After 4 thrilling hours in Cyberpunk 2077's massive open world, I'm hungry for more

[Nergal]

 

 

On the outskirts of Night City lie the Badlands. This vast expanse of barren desert, Joshua trees, and low, sloping hills is scattered with dried-up oil fields, heaps of scrap, and rough, isolated towns. Old tarmac roads—built long ago before the world went to shit—criss-cross the landscape, partially buried in sand. And far in the distance, through a dusty blue haze, I can just about see the monolithic skyscrapers and holographic billboards of the city. But that comes later. For now, I'm stuck in this backwater no man's land.

Cyberpunk 2077 features three distinct life paths, which determine your starting area and your relationship with the world. I'm given the choice to play as a street kid, a corporate agent, or a wandering nomad. I choose the latter and find myself in a dingy garage in one of those remote Badlands towns, staring into a filthy mirror. I tear a patch from my leather jacket, the emblem of the Nomad gang I used to run with—a lifestyle change I'll learn more about later in the game. I'm a lone wolf now. Well, I would be if my car would start.

My ride, which looks like a vintage 1980s rally hatchback retro-fitted with high-tech parts, has broken down. The mechanic is struggling to make sense of my customised engine, so I step in. Nomads rely on their vehicles for survival, which means I'm pretty handy with a wrench. I mess around in the hood, swapping some wires around, then climb into the driver's seat and start the engine. It roars to life, but before I can drive away, the local sheriff strolls in, puts one leg on the bumper, and asks me what I'm doing in his town.

He's the classic suspicious smalltown sheriff. Ten-gallon hat, gleaming gold badge, aviator shades hiding his eyes, air of superiority. But I also notice that he has augmented hands, and the band of his hat is fitted with some kind of electronic device. A camera, perhaps? Already I'm impressed by the level of detail in Cyberpunk 2077, and how layered it feels; as if this modern technology has been grafted, not quite seamlessly, onto an existing world.

 

[PixieDust]

I'm hyped for this game to the maximum. However, after all these trailers, journalist gameplays, trailer remasters, interviews, world descriptions, etc, I fear that when finally this game will come out, it will already be old. I hope they won't postpone it anymore.

[uromastyx]

On 7/21/2020 at 5:23 AM, PixieDust said:

I'm hyped for this game to the maximum. However, after all these trailers, journalist gameplays, trailer remasters, interviews, world descriptions, etc, I fear that when finally this game will come out, it will already be old. I hope they won't postpone it anymore.

I agree. I'm trying not to go nuts with watching too many of their hype videos on youtube, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

 

They recently had some pretty cool cyberpunk PC builds on their channel which was pretty rad. Definitely excited for this one

[Steinad]

I have reserved the Playstation 4 digital version. I have seen the map, and looks very good. The studio mentioned the map will be smaller than the Witcher 3, but it will be richer in content. 

[BlackPotato]

That looks nice.