It's been nearly two months since Polish developer CD Projekt Red shared with us its latest vision for Cyberpunk 2077. A 15 minute slice of gameplay impressed many thanks to the employment of various play styles that allowed you to get the job done in different manners, but there was more to that quarter of an hour than meets the eye. Carefully pieced together to get some of its most important points across, the footage is actually three times as long when left uninterrupted. At EGX 2019 this past weekend, we watched that full 45 minute demo being played in real-time, and we came away more impressed than ever.
Kicking things off with a quick bit of character creation, you'll be able to choose between a male or female protagonist V, adjust their eye colour and facial characteristics, and then select a hairstyle from a limited amount along with its colour. But then you're on your way. A set of red pupils and various surface wiring seems to be about as creative as you can get, but with another six months to go before launch, let's hope this is a feature which is fleshed out at least a little bit more.
Back to the action and we're doing a job for Placide. After asking of his whereabouts throughout the rundown, law-free district of Pacifica, V tracks his location down to a Butcher's shop. Hidden in the back is a makeshift office and the choice of whether to trust him or not. Jacking in and allowing him access to your chip-set basically gives the suspicious character a killswitch, but since the job on offer is an essential one, it's a necessary evil you'll have to deal with. Of course, you can always deny his help in your own playthrough.
It's time to make our way to the Animal gang's hideout, which forms the crux of our next operation, but we'll need some transport to get us there in sufficient time. A motorbike nearby is the answer to that, which appears to be a complete joy to control. The playtester was able to gracefully weave their way between debris, the pavement, and other cars as a booming, original soundtrack played in the background. From the hip-hop station to the selection of dance tracks, there'll be something for every sort of musical taste.
You'll want to scout out the building before entering, though, because while going all guns blazing through the front door might be your first thought, it's probably also going to be your last. The demo finds a back entrance to sneak through, and thus begins the life of a Netrunner. Sticking to the shadows, the playstyle favours hacking and stealth above all else. When used in tandem, those two skills can produce some deadly, but silent, results: turn off security cameras to mask your presence, force an AI bot into overdrive so that it leaves an enemy with a bloody nose, or render a bench press so heavy that its user drops the weight onto their neck. They're grisly demises indeed, but then that's just the cogs of creativity at work.
Alternatively, with a Strong Solo build, you'll be able to bypass those encounters altogether by employing a high strength stat to rip a locked door off its hinges, thus getting you to the centrepiece of the action faster. You're definitely in the thick of it as soon as the gang is alerted, but with a turret nearby that's thirsting for blood, it becomes more of a deadly playground than anything else. The playtester grabs an enemy to form a human shield as they bridge the gap between protagonist and weaponry before ripping the turret from its very foundations and going to town on the rest of the Animals.
It is abundantly clear that Cyberpunk 2077 is going to let you play it however you want to. With a Life Path that helps to form your backstory, dialogue options are affected by your core stats, abilities and how much of an upgrade they're packing, and the relationship you hold with that particular character. On the other hand, combat can be as gritty and intense as you want. Complete the game without killing a soul, tear Night City apart by testing the limits of your ammunition stocks, or fall in-between the two extremes as you forge your own path through what looks set to be the next great PS4 RPG.
But it's not perfect. The 45 minute stretch of gameplay featured some incredibly rare, minor texture issues and two examples of NPCs T-posing as they went about their lives. It's something which highlights the fact that after its proper reveal back at E3 2018 and the aura that came with it, Cyberpunk 2077 is starting to look more and more like an actual video game – and an incredibly impressive one at that.
How hyped are you for Cyberpunk 2077? Did you check out its 45 minute gameplay presentation at EGX 2019 too? Hack into the comments below.
Comments 35
Female V street kid. Let's do this...
Sounds Like a More Advanced Deus Ex
Can't wait!!! Maybe I should take a couple days off from work and relax and enjoy the beginning of the game instead of staying up late at night and trying to get through the days with lack of sleep.
With 6 months until release I wouldn’t worry too much about some “incredibly rare minor texture issues” 😉
@BridgeToClarity No video game soundtracks at all? I get MLB having about 5 songs, one of which being Greta Van Fleet, is abominable. However, Persona 5, Jet Set Radio, Donkey Kong Country 2, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI have brilliant soundtracks. Idk, I listen to external music playing some games like DoTA but I'm seriously looking forward to Cyberpunk's soundtrack. I really hope that modern synth-wave is represented through one of Johnny Jewel's many projects alongside classics like New Order, Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode. Of course, if that doesn't happen, Spotify on PS4 is actually pretty great and if I end up buying on PC, I can just play music on top of the game too.
I say CDPR should leave the T-posing NPC's in the game and just say they're malfunctioning cyborgs.
Jeez you're quite late on this.
@taylorsparks294 In what way are we late?
@Splat I take it "female" means feminine body, feminine voice V?
@Areus That's what the game has looked and sounded like to me since its reveal. Which is fine. It'll still likely be the best sci-fi RPG ever made. But there's a vague sense of disappointment at it that I haven't been able to shake.
Why flesh out CaC?
