Cyberpunk 2077 Release Finally

After much waiting and several delays, the Cyberpunk 2077 release is finally here and the timing could not be more perfect. Last post I outlined the last step in getting my PC ready for the game. Now it’s time to start digging into the game.

Graphics and Performance

I was surprised to see how early the Cyberpunk 2077 release review embargo ended for the game. It was widely known that there would be a day 1 patch and game ready drivers for Nvidia, so the reviews were going to have more bugs than release.

That turned out to be an understatement which the conspiracy theory part of my brain would think maybe on purpose to lower expectations before playing.

Lucky for me, the combo of the day 1 patch, Nvidia game ready drivers, RTX 3090 and new 1000W PSU, gave me a breathtaking (couldn’t resist) experience right from the start. It ran smooth and the ray traced effects are fantastic.

I already knew there was a limitation where you can’t see your own reflection on a lot of things, but how good everything looked helped me forget. The neon lights of the corporate building I started in reflected beautifully off of shiny surfaces and illuminated things around it.

The game was running smooth enough that I didn’t even bother to display the fps count, but it definitely does dip a bit in outdoor areas. It was still so much fun to play, but next time I’ll check how many frames I’m actually getting.

There were only a few bugs that a ran into that seemed common for others. That included just 1 T posed person, 1 that disappeared in front of me and Jackie walking through an elevator door like a ghost. Granted, I only am about 2 hours in, but I was very happy considering the issues reported in so many reviews.

Character Creator

The Cyberpunk 2077 release character creator options were plenty extensive as CD Project Red promised. Usual familiar options are there (hair style, skin color, etc.), but where it really shines are the options you are NOT used to.

Voice Tone – not that new, BUT you can choose a masculine or feminine version regardless of the sex that you chose.

Eyes – you can control the color like usual, but you can also choose crazy cyber eye types.

Cyberware – allows you to choose some preset patterns of metal in your face (cyborg lite style).

Facial Tattoos – so you can look like a proper gang member.

Piercings – to put the punk in Cyberpunk.

Teeth – not unique for the option, but unique for the grills you can choose.

Eye, Lip and Face Makeup – this is available for both sexes. I was gonna go for the sphynx type makeup, but opted for none for now.

Nail Color/Patterns – to go with your makeup, if you so choose.

Nipples – just in case you want none.

Blemishes – to choose perfection or something closer to real life.

Body Tattoos/Scars – to give your character even more attitude.

Genitals/Size/Pubic Hair – yeah they were not joking about this. It’s a little creepy, but it adds an extra layers to the role playing. You can choose to go Ken doll style with nothing , as well. Similar options are there for the female character, along with chest size.

With all the options, I’m actually surprised they didn’t just make a unisex character that you then choose which parts you want. There might end up being a patch for that.

Cyberpunk 2077 Corpo Life

For the Cyberpunk 2077 release has 3 different starting life paths: Nomad (rural), Street Kid, and Corpo (corporate scum). From what I’ve seen, it appears to give you a distinct first 30 minute of gameplay before dropping you into the same set of core missions they all share. You life path does give you some specific dialog options to get you into/out of trouble.

I chose the Corpo life path to start things out in the high rises, luxury and style. The graphics of the building interior really pulled me in and it was only a matter of time before I was being caught up in some corporate assassination plans. All before everything fell apart and I was on to the mainline missions. Snooping the other life paths, I want to try each one.

For my next full game playthrough, I’m thinking of trying the nomad with the intent of playing them as a bible thumping gun nut.

Cyberpunk 2077 Gameplay

I won’t go over everything, because this game is so deep. Plus, I’ve barely scratched the surface. Right from the start, I enjoyed the “feel” of the game. The fact that mirrors turn off and don’t always just reflect you is a bit weird, but the ray tracing would make that very performance intensive. I do hope for a patch to add the option to reflect your character (flex with my 3090).

You can overhear conversations about what’s going with the latest corporate scandal. Same goes for around the city to give you the illusion of a living city. Calls from mission givers will often come in via your optic implant which gives you an Augmented Reality (AR) like facetime function.

Conversation options are pretty standard except your life path will give you unique options. As a corpo, I could dig more into the corporate intrigue. The actual conversation animations when you are face to face give you a real Netflix series type vibe. They look really good.

You can collect data shards for Cyberpunk 2077 release missions that you can insert into the cyberware in your head. This gives you an AR view of briefing info, schematics, etc.. There’s a great sci fi feel to it. Later on, you even get to use a shard to put you into a VR experience for the combat tutorial.

Gunplay is pretty standard, as is stealth and melee, but using your Cyberware to disrupt electronics makes me think of the classic, Deus Ex. You have quick hacks and some where you play a hacking mini game to break into the electronic systems. It’s simple to use, but the options can get really deep with upgraded kit and it’s fun. I plan on focusing this path to hack as much as I can (netrunner build).

Hiding bodies is fun, but you can also pick them up to move them around. There are bounties on wanted people in Night City, so I’m curious if you choose non lethal takedown whether you put them in the trunk to turn them in or what. Something to try next time maybe.

Your apartment is a nice touch to help make you feel like you live in night city. I liked opening the gun stash room with that movie like Merc quality. You can shower and flush the toilet, because why not? TV and radio also work. You have a food vending machine and I loved opening the metal blinds to get a view of Night City’s skyline.

Driving feels pretty good and riding shotgun is also fun in the Cyberpunk 2077 release. Leaning out of the window to shoot at some gang member is even better. You have control of the radio stations and the music is good, that is once you find your genre’s station. You can also store items in you trunk like your gun stash room. Since it’s the future, you can also summon your car to your location.

Ripperdoc

Visiting the “Ripperdoc” adds a whole new layer of customization to the game. You can buy or install cyberware upgrades to augment:

Operating System – what you use to execute hacks. I think it would be more like CPU/motherboard since the RAM you have determines which hacks you can execute and Buffer gives you more time to complete hacking mini-games for some advanced hacks.

Frontal Cortex – will let you increase things like critical hit chance or directed damage to certain enemy types. It can also offer mods to recover ram (needed to execute hacks).

Ocular Implant – improved vision for critical hit chances and I’m sure other fun stuff.

Circulatory System – you can get mods to add things like health regeneration.

Immune System – can help you resist bio attacks.

Nervous System – can be used to slow time for a few seconds or aim/shoot while dodging.

Integumentary System – this is an array of different armor options for your body.

Skeleton – can install mods for carrying more weight and stamina buffs.

Hands – allow all kinds of targeting mods, especially useful with smart weapons to allow you to easily hit headshots.

Arms – this has some crazy mods that let you get gorilla strength arms, mantis blades (kitanas come out of your arms!), projectile launchers and more.

Legs – give you mods to jump higher, double jump and take less damage from falling.

I love this game so far, so I’m going back to play now. More to report on the Cyberpunk 2077 release later.