Cyberpunk 2077: Welcome to Night City

It is hard to believe after all the delays and drama of 2020 that by tomorrow morning, December 10th, we will be able to play one of the gaming industry’s most ambitious role-playing games to date, Cyberpunk 2077.

 A Decade in the Making

The hype around Cyberpunk 2077 is not a case of the mythological “overnight success” that so many people dream of, rather it is the coming together of two fandoms over a period of nearly a decade.

Just under ten years ago Polish game developer, CD Projekt Red (CDPR), still high off the success of their Witcher series of games announced they would be working with Mike Pondsmith to bring his tabletop RPG to life as a pc and console gaming experience.

Since then, fans have been tantalised by teasers for the game covering everything from its immaculately detailed neon and chrome landscape, gritty storylines which cover humanities kindness and its perversions, and unique in-game mechanics for living, working and fighting in Night City. 

Sights and Sounds of Cyberpunk 2077

Early clips and scenes from the game show a world densely populated by individuals. Each person you pass has their own look, style, errand they’re running, and this combined with the games insane verticality leaves you feeling that Night City is a real place that you want to spend time living in.

The development of the music for an in-game band known as Samurai bears testament to the lengths CDPR was willing to go to in order to flesh out the world of Cyberpunk 2077.

To bring Samurai to life CDPR collaborated with 90s Swedish hardcore punk band. The band recorded an album as Samurai which will not only be available in-game but is also available online via such channels as Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and even iTunes.

Refused lead vocalist, Dennis Lyxzén, said:

“Working together with CD PROJEKT RED, writing music and song lyrics for Cyberpunk’s chrome rock icon was fun, but also very different in the creative sense. It was an unexpected challenge that turned out to be right up our alley and really got us going. The songs turned out great and the game looks insane”

One of Lyxzén’s biggest challenges was delivering the songs in the style of Samurai’s lead singer, a character called Johnny Silverhand, who is an important character in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. But is this attention to detail that makes Night City so exciting and unnerving at the same time.

Don’t I Know You?

Speaking of Johnny Silverhand, Keanu Reeves caused quite a stir at the E3 2019 Xbox Conference when he announced that he would be playing the character in Cyberpunk 2077. This is no mere voiceover role as Johnny Silverhand was full motion captured by the legendary actor.

Since then, CDPR has announced an impressive list of both mainstream and online celebrities who will have cameos in the game. These include the likes of iconic game developer Hideo Kojima, singer and songwriter Grimes, and game writer and journalist Alanah Pearce.

This inclusion of fan favourites, game industry giants and popular culture icons takes Cyberpunk 2077 one step closer to feeling more like a dystopian look at real-life rather just being another sci-fi video game.

 Gambling in Night City

Gambling in adult-orientated video games is nothing news. Rockstar includes poker and actual casinos in-game like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto with these locations acting as both interesting Easter eggs and making the world feel lived in.

In CDPR’s case, their popular Witcher series of games includes Dice Poker, a roll and match game where winning is as simple as getting more matching pips than your opponent, and Gwent, a custom deck building battle game which is played for money.

While none of the teasers specifically showcased online casinos or gambling in Cyberpunk 2077 there is a lot of buzz online about what new casino games the developer will create for fans to enjoy in Night City.

Since it is canon that the Witcher universe and Cyberpunk 2077 co-exist there are hopes that we will see a sci-fi version of Gwent where cybernetically-enhanced ninjas, corporate warriors and other units specific to Cyberpunk will come into play.

 Are You Ready V?

Regardless of whether you’re into stealth or hardcore action Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be one of the most played games online over the next few months. The game is available from the GOG, Steam and Epic game stores right now, and if you play it via GOG’s Galaxy launcher there is even a unique katana and armour set up for grabs for free.

Grab your copy of the game, load up the preinstall tonight and be ready to take on the world of Night City first thing in the morning on December 10th!