Cyberpunk 2077’s Story Is About Trying To Save Yourself, Not the World, Says Writer

CD Projekt RED games always bear the burden of high expectations from the storytelling department, and the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 is no different. We’ve heard a lot about the contrasting themes the game will be going for, and about how it plans to deliver a cinematic story, and now, we have some more info on the direction the game’s narrative will be taking.

Recently, while speaking with GamesMaster magazine in their November 2018 issue (Issue 335), CD Projekt RED’s Stanislaw Swiecicki, writer on Cyberpunk 2077, talked about how players’ decisions in the game will shape the character of V, the protagonist. Swiecicki also talked about the game’s “dark and violent” setting, and how the game’s story never sees you trying to save the world, but instead shows the characters trying to save themselves.

“We’re putting all our narrative firepower into allowing gamers to experience their story, one in which their decisions will shape who their character really is,” he said. “It goes without question, though, that the dystopian future we’re putting you in is a dark and violent place. Being in control of who you are and having it stay that way is what matters most. You’re never trying to save the world, it’s always about saving yourself.”

Given CD Projekt RED’s pedigree and the success they usually have with whatever kind of story they’re trying to tell, I’m personally quite excited to see how they handle Cyberpunk 2077’s dystopian setting, and its flavour, which is so different from anything they’ve ever done.

Recently, we conducted an interview with Cyberpunk 2077’s level designer Miles Tost, where we spoke about a number of interesting things, from the game’s side quests and how they will be interwoven with the main story, to how it will focus on handcrafted narrative experiences rather than featuring much emergent mechanics.