Cyberpunk 2077 is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt, based on video game designer Mike Pondsmith’s game series. Set in a dystopian Cyberpunk universe, the player assumes the role of “V” (played by Gavin Drea/Cherami Leigh), a mercenary in the fictional Californian city known as “Night City”, where they deal with the fallout from a heist gone wrong that results in an experimental cybernetic “bio-chip” containing an engram of the legendary rock star and terrorist Johnny Silverhand (played by Keanu Reeves) threatening to slowly overwrite V’s mind; as the story progresses V and Johnny must work together to find a way to be separated and save V’s life.
The game’s development began following the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine (2016). The game was developed by a team of around 500 people using the REDengine 4 game engine. CD Projekt launched a new division in Wrocław, Poland, and partnered with Digital Scapes, Nvidia, QLOC, and Jali Research to aid the production. Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith was a consultant, and actor Keanu Reeves had a starring role. The original score was led by Marcin Przybyłowicz, and featured the contributions of several licensed artists. After years of anticipation, CD Projekt released Cyberpunk 2077 for PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, and Xbox One on 10 December 2020, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 15 February 2022.
Cyberpunk 2077 received praise from critics for its narrative, setting, and graphics. However, some of its gameplay elements received mixed responses while its themes and representation of transgender characters received some criticism. It was also widely criticized for bugs, particularly in the console versions which suffered from performance problems. Sony removed it from the PlayStation Store from December 2020 to June 2021 while CD Projekt rectified some of the problems. CD Projekt became subject to investigations and class-action lawsuits for their perceived attempts at downplaying the severity of the technical problems before release; these were ultimately cleared with a settlement of US$1.85 million. By September 2022, the game has sold more than 20 million copies. An expansion, Phantom Liberty, is set to release on 26 September 2023 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. A sequel was announced.
Gameplay
Cyberpunk 2077 (also called Cyberpunk) is an action role-playing game[2] played from a first-person perspective as V,[3] a mercenary whose voice,[4] face, hairstyle, body type and modifications, background, and clothing are customisable. Stat categories—Body, Intelligence, Reflexes, Technical, and Cool—are influenced by the character classes that players assume, which are NetRunner (hacking), Techie (machinery), and Solo (combat). V must consult a “ripperdoc” to upgrade and purchase cyberware implants; black markets offer military-grade abilities.[5] The rarity of any given equipment is shown by a coloured tier system.[6] V can take cover, aim, run, jump, double jump, and slide.[7][8] Melee strikes can be dealt with close-combat weapons.[9][10] There are three types of ranged weapons, all of which can be customised and modified—Power (standard), Tech (which penetrates walls and enemies), and Smart (with homing bullets).[11][12] Ranged weapons are equipped to ricochet bullets in a target’s direction and slow them down in bullet time. Four types of damage can be inflicted and resisted—Physical, Thermal, EMP, and Chemical.[13][14][15] Weapon use increases accuracy and reloading speed, which are manifested in character animations.[16] Gunsmiths repair and upgrade weapons.[9] The game can be completed without killing anyone,[17] with non-lethal options for weapons and cyberware.[18]
The open world metropolis of Night City consists of six regions; the corporate City Centre, immigrant-inhabited Watson, luxurious Westbrook, suburban Heywood, gang-infested Pacifica, and industrial Santo Domingo. Its surrounding area, the Badlands, can also be explored. V navigates these locations on foot and in vehicles, which are subject to either a third- or first-person view.[5] Pedestrians are vulnerable to vehicular collisions.[12] Depending on the location, law enforcement may be alerted if V commits a crime.[19][20] Radio stations are available to listen to.[21] The full day-night cycle and dynamic weather affect the way non-player characters (NPCs) behave.[11][22] V owns an apartment and a garage.[9][23] Night City features non-English-speaking characters, whose languages can be translated with special implants.[24] “Braindance” is a device that allows V to undergo other people’s experiences.[25][26] Branching dialogues enable interaction with NPCs and actions in quests.[27] Experience points are obtained from main quests and fuel the stats; side quests yield “street cred”, unlocking skills, vendors, places, and additional quests.[6][11][12][28] Quests are acquired from characters known as Fixers.[12] Throughout the game, V is aided by various companions.[9] Consumables, like soft drinks, are used for healing, and objects can be inspected in V’s inventory.[8] Minigames include hacking, boxing, auto racing,[29] martial arts, and shooting ranges.[30] The player’s in-game choices can lead to different endings.[26]
Synopsis
Setting
Night City is an American megacity in the Free State of North California, controlled by corporations and unassailed by the laws of both country and state. It sees conflict from rampant gang wars and its ruling entities contending for dominance. The city relies on robotics for everyday aspects like waste collection, maintenance, and public transportation.[31][32] Its visual identity is derived from the four eras it underwent—austere Entropism, colourful Kitsch, imposing Neo-Militarism, and opulent Neo-Kitsch.[33] Homelessness abounds but does not preclude cybernetic modification for the poor, giving rise to cosmetic addiction and consequent violence. These threats are dealt with by the armed force known as MAX TAC.[34][35] Trauma Team can be employed for rapid medical services.[36] Because of the constant threat of physical harm, all citizens are allowed to carry firearms in public openly.[37]
Plot
The game begins with the selection of one of three lifepaths for the player character V (Gavin Drea or Cherami Leigh): Nomad, Streetkid, or Corpo. All three lifepaths involve V starting a new life in Night City with local thug Jackie Welles (Jason Hightower) and having various adventures with a netrunner, T-Bug.
