STACK #194 Dec 2020

GAMING FEATURE

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said, I believe that with Cyberpunk 2077 we’ve managed to deliver something truly remarkable that gamers of all platforms the game will release on can immerse themselves in and enjoy. It’s rare for a first-person game with shooter mechanics to also proudly boast RPG features – how difficult was it to embrace both within a single game, without compromising either? While it does feature shooting mechanics and melee combat, Cyberpunk 2077 was designed from the beginning to be a true to-the-bone RPG. Marrying all this was a challenge, one which involved a lot of trial and error. In the end, though, we managed to arrive at an approach that we believe works, and does so in a very cool and immersive way. It’s a solution that utilises stat-based combat, but at the same time we address things that would feel unnatural in a purely stat-driven solution. For example, shooting most enemies with a powerful sniper rifle to their head will deliver huge critical damage and will most likely result with an on-the-spot kill. When you start off the game you’ll find it crucial to find cover when enemies shoot at you, but by installing specific cyberware and by developing your character in one of many possible ways will start yielding results soon enough. There are dozens of skills for you to mix and match until you find the combination that suits your preferences best. Your cyberpunk, your way, your rules!

It’s finally time to take in the wonders of Night City this month in Cyberpunk 2077 .We hacked into developer CD Projekt Red and nabbed some data from the game’s quest director, Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz. Words Anthony Horan UPTOWN PUNK!

• Cyberpunk 2077 is out Dec 10

will we be able to explore outside its environs?

As a first-person game, is it harder to immerse the player in V’s story using only voice acting? On the contrary! I believe that going the first-person perspective route is

A huge area surrounds Night City called Badlands. It’s an extremely threatening place, a vast desert wasteland devastated by countless wars

what allowed us to really take the immersion factor to another level. The very fact you’re experiencing the horizontally and vertically dense, sprawling megalopolis that is Night City looking through V’s eyes is something that puts you in the heart of the action and really ratchets up the sense of scale within your surroundings. When looking through the eyes of V you not only see what

and cataclysms. Rules of the city don’t apply here

Move stealthily, but carry a big stick Is it really possible to complete Cyberpunk 2077 by using stealth and skill, never killing anyone? Says Tomaszkiewicz: “There’ll be a few encounters that you’ll need to fight your way out of. In these cases, you can defeat your foes without killing them, and then leave them be after the fact. There are mods for weapons that make them non-lethal, as well as tranquilizer ammo, special cyberware and blunt weapons. It’s your choice how you want to approach combat.”

we always aim to push the limits of what can be done on every platform

and you won’t find the regular gangs roaming about. Instead, you’re bound to come across Nomads, clans of which hold dominion over this place. It’s an area that has an entirely different feeling and density to the other districts and, despite the dangers it houses, it’s As one of the first cross-gen games, what challenges did you face in making Cyberpunk 2077 look and play great on every console, including the seven-year-old PS4 and Xbox One? definitely a place you should check out.

surrounds you, but also yourself – you’re not just a floating camera, you’re a character in this world.

While Night City has its distinct districts,

Our approach to making games never changed – we always aim to push the limits of what can be done on every platform we work on. This, of course, comes with a plethora of challenges both artistic and technical alike. That

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