CD Projekt RED isn’t sharing its E3 2019 gameplay demo of Cyberpunk 2077 online. However, many publications and attendees were able to see the game hands-off and there’s a lot of information to glean. For instance, the entire game can be completed without killing anyone.
Speaking to PC Gamer, lead quest designer Pawel Sasko said that “Right now, every weapon and every cyberware has a nonlethal option.” That doesn’t mean every weapon works that way though. “I think I can say everything. There’s one thing: only weapons that are lethal by definition, so let’s say you shoot someone with a bazooka in his face. You shoot his head off. That’s typically lethal,” clarifies Sasko.
“But everything else actually has a nonlethal option. Pretty much every gun, pretty much every cyberware, you’re able to use in a nonlethal way. You’re able to knock them down, choke them, make them sleep and so on. There are ways not to kill them and spare them, like the way you could do with Sasquatch, the boss.”
This option was implemented based on feedback and E3 2018 survey cards. Along with sneaking up and knocking out enemies from behind, it’s possible to use the environment to your advantage. One such example involved throwing an enemy down a garbage chute after knocking him. Yes, that’s nonlethal.
You can also use hacking to turn off security cameras to be more sneaky, knock out enemies with Daemons, create distractions with environmental objects (like hacking a soda machine) and much more. Considering the game isn’t “final”, it’s still interesting to hear about the number of options that players will have.
Cyberpunk 2077 releases on April 16th 2020 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. It features Keanu Reeves (if you haven’t heard) as Johnny Silverhand, “legendary rockerboy” from Cyberpunk 2020.