Almost five years after its release, everybody knows thatCyberpunk 2077has its share of problems. I won’t go too far down the rabbit hole of its disastrous, broken state at launch - if you weren’t there, just know it was bad. It’s improved a great deal since, with a series of massive updates, includingthe recent version 2.3, resolving many of its core issues and adding a variety of new features to bring it much closer to the massive, expansive RPG we were originally promised.
But it still has its issues. Some of its new featuresdon’t exactly work as intended, and there are some glitches that’ll probably never be completely fixed. Even so, most players, myself included, are fairly happy withCyberpunkin its current state - although I also believe there’s room for improvement. The problem is thatCyberpunk’s biggest mistake is central to its identity, and no amount of patching will fix it.
Cyberpunk 2077 Shouldn’t Have Been An RPG
Taking The RP Out Of RPG
I’m starting to believe thatCyberpunk 2077shouldn’t have been an RPG in the first place. Of course, it’s based on one of the most influential tabletop RPGs of all time, but you wouldn’t know that to look at it - perhaps the video game should’ve taken a different approach.
The problem, at least for me, is mostly within the story. Although a selectfew choices do have ripple effectsthroughout the game, by and large,what you choose to do does not matter. Maybe you’ll open up another side quest, or miss out on another, but there’s no tangible impact on Night City at large, at least not until the very end of the game.
The open world feels like something you drive through on the way to your next mission, not a living, breathing setting.
To make matters worse,Night City and the grand majority of NPCs who inhabit it are static and uninteresting. Most people on the street have absolutely nothing to say to V, and there are no random events; the open world feels like something you drive through on the way to your next mission, not a living, breathing setting.
Having replayedThe Witcher 3recently, I often find myself comparing it toCyberpunk. InThe Witcher,almost every major choice you make is life or death, not “unlock a new caror not,” and you feel an existential pressure whenever you’re forced to make a decision.
Almost every NPC has something unique to say or do, even if it’s just wailing about a lost loved one. And, although there are still no random events, there are far more treasures and hidden monster lairs to be found, which makes exploring the world a little more dynamic.
At the very least,there are lots of interesting ways tobuild a character inCyberpunk, whichalmostjustifies it being an RPG. That said, more variable character builds can also work in another type of game entirely - one I’d rather have seenCyberpunk 2077take inspiration from, instead of big, open-world RPGs.
Learning From Deus Ex Could Have Made Cyberpunk 2077 Perfect
Imagine A Linear Cyberpunk Shooter
In some ways, I thinkCyberpunkwould be a lot better off if it were a more linear FPS game- think something likeDeus Ex. The tone and setting are similar enough, but the gameplay differences are a detriment toCyberpunk.
If it were a more linear game,Cyberpunkwould dispel all my criticismsof its world and story. Its NPCs wouldn’t have to be interactive - they’d just be set dressing for a tight, snappy shooter. And story choices would be even less of a factor with a more straightforward plot.
Cyberpunk’s more interesting unique weapons and specialized builds would really shinein a game like this one, where each situation would have multiple solutions beyond simply “sneak through or shoot everyone.” It’d even have a little more replay value that way.
Night City Would Come Alive With More Reactivity
Cyberpunk Should’ve Been An Imsim
If Night City’s NPCs can’t make it feel alive, there’s another way to achieve a similar thing:makeCyberpunk 2077more of an immersive simulator.
Give us a ton of different options to cope with every single situation, depending on both player character build and the environment around them, and have enemies and maps respond dynamically to these choices, andNight City would feel like a real, living world.
There’s already a little of this baked intoCyberpunk: you can hack into a wide variety of devices to create different openings for V, or use stealth or cyberware to gain an advantage. But these feel repetitive inCyberpunk’s massive, often copy-and-paste world; it’s rare that invading one enemy hideout feels different from the last.
But if each environment were handcrafted, and the options available to you and enemy reactions to them carefully considered and programmed, you’d have a much more interesting, reactive world to play around in. Players would be encouraged to experiment from the start, discovering new strategies organically and watching as the world reacted around them. It’d be a much better version of theCyberpunk 2077we ended up with.
But unfortunately, it’s not a game we’re likely to see anytime soon. It’s not like the original is going to stop being an RPG, and the sequel is almost certain to follow in its footsteps rather than reinvent the series. If nothing else, here’s hoping the sequel toCyberpunk 2077learns from and compensates for its shortcomings as an RPG.