In 2077, local fixer Dexter “Dex” DeShawn (Michael-Leon Wooley) hires V and Jackie to steal a biochip known as “the Relic” from Arasaka Corporation. They acquire the Relic, but the plan goes awry when they witness the murder of the megacorp’s leader Saburo Arasaka (Masane Tsukayama) at the hands of his treacherous son Yorinobu (Hideo Kimura). Yorinobu covers up the murder as poisoning and triggers a security sweep in which Arasaka’s netrunners kill T-Bug. V and Jackie escape, but Jackie is fatally wounded in the process, and the Relic’s protective case is damaged, forcing V to insert the biochip into the cyberware in their head.
Furious at the unwanted police attention, Dex shoots V in the head and leaves them for dead in a landfill. Upon awakening, V is haunted by the digital ghost of war veteran turned iconic rock star Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves), believed to have died in 2023 during a thermonuclear attack on Arasaka Tower. V learns from their ripperdoc Viktor Vector (Michael Gregory) that Dex’s bullet triggered resurrection nanotech on the biochip, repairing the damage to V’s brain but starting an irreversible process to overwrite their memories with those of Johnny, whose memory engram is stored on the chip, leaving V only a few weeks before the process completes. The biochip cannot be removed, so V must find a way to remove Johnny and survive.
Through reliving Johnny’s memories, V learns that in 2013, Johnny’s then-girlfriend Alt Cunningham (Alix Wilton Regan) had created Soulkiller, an artificial intelligence able to copy netrunners’ minds through their neural links. However, the process destroyed the target’s brain. Arasaka kidnapped Alt and forced her to create their own version of Soulkiller, which would store the minds of its targets in Arasaka’s digital fortress, Mikoshi. Johnny led a rescue effort to save Alt, but failed to find her before Arasaka used Soulkiller on her; Johnny’s later thermonuclear attack was a cover to free Alt’s consciousness from Arasaka’s subnet, but Arasaka’s head of security Adam Smasher captured him and used Soulkiller on him as well.
By 2077, Arasaka was advertising a “Secure Your Soul” program and conducting secret research into writing a digital copy of a mind into a living human brain, from which the Relic arose. Eventually, V must decide whether to mount an attack on Arasaka Tower to gain physical access to Mikoshi and use Soulkiller to remove Johnny from their body or to make a deal with Arasaka to extract the Relic.
Depending upon player actions throughout the game, V can choose different options to conduct the attack. V can allow Johnny to stage the attack with his former crew, suppress Johnny and mount the attack with a network of allies assembled during the game, mount the attack solo, or simply commit suicide. Regardless, after beating Adam and either successfully using Soulkiller or after having Arasaka perform surgery on them, it is revealed that the damage to V’s body is irreversible. Depending on player choice, V either requests Arasaka to be uploaded into Mikoshi until a suitable host body is found, remains in their body with an uncertain life expectancy, or allows Johnny to take over permanently. If the latter is taken, Johnny pays his respects to his friends and leaves Night City to start a new life.
Production
Preliminary work on Cyberpunk 2077 began following the release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition (2012). CD Projekt Red—CD Projekt’s internal development studio—approached Mike Pondsmith, the writer of Cyberpunk and founder of R. Talsorian Games, in early 2012, sending him a copy of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011). Impressed with the studio’s unparalleled knowledge of the Cyberpunk universe at the time, Pondsmith and CD Projekt Red reached an agreement to license Cyberpunk‘s story from the year 2077 onward to CD Projekt Red, while Pondsmith retained the rights for media in the Cyberpunk universe set up until the year 2077. To ensure Cyberpunk‘s story remained cohesive during development, Pondsmith served as a consultant on Cyberpunk 2077. Pondsmith’s experience at Microsoft developing games such as Crimson Skies (2000) and Blood Wake (2001), and at Monolith Productions developing The Matrix Online (2005), provided valuable wisdom to CD Projekt Red, in comparison to Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski‘s indifference towards the studio during the development of The Witcher (2007) and The Witcher 2.[38]