Hot Pants and a Cowboy Hat--My Cyberpunk 2077 Adventures (Thus Far...)

One of two magical times of year recently rolled around--the Steam Summer Sale--and I had some difficult decisions to make.  Do I go with a few of the cheaper titles on my list or do I opt for one of the big dogs?  Do I really need another roguelike deckbuilder?  How about a mediocre simulation game?  One big name title had been sitting on my list for a very long time though...Cyberpunk 2077.  After the disastrous release late last year (a regular circus-like affair that is still generating controversy) I was hesitant to pull the trigger.  Was it stable?  Were the many reported bugs and glitches fixes?  I am a big CD Projekt fan, so I decided to take the chance.  I've been obsessively slaying my way through the cyberpunk metropolis of Night City for the last week and I'm having a great time.

The first daunting step in any monumental RPG is designing your character and choosing talents/specs.  In designing my character I decided to break from my general boringness (I will generally avoid the more over-the-top character design--things like flamboyantly colored hair, multiple piercings, tattoos/facial tattoos) and made my V into a tattooed, blue/green haired denizen of Night City.  The character creator has many options, but I was a bit surprised to find that it didn't include many of the RPG-staple sliders that allow for very specific tweaks.  I'm not someone who has the patience to spend hours trying to make a nose look perfect, so I just played with the options a bit until I found a look I liked.  Interestingly there are also options for nipples and genitals...and, I'm not really sure why they needed to be included.  (*Serious question for game developers--why?  I'm not offended by it, but am I going to be seeing/interacting with those parts of my character frequently?  If the answer is no, then why?  I suppose that it does add another layer of personalization, but it just seems pointless).

My V looking very sporty.

Once I had crafted the external appearance of my V I had to decide on background and talent specs.  You have a few options for background story (and, I'm not exactly sure how it impacts the early part of the game)--you can choose from Nomad (a group of wandering desert dwellers), Street Kid (a native to the streets of Night City), or Corpo (a product of the many large, powerful corporations that rule the dystopian world).  I opted for Nomad--it has kind of a Mad Max vibe that is fun.  Other than possibly impacting the very early part of the game, the background you choose for your V also unlocks special dialogue options in certain conversations.

As for talents, I decided to stick with my favorite spec--namely the stealthier ones.  What can I say, I like to sneak.  There are some fairly standard talents--body (if you wanted to go with a more melee/heavy weapons focus) and intelligence (if you wanted to be a streetwise smarty pants)--but there's also a tech category.  I also plopped some points in reflexes (which is focused on smaller guns), intelligence (which, oddly, is tied to hacking skills), and a bit in tech (which is more centered around crafting).  My V is a wiz with pistols, has decent tech smarts, and a master at stealth (*I mean, as much as I can be good at sneaking).

The neon skyline of Night City.

One of the most fun options to check out is the ability to add tech to your character.  Special street doctors (called ripperdocs) sell all types of cyberpunk body modifications--one of the earliest missions fits out your character with optical implants that allow you to scan and remotely hack enemies and random electronics in the environment.  Once you've earned some cash you can really deck V out (although, many tech modifications are dependent on how many points you have in the physically oriented "body" category--one that I haven't invested many points in)--we're talking blades that can pop out of your arms or special leg implants that let you leap to high ledges.

V rollin' on a motorcycle.

Night City is amazing--a sprawling megacity filled with various districts controlled by various gangs or corporations.  It's also filled with my ultimate open-world nemesis--a bajillion side quests and random encounters.  Fixers will contact you with "gigs" which are paid side missions to complete certain tasks, but there are also markers from the police to break up criminal activity.  Completing these activities will earn you "street cred" which can unlock the ability to buy powerful items.  I've already spent way too much time trying to clear the map and I feel like I've barely made a dent!

So far I'm really enjoying the main storyline (which, I feel like I haven't progressed too far), many of the larger side missions, and meeting the various colorful characters in Night City.  CD Projekt definitely plays into its strength of creating memorable, flawed characters.  So far I haven't encountered too many glitches or bugs (but, there have been a few--I was unable to complete a gig because it glitched out due to another activity in the area; at one point my gun was briefly invisible; and occasionally NPC's are a bit glitchy).  I know that the early versions of the game had many problems, but for the most part things seem stable.  There are certain parts of the game that I'm feeling a bit less enthused with--many of the open world activities feel a bit bloaty (I've already reached max street cred and I have only completed a fraction of the map markers) and repetitive.  The vehicles have a very cool look, but it's no Grand Theft Auto kind of situation--there are no high-stakes car activities like chases or gun battles (there are a few mission related sequences with shooting).

Cyberpunk has excited me about gaming in a way that I haven't felt in a long time and I'm very much looking forward to spending many more hours unraveling the story of V.