While waiting for my system components to arrive, thoughts on CDPR's Cyberpunk 2077

Just some thoughts on Cyberpunk 2077, nothing all too coherent.

One disappointment was CDPR's inability to actually publish adult content in a game rated for adult content.  In a world where what is and isn't human is a major concept, the boundary between gender, sex and such becomes fluid and not something you can pin down.  Like in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, they have shied away from explicit sexual content, which is a disappointment, though a minor one.  I expected all sorts of strangeness on the romance front and, instead, found it bland.  Still a couple of touching stories as far as I've gotten and some good characters.  A minor quibble, just expecting a bit more courage from the company.

Going on the transhuman theme, I also expected how much cyberware you had would start to rule out some conversation paths and decisions, while opening up new ones, which could offer different story consequences.  While the interaction with NPCs does center around missions and the main story, even there I would have expected some differences to start creeping in on the PC's attitude and options you might have gotten when you were less modified would not be available as you got more heavily modified.  A real missed opportunity to apply the core theme of the genre to game play.  You might get some really snazzy arm-blades, but what does that mean in your attitude towards the rest of the world and the people in it?  The transition from human to enhanced human to cyborg to robotic body as a life support system for a heavily cyber enhanced brain should be something players experience, not just get in the conversation of others.  How you perceive the world should change slowly as the number of modifications increase.

Between these two concepts, the idea of what is and isn't human should be a prime focus of play, allowing the exploration of these concepts in some depth.  There are entire gangs that have various ethos based viewpoints on what is and isn't allowable for them so they can retain their image, their character and how unique they are, and how modified or not you are should allow some rapport with them.  Most of the crime takedowns are bland, and have no real flavor to them, beyond what we experience as opponents.  Experiencing it from the inside or having sympathy with them should allow some changes in what is going on during the game.  The gangs sponsored by corporations, they don't get much say in how they operate, but the independent gangs do, and they should offer a spectrum of possibilities not just in how you deal with them, but in missions and even new story lines that might offer different alternative solutions to problems in the main story.  And as some gangs will require modifications as a price for entrance, how would those enhancements change your attitude towards the rest of the world?

That story has some major holes in it, and in trying to flesh them out the holes don't get smaller but larger.  Also there are far too many decisions removed from the player which restrict player agency.  There should be consequences to actions, yes, and yet there are a couple of them that show up right after the big first mission that would have been interesting.  I get it that this is a sequence on rails and that demonstrates poor writing for the main story.  Given the nature of what is stolen and your automatic decision to take it from your dead partner, the idea of leaving it with your dead partner is one that would have extreme ramifications for the rest of the story.  Which would have a major re-write in order, of course, but would allow the player more agency.  In fact that would allow for actually getting to know the person you've only seen in cut-scenes and have only had one mission with at the start of the game.  Building a relationship with him should be a prime part of the story, not just given a nodding 'you are good friends and go on missions together' and then nothing much else.

Similarly I do understand the decision to remove weapons or equipment at certain points of game play, not that I like it all that much, but then you are given an instant crafting system to start replacing what was taken if you have the design schematics and skill.  Strange, that.  It's like you were supposed to rush ahead on the mission and not take any time to get used to the world.  If you don't play with those expectations, then you will get different results.  Perhaps they should have rethought that.  Offered alternatives.  Or offered other forms of player agency to take care of such situations.  If your cover is that which covers arms and their use, then having them shouldn't be a major problem, even if kept in a quarantine.

Given that it isn't impossible to get up to the object being stolen in the main story, and that, with the right equipment you should be able to do it yourself, why isn't that an option?  After some familiarization I should be familiar enough with the problems and live on a tight time budget, which should allow the player enough time to get the goodies and go.  Truly if you are looking at the background of the game and being a Solo (which you can't be anything but no matter what sort of build you choose...sigh) then the option of DIY with your own wits and what the game hands you should be available. More on this, later.  The mission is fun, entertaining and only has a few minor bugs in it that can be compensated for.  But why not offer the opportunity of letting the player figure out their own way to do it?  That is part of what we were promised to lead your own life in Night City.  Plus, in this strange future of cyberware and body alterations, you can get a built in rocket launcher but not a built in grappling hook and nanowire arrangement?  What gives?

Sectioning of the city because you haven't advanced down the main story far enough is frustrating.  The 'You have no reason to go that way' or whatever the message is goes against the very idea of an Open World game.  I see it, I have the means to get there, and I want to see what it's like: that is reason enough for me to go there.  I got quite irked at these restrictions, and if they are there because I would get my ass handed to me by the gangs there, then let me make that decision on my own.  Really, I had problems with one gang takedown later when the world was opened up to me, but I used my skill and ammo to take down the members as they showed up.  Mind you I got rewarded in gear I could use...which goes against the idea of rewarding a player for playing well.

