Microsoft’s conference at E3 2019 has been packed with big announcements, unsurprisingly. One of them is Cyberpunk 2077, the long-awaited game from the creators of The Witcher 3, whose trailer and its protagonists have only increased the desire for its launch.
We were all waiting for the date, of course, but designer Mike Pondsmith’s video game not only offered a release date, but also featured actor Keanu Reeves, as the title character – specifically it will be Johnny Silverhand – from Reeves himself. Many have remembered the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic, in which Reeves plays a kind of human USB. This story started from the very creator of cyberpunk, William Gibson, who published a story of the same name in 1981 in the magazine Omni (which would later be followed by Neuromancer ).
Since it was announced for the first time, in 2013, information about the game has been offered with a dropper, but what do we know about the video game so far? Will it be like its predecessor?
The beginnings
We have to go back to 1988 when Mike Pondsmith , in a time when cyberpunk aesthetics was in full swing, was presented with Cyberpunk 2020 -second edition-, a revolutionary and dystopian fictional role-playing game within the cyberpunk subgenre. Here, a society in decline, is governed by ubiquitous corporations that, of course, are above the law and where cybernetic modifications are the order of the day. Technomedical, fixer, mercenary, netrunner … were some of the roles that players could choose. We are immersed in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamor and body modification.
What will Cyberpunk 2077 be like?
The player will assume the role of V, a character that can be fully customized; we can choose gender, skin color, body shape, etc. Players can also modify aspects of V’s personality, including Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, Reflexes, Technology … You can choose a proper name if you wish, but V is the alias in which all players will be included.
Judging from the demo, Cyberpunk 2077 will be a first-person game, complete with a standard HUD, a mix of Grand Theft Auto and Deus Ex with an ambitious amount of things to do. It will be mainly about hand-to-hand combat or with firearms, but it will not be the only way to solve a particular problem.
Thus, players will experience the entire universe through the eyes of V, with an interactive dialogue system that will allow them a greater narrative immersion. As we progress through the streets of Night City and the huge skyscrapers, we will have to make difficult decisions that will follow us throughout the game. And, of course, there is no guarantee that things will turn out well; after all, this is Cyberpunk.
Since it is based on an existing system, it includes many nods to the original rules of Cyberpunk 2020, including a coolness stat that is to determine your character’s readiness to fight while injured and your ability to fight under fire, as well as how implants and other items that can improve statistics, such as the leather jacket that V wears during the demonstration that increases credibility on the street , allowing better prices for sellers. V is also shown getting a spider robot that shoots enemies for you, as well as an off-screen helper to identify enemies to shoot.
The biggest game to date
The title has a team of more than 400 people. They assure that the game is “much, much bigger than ‘The Witcher 3′”, and it is that we can even use vehicles that allow us to move comfortably and use autonomous driving to make the journey more bearable or concentrate on the action while the vehicle continues its course.
Of course, you have to keep in mind that Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be very, very, explicit and, therefore, it will not be suitable for children at all.
Because Cyberpunk 2077 is an FPS and RPG game, you will also find options to switch weapons, fight other NPCs, improve your stats, and more. There will also be a melee combat option for those who love action.
Dialogue will occur in real time as you interact with NPCs, offering branch dialogue options that allow you to have full control over interactions and where your story goes. And remember, nothing is procedural and the world will be huge, with many areas to explore. There will be areas that will require ingenuity and some diplomacy. We are in a war zone and your journey begins after the fourth corporate war.
When can we play Cyberpunk 2077?
You will be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. It won’t be released until April 16, 2020 but you can pre-order the game if you want to make sure you get it as soon as possible. CD Projekt RED has confirmed that there will be two different editions for the game, a standard edition and a collector’s edition.
