Impressions of Cyberpunk 2077. The Amazing City of the Future – review

Everything else I will try to explain in detail below. But if you need a short answer to a single important question, then I answer right away – yes. This is really very cool.

Mr. and Miss Wee

Cyberpunk 2077 begins, of course, with character creation. There are many settings, but only two matters – skin color and voice (the name is always the same – V). After all, the game takes place in the first person, so, most often, you will only see the hands of your hero: you can fully see it only on the equipment screen.

The choice of background is a little more important: it not only affects some options in the dialogs, but also determines the events of the first 20 minutes of the game. They are unique to each of the three backstories, but the ending is the same everywhere – Vee becomes a freelance mercenary on the streets of Night City, paired with the good-natured Jackie Wells.

Jackie and Corporation Vi

For example, choosing the “Corporate” background, we don’t even see V and Jackie meeting. There they have been cooperating for a long time, but on different conditions: one is the client, the other is the performer. And when, as a result of internal intrigues of Arasaka corporation, Vee gets bound, Jackie helps him out in difficult times. And “Street Child” shows a completely different Wee: not a representative of the elite, but a mercenary like Jackie. Here, by the will of fate, they turn out to be competitors, and at first the big man even threatens the hero.

After a short introduction, Vee and Jackie receive an offer from Dex – one of the coolest employers in the city. The task is difficult: to steal a unique chip from the son of the head of Arasaki – that is, from the heir to the most influential corporation in Night City, and possibly in the world. The demo we were playing ended right before the robbery itself, but we already know what will happen after it.

The introduction to the plot turned out to be both soft and dynamic. Cyberpunk 2077 avoids all the most common pitfalls: the characters communicate naturally, without making a discount on the fact that the player does not know certain terms, but the conversation context still allows you to figure out what’s what. The dialogs themselves are excellently written and played; listening to them is a pleasure. There are no long sessions of dumping the exposure on the player – everything you need is served gradually, and important points are spoken out repeatedly. Finally, the “flags” that portend the development of the plot are hung generously – but you need to be quite careful to make out every single one.

As soon as I saw the view from a skyscraper, I immediately asked if it would be possible (with sensible pumping) to kick from it and not break. Alas, no: implants and perks will soften jumping from some roofs, but such heights are already lethal

Is this

The developers claim that “Vi is you,” but I didn’t have that impression – at least judging by what I saw. In contrast to the silent protagonists conditional Fallout, Vi periodically says himself (a), without asking you for permission. There are also not so many answer options in story quests: instead of giving the player an illusion of a yes / no / sarcasm type, Cyberpunk 2077 is limited to a mandatory yes and the optional “ask more”.

In sidequests, of course, everything is different. For example, if you undertake to shut up a detective forever, sticking your nose out of business, you can not kill her, but rather, tell who ordered it. But here the dialogues are rather utilitarian: we make decisions for the hero, but do not determine his character. In this regard, Wi resembles Geralt, although the developers emphasize that this time there will be more freedom of action. So, the senior quest designer Philip Weber assures us that there will also be roleplay in the dialogs.

Philip Weber: I would say that you can sufficiently control the character of your character. Its origin and characteristics will open up new options in dialogs. Moreover, the same remarks spoken by different characters will have different effects: someone will like them, someone not. This is also worth considering when wagering, because the characters will remember how you behaved with them.

Shortly after the start of the game, Vee and Jackie must get a high-tech droid from a factory owned by the Malström group. The robot was stolen from the Miletech Corporation, and V can contact her representative to get support in the form of company agents and a credit chip infected with the virus for buying a droid.

When communicating with the leader of “Malström”, you can silently give him a chip, warn about a trap or pay out of your own pocket so as not to offend anyone. But, of course, you can open fire at any moment and simply kill the whole gang. The previous leader of the Malström, who was tortured by his former subordinates, can be locked up, blown up with a convenient detonator, or released. CDPR promises that every decision will have consequences – regarding both Malström and Militeha if you decide to work with the corporation (or expose it).

To shoot or not to shoot

There is no rigid class system in Cyberpunk 2077: you are free to develop any characteristics, skills and perks to your taste, and then how it goes.

Of the six characteristics shown in the 2018 gameplay video, five remain. Strength increases health and stamina, increases melee damage and allows you to solve some issues, sorry for the tautology, brute force. For example, at the Malström factory you can tear out security turrets with roots and use them as portable machine guns.

The chance of a critical hit, accuracy of shooting and the probability of an enemy miss depends on the reaction. Intelligence makes hacking easier and provides more memory for hacker programs: invest in it and be able to remotely break enemy implants. The technique increases armor and the chance to collect crafting ingredients; it is also needed to crack especially tricky devices, like the same turrets. Finally, steepness gives bonuses to stealth, critical hits and protection from various effects.

