CD Projekt RED were interviewed at Gamescom 2018 during a livestream, during which extensive and very interesting details emerged on the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, for things ranging from its open world and its interactive nature, to player choice, to combat, and more. The bulk of the details, translated from German to English, have been compiled in this Reddit thread.
Among the most frequently asked questions about Cyberpunk 2077 is one that pertains to its release date, and CD Projekt RED said that it’s something they won’t be announcing till they’re completely confident about one. While speaking about this, they brought up the example of The Witcher 3, and how the multiple delays for the game were quite painful for both them and their fans, and that this is something they don’t want to repeat.
They said that the game’s development hasn’t progressed to a stage where they can confidently show it to larger audiences, and has things such as bugs, buggy textures, and crashing issues that need to be ironed out yet. This seems to be in line with earlier reports, of course- quite recently we learned that even though Cyberpunk 2077 is now playable from start to finish, development on the game is still far from over.
They also talked about how the pressure of expectations after just how incredible The Witcher 3 was is’t really something they’re concerned with, and what they’re focused on more than anything else is making the most perfect game they can. Something they have taken cues for from The Witcher 3, though, is the element of player choice, which is something they’ve spoken of in the past as well.
As such, side quests in Cyberpunk 2077 are going to be intrinsically tied to the main story, and just like it was in The Witcher 3, progress in side quests will have an impact on how your story unfolds as well. Not doing side quests or messing up while attempting them will change how the main story progresses considerably.
Which, of course, means that it’s entirely possible that the ending you get may not be one you’re comfortable with. Any ending you get in the game, according to CDPR, will make players feel the weight of their earlier actions. Additionally, CD Projekt RED also noted that simply playing the role of the good guy at all times won’t necessarily result in a good ending.
Something else CD Projekt RED spoke of briefly was the game’s combat, which they described as being a blend of FPS and RPG, echoing earlier statements they’ve made on the subject as well. They assured fans that the shooting mechanics in Cyberpunk 2077 are going to feel right, saying that one of the people working on the gun combat in the game is an ardent Counter-Strike player.
Things such as bending bullets, bullets that shoot through walls, and dismembering enemies with katanas have been mentioned by the devs in the past, and CD Projekt RED reiterated the inclusion of such things in combat once again when they brought up the example of katanas being able to deflect bullets.
CDPR also spoke at some length about Cyberpunk 2077’s world, and how players will be able to interact with it extensively. For instance, if you see objects lying around on the ground (and you will), and any of these pique your interest, you’ll be able to interact with them. On the subject of interiors, CDPR confirmed that players won’t be able to access the interiors of every single building in the game, because not each and every one of them can possibly have meaningfully interesting interiors, while this would also present larger issues of technical bugs.
Meanwhile, customizing the player’s appearance is something we’ve known for a while will be included in the game, but according to CDPR, it will actually serve a purpose. NPCs in the game will react to your appearance appropriately, and their behaviour might change on the basis of this as well. If you’re wearing “cool” clothes or apparel or have tattoos, people in the game will react to them accordingly.
There’s also the matter of flying cars. Every since these were shown off in Cyberpunk 2077’s E3 2018 reveal, people have been asking whether these will be drivable as well. Earlier, CDPR confirmed that while players can cause a fair bit of chaos with ground vehicles, flying cars can’t be controlled.
However, at Gamescom, CDPR said that that’s something they haven’t really locked down yet- it’s something they would love to include in the game, but given the density of the environments and their verticality, they would struggle to properly implement it in the game. Interestingly enough, they mentioned that flying cars are primarily clashing with the possibility of destructible environments, which is something else they’ve briefly touched on in the past. It looks like, for now, it’s an “either-or” situation with those two things- however, it’s possible that neither end up being included in the game.
Cyberpunk 2077 launches… hopefully sometime soon. We don’t know yet whether they’ll be launching on current gen systems, but CD Projekt RED have stated in the past that they’re targeting a launch for the PS4 and Xbox One (and PC, of course).
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