CD Projekt Red treated fans to an extended look at the “Lifepaths”, weapons and music of Cyberpunk 2077 in the latest edition of Night City Wire.
Lifepaths
Cyberpunk players have a choice between three Lifepaths for protagonist V: Street Kid, Nomad and Corpo. Quest Design Coordinator, Philipp Weber, teased that Lifepaths not only determine the player’s backstory, and where they begin the game, but will also affect their journey “throughout the whole game”, from beginning to end, which is great news for fans planning on multiple playthroughs.
The first Lifepath spotlighted, the Street Kid, casts V as a low-life mercenary raised in the seedy, crime-ridden underbelly of Night City. Players choosing the Street Kid path will have an easier time dealing with gang members and shady situations owing to their street-smarts.
Secondly, there’s the Nomad, hailing from “The Badlands”, the lawless wastes that surround Night City. Nomad V is forced to journey to Night City after an unnamed tragedy strikes his rag-tag adopted family of outlaws.
The final Lifepath is the Corpo, an ambitious high-up in the Arasaka megacorporation. As Corpo V, you will possess business know-how, enabling you to, as Weber states, “read people”, opening up new opportunities in dialogue.
An exciting reveal to note from the Lifepaths segment is that the world of Cyberpunk 2077 is significantly bigger than we first thought. Player will be able to full explore The Badlands on all lifepaths, with missions taking you deep into its arid landscape and leaving Night City far behind.
Refused: Becoming SAMURAI
Perhaps the most unexcepted segment of the Wire’s second episode was on the music of Johnny Silverhand, portrayed by the breath-taking Keanu Reeves, and his anti-establishment punk band SAMURAI. Popular Swedish hardcore punk band Refused has written and recorded SAMURAI’s entire music catalogue for the game’s soundtrack, with three songs already available on streaming services.
The lyrics and sound are inspired by Johnny’s character and values, a testament to CD Projekt’s attention to detail and commitment to immersion. Aside from his musical style, very little has been revealed about the enigmatic Silverhand thus far; it appears we will have to wait longer to learn more about his part in the story of Cyberpunk.
Tools of Destruction
The final trailer and accompanying developer interview showcased the wide variety of firepower V will have at their disposal when the game launches. There are three gun classes, each with their own unique advantages and a comprehensive selection of weapon types, from hard-hitting shotguns to snipers and rapid-fire SMGs.
As Senior Gameplay Designer, Paweł Kapała, outlines, the Tech weapons class encompasses “electromagnet-powered”, chargeable weapons that are capable of firing through cover and even walls. Power weapons are “similar to contemporary weapons” in design, boasting high power, as the name suggests, at the cost of seemingly slower fire rate and increased recoil. Bullets fired from Power weapons have a nifty ricochet mechanic that allows players to shoot around cover. Smart weapons are the most futuristic of the bunch, equipped with “guided missile technology” that enables bullets to seek out targets, forgoing the need for pinpoint accuracy. The trade-off is that the weapons have the lowest damage of the three classes.
Also teased by Kapała was the RPG systems incorporated into gunplay. V becomes more skilled with weapons as the game progresses, presumably through levelling up and player-chosen upgrades. À la Borderlands, Cyberpunk includes weapon rarity tiers, ranging from common to legendary weapons, the latter of which possess unique properties and can only be “taken from enemies or loot caches” that players have to find in and around Night City. Each weapon is also fully customisable via attachments (e.g. scopes, silencers) and software (changes weapon performance and/or statistics).
CD Projekt additionally confirmed that melee weapons and body-augmenting “cyberware” are part of V’s bombastic arsenal. Melee weapons appear to allow the player to block enemy melee attacks and deliver brutal finishing strikes, exemplified by the gory dismemberment animations of the “Thermal Katana”. As for cyberware, the Tools of Destruction trailer showcased not one, but three different examples of cybernetic upgrades that allow V’s body to become a weapon in and of itself, including the retractable “Mantis Blades” that were the source of much of the game’s hype when they first appeared in the reveal trailer many months ago.
Episode 2 of Night City Wire ended with a promise that Episode 3 will be coming “soon”. With launch day only a few months away, it’s safe to assume CD Projekt Red will be delivering a plethora of new updates to fans leading up to the game’s release.
Cyberpunk 2077 comes to Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 19th, 2020.
Words by Sonny Chadwick
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