Each of the five characteristics has a separate ability tree, full of passive perks like improved health regeneration or reduced damage from falling. Each level gives points that can be spent on characteristics and perks, but skills improve as they are used, as in The elder scrolls. This is quite natural: if you wave your fists a lot or shoot, then pump over the appropriate skills.

You won’t be able to complete the game without implants: Vi receives some of them according to the plot. There is no limit on the number of augmentations in Cyberpunk 2077, unlike CP2020: the developers considered that in a video game it would not be very appropriate

From “iron” the game offers a wide range of weapons and implants. The latter have several degrees of rarity, so the most effective “legendaries” will have to hunt. This, as well as the combat system with the numbers of damage flying out of enemies, evokes thoughts about Borderlands. In Cyberpunk 2077, you won’t be able to play like a shooter: if a second-level Wi discharges a shotgun in the face of a seventh-level lady, that maximum will frown and kill the hero from a couple of shots. That is, headshots, of course, are, and after the release folk craftsmen will surely find some cunning tactics, but the fact remains. This is an RPG, and the characteristics here are of great importance. Fortunately, the game always warns about the level of enemies and tasks in advance – so you know where you climb.

In general, the shootings left a mixed impression. Perhaps I didn’t pick the weapon to my liking, or intuitively waited for something like new Deus ex, where the weapon worked more intuitively, without regard to the level of pumping. Here, shooting was not at all as interesting as walking quietly. Indeed, in this case, clearing the location will require precise planning and execution, and this is felt much more thematically than a dull massacre. Moreover, you can hack almost anything: numerous screens, computers, cameras, turrets, doors, implants, even fans under the ceiling. Well, of the people themselves, of course. Why dirty your hands if you can force the enemy to kill yourself?

What can be done with enemies with the help of cyberdecks? To cause damage by short circuit or overheating, to blind by overloading optics, to deceive with false alarm, cause malfunctions of the weapon and, of course, push suicide by an attack of cyberpsychosis

Philip Weber: A flexible class system should give the player the greatest freedom. Hacking is suitable not only for stealth, but also for a more aggressive game style. One of our testers loves walking with a shotgun and hacking enemies so that they explode or shoot at each other. Or you can become a cybernindzey by gaining stealth skills that are not related to hacking: pump jumps and silent movement, move faster, do tackles, use extremely powerful melee attacks or throw knives.

City of the future

If the battles make Borderlands recall, and the setting and elements of immersive sim are Deus Ex, then the open world is associated with GTA. No, not because there are different criminal gangs in the game, but you can drive cars on the roads. Just Night City is, in fact, an independent character in the game. Each story or optional quest, each new location, grouping and human story adds new strokes to his portrait, and we gradually better understand the life of the city. This is insanely interesting.

Trailers do not lie: the streets are really densely packed with people. Statisticians have nothing to say to the hero – they drop only abrupt phrases addressed to him, often unfriendly. It’s easy to search for unique characters from whom you can obtain the necessary information for the conditional quest in the crowd – they are also marked separately on the minimap.

Plus, you can almost always find nearby some kind of side quest or activity – the very “questions on the map” that gamers expect from open-world games. This can be a full-fledged quest, feasible help from the police, or a small assignment flavored with fun dialogues. For example, to throw an unfortunate man with an implant between the legs to the surgeon: the passenger suffers painfully all the way, switching to falsetto, and then calls to thank and brag about his new, more fashionable unit. The phrase pops up in my head: “Don’t you learn how to do it”; Vi dispenses with a more restrained comment.

Cars will appear in the gameplay: in the game there will be chases and side quests dedicated to racing

Cars in the Cyberpunk 2077 can be stolen: a V with a pumped force can simply tear the door open and get inside, and the techie can gently crack it. However, such cars will still be considered strangers. And Vi’s own car (it can be changed by buying new cars), like Roach, is invoked at any time by pressing a button.

The car doesn’t really beat against obstacles, and it’s possible to crush people, but if you do not kill criminals, but ordinary pedestrians, then the police will not like it. She will not pursue the player as zealously as in GTA: the cops in Night City are very busy, and it is enough to break away from them once, as they wave their hands and go to engage in other intruders. But if you do not want to take risks, you can always get (or rather, teleport) to a place on the subway. Well, or just walking and looking around, the game looks great.

Five months are left before the release of Cyberpunk 2077. She really needs them: there are still a lot of bugs, the mini-map inside the buildings is now useless, interior navigation periodically fails. But these are trifles, and there is enough time to fix them. And the most important and complex elements of the game look ready.

Four hours for the Cyberpunk 2077 passed like a minute. And I have no doubt that in the last two weeks of November, too, there will be absolutely no time to be bored.