Cyberpunk 2077

The game from CD Projekt RED, the creators of The Witcher, is based on the tabletop game Cyberpunk 2020 by Mike Pondsmith. Players are 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 multinational 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 role-playing action game with immersive sim elements. When driving vehicles, it switches to third-person view. The action unfolds 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 players to hack computer systems and opponents' implants, shoot or slice enemies in close combat. The chosen background of the hero (corporate, gangster, or street kid) does not affect the main story but provides unique dialogues when interacting with secondary characters.

The game features a setting — "cyberpunk" — in the representation of 80s sci-fi. It is not dark, cold, and technological, but bright, kitschy, and crazy. There is a blending of human and machine. Active augmentation of people with cyber prosthetics and brain implants is everywhere. Free artificial intelligence. Urban landscapes of a metropolis ravaged by economic crisis, street gang wars, and corporate conflicts. Streets illuminated by neon lights and hieroglyphs. This is a world where high technology coexists with a declining society and low living standards.

We learned about the start of work on the game based on "Cyberpunk" in 2012. A 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 embodied 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. A new pursuit system was introduced, and shootouts while driving were added. The artificial intelligence was revamped, teaching NPCs, police, and enemies to react appropriately to what is happening. The upgrade tree was completely updated, and the controls were refreshed. The graphical component was significantly improved. With patch 2.0, the open world, role-playing system, and interaction with the police worked as they should have at launch.

The structure of the Cyberpunk world is very different from our reality: technology developed more intensively, and elective democracy was replaced by corporatocracy, meaning the power of multinational corporations. At the beginning of the 21st century, half of the American states gained autonomy from Washington, but the USA did not collapse; instead, it formed a confederation. Under pressure from circumstances, California split into Northern and Southern, with the border between them lying south of Night City.

The city was founded in 1994 by billionaire Richard Knight, who wanted to build a utopia free of crime, poverty, and government dictatorship. He was supported by corporations attracted by the freedom in unethical developments. But everything turned upside down when Richard was killed, and the 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 plunged into chaos and anarchy. Corporations canceled human rights and take over any successful business, while gangs on the streets devalued human life.

Bright spots in this dark reality are the heroes of the past, such as Johnny Silverhand (a character played by Keanu Reeves). The leader of the band Samurai actively fought against injustice through his songs before ending up in V's head. In his time, 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.

The ideology of the residents is simple — to know how to present oneself advantageously and stand up for oneself, which increased the number of freaks, crazies, and maniacs on the streets. Night City became a city of adventurers who find themselves 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 surrounding Badlands wasteland to the east. The city consists of 6 key districts:

Night City appears beautiful. Here, buildings feature rich architecture and unusual shapes. Giant screens, neon and regular signs are everywhere. Cars fly through the sky. Subway trains zip by on monorails. Nightclubs look like they are from iconic sci-fi. The characters on the streets, cars, and the appearance of buildings match the descriptions of the districts. In the center, there are corporate types and celebrities in expensive cars, while on the outskirts, simple guys drive clunkers. The interiors reflect this too: an ornate shack with plastic and cheap decor in Pacific 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 surpasses GTA and other similar games: there are more bars, clubs, shops, offices, and other interior spaces here. There are many open spaces, although their filling is limited to mountains of trash and concrete benches. The wastelands have also earned their name, although among gas stations, motels, power plants, and endless dumps, valuable loot is hidden. The life simulation system is standard. Bots go about their business, run away from gunfire, or chase the player for offenses. The wanted system is similar to the star system from GTA.

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

The promised CD Projekt "cyberspace" is realized 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 entering the network by plugging a cable into the head socket is not possible - the body works as a single processor and generates a lot of heat. If it is not submerged in an ice bath, the body will overheat, and the netrunner will die.

Fans rushed to polish and improve the game with mods, reworking 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 freshest modifications from our mod database for Cyberpunk 2077.

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

Attributes — strength, reflexes, intelligence, tech, and coolness — are the main parameters affecting the character. Inside each tree are perks that can be abilities, buffs, or improve V's interaction with the world. For example, by upgrading strength, one can break into cars, force open locked doors, or use intimidation. The higher the attribute, the more perks can be learned in a separate branch.

Skills — engineering, endurance, hacking, combat parameters, and melee — are small improvements that correspond to the player's playstyle. They level up in passive mode when the player performs certain actions in the game. Thus, using smart weapons, implants, and crafting items, the player levels up engineering, and the skill in return makes them slightly more effective in crafting and using weapons and implants. Every 5 levels (a total of 60), the character receives a passive perk in one line or another.

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

You cannot install all the best body modifiers — there is a limit on implant points. Their number is determined by the development of the "tech" attribute. With update 2.0, implants play a special role in gameplay and are as important as the main upgrades. For example, the implant "sandevistan" slows down time and allows for headshots against enemies.

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

Regular firearms are called power weapons; they are powerful, but their bullets ricochet a lot. "Techno" based on railgun technology penetrates cover but shoots slowly. "Smart" fires bullets that track their target until they hit it. You can attach upgrades to guns that increase damage, accuracy, and other parameters, and their features, like ricochet or bullet intelligence, only work in combination with implants.

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

All of this allows for the creation of characters from different classes and to play the game in completely different ways. A lone wolf can, just like Rambo, shred enemies with a machine gun. A netrunner relies on pistols, sprinting, and blades in their hands. An engineer, although holding an assault rifle, utilizes technology and a helper robot.

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

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

It won't be possible to complete the game without killing anyone. The influence of the shooter elements is significant, but the combat component, as mentioned above, varies for each class. Also, be prepared to participate in races, pursue targets, or evade chases.

There are several hub locations: an apartment, where V rests and stores items, as well as the Afterlife bar — another key location in the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 is not just a set of combat mechanics and ways to interact with the world; it is a full-fledged narrative adventure. The simple premise — V desires to get rich and become famous in Night City — turns into a struggle against the Corporations' dictatorship for freedom, peace, and capitalism with the emergence of Johnny Silverhand. Keanu Reeves' character is not without flaws, but he rejects the material world and tries to prove to V that corporations embody true evil, and the desired cars, clothes, and implants are merely tools of control and oppression. The internal conflict of the heroes is fueled by a biochip that rewrites V's consciousness with Johnny's personality.

Within the story, you need to complete three main quest lines, each with its own set of events, characters, locations, and activities, intertwining into one of several endings. The plot immediately captivates, emotionally charges, and develops in different dimensions. The ideological confrontation of the heroes, the struggle for control over the body, each one's ambition to influence the world around them, and complex philosophical questions about life and death, goals, and the importance of time — all of this unfolds before the player's eyes. And flashbacks into Johnny's world allow you to immerse yourself in his character.

In addition to the main storyline, there are several side quests that also affect the ending and the main gameplay. But the player decides whether they want to complete them or not. The game will take the choice into account and build the story in the chosen direction.

The writers skillfully reveal the personalities of both the heroes and the supporting characters. V will collaborate or compete with people of various ages, cultures, statuses, and influences. Some will stay for a long time, like a love interest, while others will disappear at the end of another mission.