Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure role-playing video game, developed and published by CD Projekt RED that was released December 10, 2020. The game was announced during the 2012 CD Projekt Red Summer Conference as the official video game adaption of Mike Pondsmith's pen and paper RPG Cyberpunk 2020. An expansion for the videogame, called Phantom Liberty, was released on September 26, 2023. An "Ultimate Edition", including the base game and its expansion is set to release on December 5, 2023 alongside Patch 2.1.
Cyberpunk 2077 Setting
Cyberpunk 2077 is a continuation of the events of Cyberpunk 2020, taking an alternate path to that of Cyberpunk V3.0. The game is set in the dystopian metropolis of Night City. It is set in the Free State of Northern California. Night City is located south of San Francisco around the area of Morro Bay, CA. During Cyberpunk 2020, Night City is said to have a population of more than five million inhabitants. However, this number is suspected to be considerably larger in 2077.
Following an economic collapse sometime during the early 21st century, the United States is forced to rely on large corporations to survive. These corporations deal in a wide range of areas, such as weapons, robotics, cybernetics, pharmaceuticals, communications, and biotechnology; many of these companies operate above the law.
The game follows the story of V — a hired gun on the rise in Night City, the most violent and dangerous metropolis of the corporate-ruled future. A robust character creator will allow players to choose V's gender, visual appearance, as well as historical background — all of which may influence the shape of the game.
The world is inspired by the works of authors such as William Gibson (author of Neuromancer) and Phillip K Dick, whose novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and subsequent movie adaption Blade Runner heavily influenced the creator, Mike Pondsmith, in creating the original tabletop RPG.
Cyberpunk 2077 Plot
The player character V, is contracted along with Jackie Welles, to steal an important piece of technology from the Arasaka Corporation - known as the chip of immortality - by fixer Dexter Deshawn. The duo manage to infiltrate the megacorp and steal the device but the plan goes awry and Jackie appears to die. After meeting with Dexter, V is betrayed and left for dead in a landfill, but manages to survive - possibly in-part due to the chip of immortality - and is haunted by the digital-ghost of iconic Rockerboy, Johnny Silverhand.
The Corpo-Rat
V starts in the Arasaka Tower, where Arthur Jenkins gives them a job to take out another corporate employee. V arrives at Lizzie's Bar by AV and is accosted by several basketball players, whom they almost crushed by conducting an illegal landing on the basketball court. V enters the establishment and meets up with their old friend Jackie Welles, and the two begin to discuss.
Unfortunately for them both, their target has caught wind of the attempt and Arasaka personnel arrive. V's contract is terminated in full and they are nearly dragged away by the Arasaka goons, only for Jackie to step in and intimidate the Arasaka personnel into backing down. V has lost almost everything at this point - except for the 10,0000 eurodollars Jenkins gave them.
The Nomad
V, a lone nomad on their way to Night City, has car issues on the border to the badlands and is forced to seek the services of a local mechanic. V managed to fix the vehicle before they are confronted by the local sheriff as they continue on towards Night City. V then has to head to a nearby radio mast to get in touch with someone from their clan in order to meet up with Jackie Welles on the outskirts and collect an Arasaka-owned cryo-storage container which must then be smuggled through the border checkpoint. Border security tips off Arasaka, however, and agents attempt to intercept V and Jackie before they can enter the city; a car chase ensues where V must use a DR5 Nova to take care of the pursuers.
After shaking the Arasaka pursuit, Jackie and V take a moment to inspect the cargo; it turns out to be an iguana of a species from the Lesser Antilles, one thought to be completely extinct.
The Streetkid
V is running a job for Kirk Sawyer, who provides them with the technology to steal a high-end Rayfield Aerondight "Guinevere" owned by Kaoru Fujioka. V enters the car before they are stopped and held at gunpoint by Jackie Welles, who also intends to steal the car for his own purposes. Before he is successful, an NCPD squad show up, and busts the pair. The squad is led by Jackie's childhood acquaintance, Inspector Stints, who also recognizes V. Kaoru—the Arasaka employee—shows up and orders Stints to kill the pair and dump their bodies out at sea, as he does not wish to see them go to trial. Jackie and V are beaten up by the police, but are ultimately spared, and the two decide to join forces.
Cyberpunk 2077 Gameplay
Cyberpunk is an open world, non-linear RPG with an FPS style in which players are able to customize their character to suit their play style. Quests and objectives can be completed in a variety of different ways. One such example of gameplay is non-English speaking characters featured throughout Night City.
The game was originally stated to be a single player experience with multiplayer elements. It was reported in early 2018 that the multiplayer components may have been scrapped,[1] however in June 2018 CD Projekt stated that they had multiplayer "in R&D" but it would not be included for the game's launch.
The world has dynamic weather and a day/night cycle.
Perspective
The game is played primarily from a first-person perspective. A new combat system has been developed around this perspective that includes the use of guns, melee weapons, implants, and even combat stimulants that grant additional bonuses, such as increasing speed. Players may choose a third-person perspective whilst driving vehicles.
Attributes
Main article: Cyberpunk 2077 Attributes
Player characters have attributes which can be raised via leveling and installing cyberware. Skills and perks can also be selected; skills are related to performing actions - such as hacking, crafting, specific weapons, etc. - while perks can be unlocked with both Street Cred and XP. There are five key attributes: Body, Cool, Intelligence, Reflexes, and Technical Ability.
During character creation, the player can select a gender and customize their character; customization can include depictions of breasts, buttocks, and genitalia, as well as various sizes and combinations of genitals. Options also include picking between a male or female sounding voice, while also adjusting the pitch.[2] Other tabs that have further customization options include Birth Record, Biometric Scan (face, hair, scars, coloration), Appearance (style, clothes, makeup, piercings, tattoos, mods), and Biostats.
One can also choose from a set of background stories (Nomad, Streetkid, or Corporate) and other elements to fully flesh out their characters (like childhood hero, key life events, and what drove them to Night City).
Exploration
Dialogue Options
Cycle through dialogue options to select one. Gold dialogue options represent important choices that progress the conversation. Blue dialogue options represent choices that might reveal valuable information or lead to interesting interactions. Some of them tie into your life path. Some dialogue options will appear grayed out, meaning you do not meet the Attribute requirement necessary to make that choice.
Some dialogue points are time sensitive, as indicated by a status bar which depletes over time appearing above the available options. During this time, V much choose a dialogue option before the bar runs out, or the conversation will acknowledge V's lack of answer as a response itself.
Due to the gameplay mechanics, there no way to exit conversations other than V physically walking away; this will often prompt an annoyed or dismayed response from the character V was speaking with, but typically does not result in any negative consequences, and the conversation will continue or restart once V is back within speaking range. Characters will also acknowledge if V does not respond to their dialogue for an extended time, though, unlike the aforementioned time-sensitive dialogue points, this will not affect the conversation.
Scanning
Quick scan or enter scanning mode, which highlights objects of interest around you and can provide useful information about them.
- Enemies: Red
- Interactive objects: Blue
- Job-related objects: Gold
- Hackable objects: Green
- Loot: icon