4 mind-boggling Cyberpunk 2077 details revealed in early previews
Select members of the press were able to experience a demo for the game. Here's what we learned.
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most anticipated games of 2020, especially now that The Last of Us Part II has been released, and despite a recent delay to November 19, multiple gaming outlets were able to go hands-on with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt developer CD Projekt Red's latest.
From character customization to braindancing, here are the four biggest takeaways we learned from these previews.
4. Cyberpunk 2077 has robust customization options ... even for your genitals?
While we've gotten a brief look at customization in other Cyberpunk 2077 videos, these previews really gave a deep dive on character customization. As Kotaku thoroughly explains in a preview, players start by choosing one of three backgrounds: Corpo, Street Kid, and Nomad. Depending on which you choose, the game's story will be slightly different for you and you'll start Cyberpunk 2077 in different locations.
Cyberpunk 2077 will allow players to thoroughly customize their character.
Once that's chosen, you can dive into customizing your character. Kotaku confirms that there are many customization options are at your disposal. There are "6 skin types, 35 hairstyles, 17 eyes, 8 eyebrows, 17 eyes, 17 mouths, 17 jaws, 17 ears, 8 bits of cyberware (as well as no cyberware), 9 types of scars plus off, 6 types of tatts plus off, 11 piercings plus off, 5 types of teeth, 8 bits of eye makeup, 5 bits of lip makeup plus off, 3 blemishes, 3 types of nipples, 5 types of body tatts, [and] 2 types of body scars."
That's already incredibly detailed, but the Kotaku preview also highlights the number of customization options players have over their character's genitals. There are 2 kinds of penises, one kind of vagina, and 5 kinds of pubic hair you can choose from, though you can choose to disable these options. Cyberpunk 2077's character creator will clearly be incredibly detailed, maybe even a bit more so than you'd want it to be.
3. Night City is densely packed and feels alive.
Many previews note an impressive amount of worldbuilding and the sheer density of Night City. An IGN even delves just into exploration. "I was able to access far more nooks and alleys than I would have normally expected," the preview explains. "I could almost always loot something, chat with strangers, or help an NPC being threatened by another. I even found a nice sniper rifle and rare crafting materials on a quiet rooftop after taking a random elevator."
The preview also highlights that there are a plethora of sidequests to complete in Cyberpunk 2077 too. You can accept gig to gain favor with a district's "fixer," hunting people down for their bounties, fulfill Scanner Hustles for Night City's Police Department, and more story-driven sidequests with distinct characters.
Cyberpunk 2077 appears to have an even more detailed and intriguing world than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, so you'll always have something to do. This preview only applies to a very small part of the map too, so there's probably a lot me we still don't know about.
2. Braindancing provides news ways to approach a situation.
The Braindance feature was one that took center stage in both June 25's Night City Wire and some previews. While Cyberpunk 2077 is normally a first-person shooter and RPG hybrid, these sections play out closer to the detective segments from Batman: Arkham Knight, though they are more detailed. Braindances allow the player to go into the mind of someone else and edit their memories.
An explanation from Game Informer backed up all of the features different uses, which were just teased during Night City Wire. You can use braindances to "such as focusing on audio to hear faraway conversations or shifting to the thermal observation layer to detect if an item’s in the freezer." They also used this ability to find the location of items that may have been useful later.
Ultimately, Game Informer's preview concludes that "braindance offers a disturbing, but vicarious, dip into another character’s life and experiences. As a gameplay tool, it opens up intriguing avenues for players to gather information and clues." While it may not be the main draw of Cyberpunk 2077, brain dancing adds an unexpected layer to the game's worldbuilding and story.
1. Cyberpunk 2077's story is gripping right from the start!
CD Projekt Red's games are also known for their engaging stories, and Cyberpunk 2077 is no different. While the start of the game is a bit different depending on the class you choose, another IGN preview indicates that they'll all eventually end up at a place called Lizzie's Bar, meet with a crew member called Jackie, who was introduced in the latest trailer, and are tasked with getting something called The Relic a CEO's' son has stolen.
In the quest for The Relic, will not only braindance, but explore Nighty City and get familiar with many of its factions. Cyberpunk 2077 has a detailed dialogue system and an insane amount of player choice, so you'll be maintaining relationships with not just individual people but factions too. IGN's preview teases that a tense conversation to negotiate for a helpful robot could've quickly escalated into violence if the player had made different choices early on or went into the encounter guns-a-blazing.
All four of these key highlights from previews really just demonstrate how in-depth CD Projekt Red has gone with Cyberpunk 2077. The story already has a lot of variation, and that doesn't even account for all of the side activities players can do and their different outcomes. On top of all that, braindancing offers a new way to engage with the world. If you were worried about Cyberpunk 2077 not living up to the detailed standard of previous CD Projekt Red games, all of these previews should quash those worries.
Cyberpunk 2077 will be released for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 19, 2020.
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