In fact seeing level gated gear really ticked me off.  Level gated gear in a single player open world RPG in 2020?  Really?  For the risks you take you get sub-par rewards for working hard.  You can't put that hat on, its for Level 20 characters, you scrub!  Right, I can't figure out how to wear a hat.  It is an irritant that needs to go, but that is part of my tail-chasing rant on armor, weapons and hit points.  At least they got one leg of that nailed down, but the other two are in need of fixing.

Clothing mods are a great idea!  Say, can I get any specialized clothing that has a built-in speed boost and then add in a stackable set of extra boosters?  The stacking of armor, however, makes anyone who takes the time to get the mods into a tank.  Against everything except the melee types, the huge amount of stackable armor can make you impervious to all sorts of firearms, not just pistols and SMGs, but all the way up to the sniper rifles the game has.  I don't mind it, really.  Can we get thrusters for our boots and hips, and make like Iron Man, too?  That would make for a lot of fun, though the gameplay would be horrifically unbalanced....which it already is.  So if you are going to over-do it at the get-go, why not go full over the top?  That would be a ton of fun and make for strafing rounds on gangs, while dropping grenades.  The options to game play it would open up are massive.

Oh, can I just drop live grenades and have them go off next to me.  Or wherever I drop them.  Throwing is fun and all, but running past people dropping grenades off and being immune to their effects just really sounds like a fun build.  Yes, overlapping with my previous material, but it can't be overstated how fun some of this would be.  Running at top speed and holding a long edged weapon out to the side, should offer distinct playstyles.  Speed kills, and if enemies barely have time to react to you speeding past them, well, that's their fault for not being fast enough.  And I would love to have a bow and arrow, all cybernetically enhanced and whatnot.  See Horizon: Zero Dawn for that sort of thing.  Planting remote signal controllers on people to mess with them sounds like fun.  Maybe even get piggy-back rides and do a Master-Blaster sort of deal.  Toss in speed mods for your temporary mount and soon, very soon, the idea of cavalry will be reborn.

On the NPC front, CDPR fumbled it.  That and NPCs generated and dissolved just makes for unimmersive game play.  Am I expecting every damned NPC to have a home, a job, a group they are associated with?  Truthfully, yes.  My earlier examination way before the game came out put in the concept that the idea of so many NPCs having interesting lives didn't have to go to full character sketches for each of them.  Just the opposite, and the Crusader Kings II game demonstrates just what a thumbnail sketch of life experiences can do for added realism.  This would require so many buildings that you can't get into actually have some sort of procedurally generated interior that would be locked for your game, yes.  When I scan someone and get their name and them being a resident of Night City, well, can I get their address?  Get to meet them?  

Really I'm not talking full side-quest and romance or loyalty mission stuff here, but maybe able to get to know someone associated with one of the smaller gangs or small companies, and looking for an entree with them to experience a bit more of Night City.  People are supposed to be the major part of Night City and how it ebbs and flows over not just a day or week, but over years and decades.  I'd like to get to meet some of these denizens outside of work.  Go to the bar and share a drink that I can see, not just get it from a trade menu.  Maybe even chat up the bartender and get them familiar with what I drink?  Ditto some of the sit-down food vendors where you can't sit down.  If someone like that with minimal but world friendly background who you could get a minimal conversation and get to know is knocked off by some gangbangers getting their jollies off, well, they might be due a visit.

Gangs have structures, even the most psychotic of gangs has a structure behind it.  Knocking off street thugs, that's one thing.  Going after the local boss representatives, the Lieutenants in a gang, that will hinder operations.  Gangs should have a Street Rep, too, and if a damned Solo Merc is taking them down, knocking off Lieutenants and generally doing a major number on them, then I expect that gang to react and their Street Cred to drop when the reaction doesn't stop that Merc.  Other gangs should try to muscle in on that territory...of course they might find the Merc has time for them, too.  This should start both of them losing Street Cred, yours would go up, the police would respect you, might even deputize you, and give you a freer hand to operate.  A Merc who is just alone, taking down major gang operations, is someone to be feared when the retaliations don't stop them.  Heck, I expect there to be attempts to bribe that Merc, soothe them...I mean start pulling out the stops when its obvious that the Top Boss is getting to be in the cross-hairs.  And when a corporate sponsored gang finds their sponsor getting hit and taken apart, well, talk about chaos. But as it is I can get rid of a major under-boss, two Lieutenants and the gang has no reaction whatsoever to a large section of their command structure being ripped out in under 5 minutes.  What gives?

