Just recently, CyberpunkGame went on twitter to drop very heartbreaking news. They announced that the much-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 would not be released until November 19. Moving it two months farther from the anticipated release date of September 17. According to the developer, the CD Projekt Red Studio, this new addition to the Cyberpunk series will be available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It gets even better; the studio has promised a next-generation update for better play on the Xbox Series X and on PS5. This is excellent news for fans because both the Xbox Series X and the PS5 are set for launch by “Holiday 2020,” i.e., November / December). This gives some hope of seeing a cross-generation launch come November, considering that this release comes towards the end of the current-generation.

Granted, this news is disappointing because it translates to an additional 2 months of waiting before we can lay our hands on the RPG masterpiece. However, CD Projekt Red has a track record of sticking to their mantra of “It’s ready when it’s ready”. Witcher 3, which was the studio’s last project, suffered a similar fate. However, when it was finally released, the Witcher 3 was worth the wait. With a lot of Gamers awards to their name, CD Projekt Red can be trusted when it says it’ll ready when it is ready. Judging from the studio’s twitter statement, the gameplay and content have been completed, and all that is left is fixing bugs and mechanics. Considering that this game was initially set to be released last year, it goes to speak of the meticulousness put into the production of the game.

What is Cyberpunk 2077?

Cyberpunk 2077 is a role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red, set in the future, for those unfamiliar with the Cyberpunk franchise. It chronicles the life V, a customizable mercenary who lives in a neon-colored dystopian Night City. Night City is a megacity in the Free State of North California. The free-roaming world city has six provinces, each of which are controlled by big criminal corporations. 

Played in the first person, you cannot only customize your character’s physical features (including the gender), and you can also assume different character classes. There are three character classes option for the player which are: Netrunner (here your character specializes in hacking), Techie (here he is a machinery expert), and Solo ( for melee combats). The skill sets and Stat categories available to you is mainly dependent on the character classes the player chooses. Notwithstanding, the game allows for a fluid class-system, thus you can decide not to pick a character class initially, and you’ll still be able to modify your class later in the game. 

In 2019, the studio released a 48-minute extended gameplay walk-through demo video based on an earlier demo shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018. In that demo video, we get our first peek into the gameplay, backstory modification, character customization, upgrade, and many other features. Although, it must be stated that this video is only a glimpse of what to expect in the game upon release. One such instance is seen when the studio announced that it was scrapping the option of Wall-running, which was part of the navigation options as revealed by the E3 2018 trailer. They claimed that this was due to “design reasons”. Even though they have failed to tell us what exactly design reasons are, they have promised that the game would still allow a lot of flexibility in movement. I was looking forward to running on walls, but now that that option has been removed, I’m anxious to see what will replace it.

In the E3 2019, we get a glimpse into the plot of the game, and we learn of Keanu Reaves’s star appearance. He plays the role of a non-player character of Johnny Silverhand, codenamed Mr. Fusion. Keanu’s character is locked within a biochip in the main character’s brain. This biochip contains a series of high-value secrets that can only be unlocked Alt Cunningham, the best net runner (hacker) in Night City. Silverhand’s first duty is to lead you to her. The only problem is that she’s dead, although her consciousness was uploaded to the internet. You will then have to track it down. To do this, you might need to dine with the devil and do some dirty jobs, including killing some of the city’s big ganglords. 

There is an exciting myriad of possibilities in Cyberpunk 2077, as every choice creates a different outcome. With the use of branching dialogues, the character interacts with NPCs in the game and chooses different in-quest actions. You have to garner XPs as well as street cred. Street cred is acquired by completing side quests and a couple of other things like wearing a cool jacket, experience points, on the other hand, are attained from main quests. Ripperdocs still appear here, their primary function being to help you purchase and upgrade cyberware. Weapons are bought at the black market, and consumables give health boost. Throughout the game, you interact with many NPCs, some of whom will become helpful mission companions.

In late June, Cyberpunk announced through its Twitter handle that each copy of the Cyberpunk 2077 would come with a set of digital gifts. These gifts include the original score, and art booklet, Cyberpunk 2020 sourcebook, wallpapers, and a Cyberpunk 2077 digital comic titled “Your Voice”. However, we are unsure of whether this comic is related to the Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team – a new comic series announced earlier via their twitter handle. 

I look forward to the game’s release in November. Mr. Adam Kicinski, the President of CD Projekt Red, has promised sufficient post-launch updates. You can be assured that whatever setbacks this edition has would be improved upon in no time. However, parental control is advised because Cyberpunk 2077 contains strong language, nudity, violence, drugs, sexual content, etc.