What was their first masterpiece? TW3 was not it. The game had bad combat, clunky controls, repetitive gameplay and a ton of glitches. I liked TW3, but it was just good overall. Stop over hyping this game as it does not look special at all.
@Areus That is what it is, which is why its not as impressive as people have claimed. Inlike Deus Ex so that is not a bad thing, but its not like Cyberpunk is something we have never seen before. It sounds like it will be overrated just like TW3, but the combat looks much better given the fact you actually have variety and options. That comes from the technology in the game though.
Interested in trying this on ps5, I don’t want to play it on ps4.
@GodGamer you hit the nail on the head regarding TW3. Overall the game is incredibly clunky and lackluster. That is simply the truth about the game when compared to other RPGs. Cyberpunk 2077 is honestly looking like a dud that's being overhyped by running with TW3's popularity. The truth is, and nobody can deny it, when you have to bring/include a celebrity in your game, you're already concerned with the quality. Keanu was the tell I needed to stay away from this game.
im gunna have sigue sigue sputnik playing on loop in the back ground,maybe fake a dekkard voice over at the right moment..
@LiamCroft Oh whoops my bad I thought you were talking about the old demo months back until I saw that you mentioned EGX2019.
@GodGamer what open world actual rpg is better than tw3
This game features too depressing a world for me.
We never saw Jackie in this demo, I really hope he survives throughout the whole game. I want that hombre as my backup.
@Ralizah I’m sure you’re smart enough to know what most of the world still considers female to be. No need for the rhetorical question. I’ll probably play through cyberpunk as both genders. One save for male, one save for female.
I saw the presentation at EGX on Friday and pretty much agree with Liam's assessment. For me, it made me more interested in the game. I feel like a lot of hype has been building iit into something that it couldn't meet but after seeing it, it seems like a very good looking, interesting open world with some fun mechanics which is nice and better than expecting it to be something somehow transcendent.
Why are people saying TW3 was overhyped?
Look at steam reviews for it. 10 / 10.
And steam users are extremely harsh when rating games. An overhyped game is a game that seems like it will be good, but isn't. So what determines whether or not a game is good? The majority. And sorry, but you guys crying TW3 is overhyped, are in the MINORITY
@Eternalife they obvioustly fail to realise what over hype actually means. Im guessing they meant it failed to meet their expectations.
Over hyped means...well...Watchdogs.
@Kidfunkadelic83
Or day one No Man's Sky...
@SZRT_CIC_Ice I actually put no man's sky aswell but deleted it due to the fact that they have supported it well. Great minds n all that tho 👍
@BridgeToClarity I agree, some Katatonia during GTAV would have been terrific!
Regarding Cyberpunk, I finished The Witcher 3 several years ago, but only recently delved a bit into its expansions. Even though it's got good writing and a brilliant atmosphere, the gameplay itself is unbelievable clunky! Here's hoping they'll fix that with this game.
Take my money CD Projekt Red. TAKE IT!
Have had The Witcher 3 installed on my ps4 for years now and i still have yet to see everything (200 hours in)
i must be one of the few people who actually think most CD Projekt Red games are average at best and have never set the bar for RPG's for me
i didn't like the first Witcher, the second was better but still not brilliant and the third was good but not the best game i have played, God of War and Horizon are both better games and more fun for me for example
and as for Cyberpunk every video i have seen looks like Fallout and Elder Scrolls crossed with Deus EX
now having said that i can just see the incoming rants and posts saying how wrong i am (it's almost have if people have their own opinions) so...
@FullbringIchigo - not from me. witcher 3 didn't do much for me, personally. i thought the combat was terrible.. no matter how good the rpg elements might be, the moment-to-moment gameplay just frustrated me, so i gave up on it after several hours. plus i'm not a huge fan of that style of fiction to begin with.
I spent the last month finally playing through the entirety of TW3 and the DLC, and I think it absolutely earns its reputation as one of the best games of this gen.
I’ve never enjoyed exploring a video game world more. Traversing the (enormous) world and discovering its secrets is a joy—it’s exactly the kind of immersive fantasy game I dreamed about someday playing when I was a kid in the 90s and early 00s.
And while combat wasn’t as fluid as Horizon Zero Dawn or Breath of the Wild, it was never less than adequate for me.
In terms of quest design, and “immersiveness,” I haven’t played a better RPG. And I think it sets a new standard for storytelling in video games.
This is all subjective of course. It was just a very satisfying gaming experience for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with a sci-fi setting.
But in general, I think it’s better to expect games to be “very good” rather than “revolutionary.”
@BridgeToClarity It kills the mood for me personally. 😆
@Sondheimist The gameplay from Horizon Zero Dawn is brilliant i know. 🤓
Not bad for a studio that did firstperson shooters. 🤓🤓🤓🤓
Still wish it wasn't first person, but oh well.
@FullbringIchigo How dare you make up your own mind based off your own experience with all three games and come up with your own personal opinion.....
In all seriousness though I adore CD Projekt Red and they are in my top 10 developers, but their stories and characters always outshine the gameplay.
Hoping Cyberpunk 2077 proves people wrong with that trend.
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