The criminal ecosystem needs to be dynamic, responsive, pro-active and face serious infrastructure problems not just when on the downhill side, but on the uphill side going into hostile territory.  The few places of gang-on-gang violence are static, pre-scripted and, ultimately, just a farming opportunity for XP and items.  No matter how much you do, it'll always be there.  That needs to change.  It doesn't need to be a complex system on the part of the AI, and no matter how complicated it is players will figure out how to game it, just like they do the current system.  On the NCPD side, murders should not go away.  Major criminal activity on the part of the player should not go away.  Unless you find some way to clear your name or otherwise make it up to the police.  Like through bribes, say.  Or some community work...boy, that would be interesting!  Tuck in some stories on rehabilitating cyberpsychos, or JoyToys or those addicts who took drugs that have no equivalent and are now stuck in a permanent state of trauma.  Solutions in finding drug makers, dealing with bad ripperdocs, finding leads to suppliers of bootleg dysfunctional cybernetics, and just spending time with a psycho to help him or her get in touch with their humanity would definitely improve the player experience.

It isn't hyperaction fun, no.  It shows the consequences of what happens in Night City.  Even better, if you have a clean record, you could volunteer to help...raising Street Cred and getting XP.  There is definitely room for the Good Samaritan in Night City.  Plus you might even get to team up with NCPD on major busts for places you found out about.  Like Gotham City, Night City will never be clean, never be peaceful and always have its problems.  Getting a handle on the problems, dealing with them, and figuring out what sort of denizen of Night City you will be...that is part and parcel of a good RPG.

Back to the social side of things, NPCs that you get to know can start to fill in templates of interests, and a few pre-made story interactions can be available for when an NPC hits all the criteria and kick off  a template driven set of quests about their background.  It doesn't have to be major and should be after a decent to long 'get to know you period' and you probably wouldn't have many of these in a given run.  But finding out the backgrounds of people, knowing them better, and helping them past their personal problems should be limited to just the high profile NPCs.  Night City, as mentioned above, has a slew of problems, and finding solution to a problem of someone you know could help in a very real way, get a player closer to life in the city.  Maybe they got hooked on some bad chems or have malware from an unidentified source, or are having cyberware problems, or they just can't find a cat food their cat likes.  Anything from missing friends/lovers/family members all the way to a few netrunners trying to brainwash people should be available based on what you've gotten from that individual's interests.  Sex and intimacy are nice, but not required.  Being able to crash overnight, and just get a sounding board for problems shouldn't take a hell of a lot of work, and I'd bet that a lot of the sound files in the game for NPCs have some of what is necessary already.  Not full on  loyalty missions, but something to add background and feeling to the people of Night City.  You might not end as lovers, but Friends With Benefits.

Procedural generation isn't always bad and in Night City it would help to keep the player aware that a new run is a new world.  Buildings, places and people they got used to are gone, its a fresh start, things you used to be able to do might have changed venue or are replaced with other things to do.  I don't mean I want Cousin Roman to be pestering me about bowling every time I turn around, but having a friend who you can meet up with for drinks, a nice dinner, and just chat about life to see if the relationship is going anywhere...that would be nice.  Pop the hood on Night City and show us how it works at the lowest levels, not the highest.  The entire ecosystem of people, places, events...all of that should be available and much, much larger than the criminal ecosystems which is just one part of the larger whole.

My main criticism of the game as far as I've gotten, is that CDPR was too timid in its approach, and too combat oriented.  And given that cyberwear exists to enhance people, not the other way around, the basis for working the systems in Night City should include the social ones, not just top level, combat ones.  Social engineering is just as important, perhaps even more important, than the stuff under Technology.  I'm sure that the blank stat/skill part for players will be filled with something that isn't social because of the main orientation of the game.  I like the combat, a lot.  But it isn't impactful on the game, but there as a flavor and means to help the player level up.  Everything you do or don't do should have some iimpact on the game.  New options can be put in through seemingly minor incidents, minor interactions with individuals, getting to know Night City should be the start of more and more options.

Respect the PC's background.  As a Nomad I found myself stuck with too few character conversations that had a Nomad point of view on things.  When a guy tries to talk down the Voodoo Boys because they are tribal, I wanted a retort that would let them know that I am a Nomad and I respect their tribal viewpoint.  Maybe not agree with it, but respect it.  Tribalism is bad in many ways, as it causes inter-tribal conflict.  People they don't trust need to gain their trust.  When that trust is gained, the group should respect those gaining it and the person gaining it let them know that they understand and appreciate the tribe they have just done jobs for.  Especially a major one.  Even when the tribe doesn't tell the truth, do a bit more than let them know I would have done it anyway.  Let a bit more of the Nomad Ethos show through.  I would expect similar, though different options, would be available on the other paths.

