal and effective. For melee combat, when you need to stun rather than kill, hammers, non-lethal weapons, or just V's fists will do.

All of this allows you to build characters of different classes and play the game in completely different ways. A solo player can, like Rambo, mow down enemies with a mounted machine gun. A netrunner relies on pistols, sprinting, and blades in their hands. An engineer, while holding a rifle, uses tech and a helper robot.

Playing through Cyberpunk 2077 is typical for open-world games — we move around, complete main and side quest tasks, secondary missions, and participate in random events, such as shootouts between police and gangs. With the 2.0 update, clothing has become purely cosmetic and no longer provides "armor", a role that implants have taken over.

Earning a lot of money, getting the best implants, and legendary weapons are priority tasks for success. You will have to take jobs from fixers, many of which are as detailed as the main quest, craft items from found resources for resale, hack access points, and complete small quests in the world. For example, helping the NCPD (police) fight crime, battling city gangs and capturing their bases.

It is not possible to complete the game without killing anyone. The influence of the shooter component is great, but the combat element, as mentioned above, varies for each class. Также готовьтесь участвовать в гонках, преследовать цель или уходить от погони.

Есть несколько хаб-локаций: квартира, где V отдыхает и хранит вещи, а также бар Afterlife — еще одна ключевая локация в игре.

Cyberpunk 2077 — не просто набор боевых механик и способов взаимодействия с миром; это полноценное сюжетное приключение. Незамысловатая завязка — V жаждет разбогатеть и прославиться в Найт-Сити — оборачивается борьбой с диктатом Корпоратов за свободу, мир и капитализм с появлением Джонни Сильверхенда. Персонаж Киану Ривза не без греха, но отвергает материальный мир и пытается доказать V, что корпорации олицетворяют настоящее зло, а желаемые тачки, шмотки и импланты — лишь инструмент контроля и подавления. Подстегивает внутренний конфликт героев биочип, который перезаписывает сознание V личностью Джонни.

В рамках сюжета нужно завершить три основные линии квестов, каждая со своим набором событий, персонажей, локаций и активностей, сплетающихся в одну из нескольких концовок. Сюжет сразу увлекает, эмоционально заряжает и развивается в разных плоскостях. Идейное противостояние героев, борьба за контроль над телом, амбиции каждого повлиять на мир вокруг и сложные философские вопросы о жизни и смерти, целях и важности времени — всё это проносится перед глазами игрока. А флэшбеки в мир Джонни позволяют проникнуться его образом.

Помимо основной сюжетной линии, есть несколько второстепенных, которые также влияют на концовку и основное прохождение. Но игрок сам выбирает, хочет он всё это выполнять или нет. Игра учтет выбор и построит сюжет в заданном направлении.

Сценаристы умело раскрывают личности как героев, так и персонажей второго плана. V будет сотрудничать или соперничать с людьми самых разных возрастов, культур, статусов и влияния. Кто-то задержится надолго, как любовный интерес, а кто-то пропадет в конце очередной миссии.