Respect the player and give them time to play through the actual part of getting established in Night City, and see the Street Cred never budge off  Zero that entire time.  Reduce experience, flatten the level curve to something where just getting established and getting that first point of Street Cred feels like a major accomplishment.  I get the structural and game design reasons for the apartment, yeah.  Yet each path should feature some unique way to move into that positiion.  As a Nomad I'm used to living out of the back of my vehicle.  Give me a place in a deserted parking garage, unused culvert, collapsed bridge, and I would be just fine with that.  A street kid would know alleyways, and make a safe haven for themselves someplace.  And a corporate type suddenly cut off from funds would need a really run down place to start with, maybe in an abandoned apartment complex, where they can leech off the media and pretend their prior life is continuing.  You got a gun, some junky clothes, a safe place to stay, a bit of food and water, and the ability to craft ammo: welcome to Night City.

One of the big things touted was that what you wear is just as important as what you do.  So where is that Street Cred booster in clothing?  Ripped out during design.  You were supposed to have another reason to be in Night City. That went the way of the clothing stuff.  You were supposed to have a form of personal credo and attitude, where is that?  You are supposed to be able to get to know Night City.  Yes, please?

Cyberpunk 2077 is a game full of potential, stuck with a lot of forced material and few options at critical game-play junctions.  If you can get the arm-blades early, there is no reason NOT to do the Heist on your own.  And you have a unique set of tools to get out of it without going on rails.  Really, the way chosen is great for high risk, blood pounding action, but if you are a true thief, where is the challenge in that?  Get up unseen.  disable what you can disable, get the goodies, grab anything else of value and then make your way down as the alarms start to go off.  You are then on a high stakes getaway, exposed on the side of a building and doing your damned best to not get shot or even seen.  Pre-canned risks are fun and all, but if you step outside the script...or even listen in on the scripted events as they are playing out, you would have better options to escape.  No one else on the team as a liability.  Trying to get the goods out without damaging them should be a major challenge.  Actually being able to deliver the goods, intact, should be one of the most major jobs ever pulled off bey anyone and you are then being hunted down for one crime you didn't commit and another you did.  

That would be interesting.  A high-rise catburgler sounded like a lot of fun.  And when I heard there were air ducts to use, I thought, for sure, that this was going to be a solo job.  Being able to social engineer my way to the penthouse, that would have been nail biting and awesome.  Using those blades to claw my way up the concrete part of the tower, that would have been spine-tingling as you would see the long drop down to concrete if you fell. Being able to wear clothes with fall dampers, and jumping down to the helipad and hijacking a lift out of the tower.  That one job, alone, didn't need to be so heavily prescripted and even offer alternatives and different paths on the way out.  Having to salvage the goods as a shot up aircar falls into the ocean...well you would think that would be game over.  Realizing the goods are damage as you  safely head to the meeting point...yeah...decisions.  I mean, yeah, I get it, amateur shit-show of a Heist is what we have.

I do like the game, do not get me wrong.

It could have been so much more.  I hope that DLCs and modders can crack into the potential of Cyberpunk 2077 and start delivering the experience it promised.  It feels like something is seriously missing from the game, the story, and the Keanu Reeves centered story got plugged in and the gaps were filled in with glue.  I totally get that the main story has to be a centerpiece of the game, the jewel in the crown, as it were.  Where is the rest of the crown?  We got a few bits and pieces but it really doesn't even hold the centerpiece all that well and falls off the head because it doesn't go more than half-way around.  Systems can and should be tweaked and patched, and rightfully so.  

Putting in the Night City part of Cyberpunk 2077 so that it is more than just lots of empty buildings you can't do anything with along with lots of people you can't do anything with...no, that isn't the Next Gen of gaming, just the last couple of generations warmed over.  I complained about this stuff for The Witcher III and Novigrad: so many people selling things, so few people you could buy from.  People calling you over that you can't interact with because that is just a line they get and don't have anything more for you.  I totally get that in TW3 you are the Protagonist, not the Hero.  It seems to be the same way here and I'm fine with it, really, save I haven't met the damned hero yet.  They did a stunning job of giving us an Antagonist in TW3 and turning the environment into the Villain.  Good job, that.  I can think of one person who *might* be a villain, or just a ruthless idiot, which can be hard to differentiate.  If so, I'm not impressed.  Well, I'll wait and see what happens a couple of weeks from now..