Cyberpunk 2077

I tried to play Cyberpunk 2077 on my PS5 about a year ago. At that point the game had been out for a little over a year, and many of the bugs / issues people had complained about had been fixed. I decided to finally check it out, and see the game underneath all the controversy. I made it about 5 hours in. It was loud, obnoxious, punchy, and frustrating. Everything about it felt extreme and grotesque to me. The hyper-sexual ads around the city, V and Jackie’s talk about becoming “legendary” “no matter what” just wasn’t striking a chord with me. To make matters worse, every time my roommate walked by she complained about the visuals, or the dialogue, saying she “hated watching me play this game.” I felt like I was wasting my time, and like this one just wasn’t for me.

Fast forward to the end of 2022, maybe 8 months after selling CP77 on eBay after deciding I didn’t want to keep going with it. I started a new job, and was becoming friends with one of my new coworkers. She told me Cyberpunk was a favorite of hers. She said she loved the quiet moments around Night City. This sentiment really struck me, because in my short time with the game, I hadn’t had ANY quiet moments. What had I been missing? I pondered whether or not to rebuy the game for a while. I really wanted to get closer with this coworker. While we had a lot of common interests, we hadn’t played many of the same games. I figured checking out CP77 would give us more to talk about. Plus, I had just gotten a Steam Deck for Christmas, so this could be one of the first games I played on there.

I decided to restart Cyberpunk sometime in January of 2023. I felt invigorated by the idea of having more to discuss with my new friend, and hurried through the initial 5 hours I had already played. I had stopped playing the game RIGHT before V’s “death” and meeting Johnny. I had no idea THIS was the full plot of Cyberpunk 2077! Two consciousnesses stuck in one body, fighting for control. One a terrorist from 50 years ago. The other a reckless young adult looking to make a name for themself. At first, I hated Johnny’s guts. I’ve never been a big Keanu Reeves person. Him IMMEDIATELY trying to kill V had me feeling unfavorably about him.

Regardless of how I was feeling, the world was finally opening up to me, and I had my goal. To find Night City’s quiet moments. I started off doing the main story for a bit, but once I had established the Voodoo Boys and the Takemura quest lines respectively, it was time to dive deep into side quests. I was shocked by the amount of side quests CP77 had to offer me. At first, I was mostly interested in figuring who the love interests were. I kept getting more and more calls with things to do and places to check out. People to meet. Each new quest was a mystery, fresh and exciting.

After doing most of the side quests in Cyberpunk, I can say with certainty this game presents side content in the best way I’ve ever seen it. I felt like every time I finished a side quest, I got a call about another. Their progression felt natural, and their content was fantastic. I loved how relevant each side quest was to V’s own situation. They all contextualized V’s circumstances in a new way, begging the player to question what was happening to them and how to feel about it. The Peralez quest line being about the overwriting of a person’s memories. It made me wonder, without your memories, are you still you at all? Can you trust yourself anymore? It made me imagine V thinking about that, watching their own memories slip away. Or Lizzy Wizzy. She had changed so much after fame and implants, her boyfriend was afraid of her. He was worried about what she might do. She had chosen these changes, brought them upon herself, and had to live with the consequences. He was right, she ended up murdering him and being delighted by the outcome. It must’ve been strange for V, watching someone destroy themselves intentionally, when they never had a choice.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t love any of the romantic options. I played female V, so I could either pursue River or Judy. I saw both of their storylines through, romancing each of them. River’s was okay. I thought the stuff about his nephew was deeply sad and powerful, and enjoyed the mystery leading up to it. His romance with V felt tame to me though. I liked the idea of V joining his family and having a place to go back to, but it kind of felt like settling. Judy’s romance was weird for different reasons. It felt like Judy and Evelyn had a very intimate relationship, and like we were helping her get through that. It was SO tumultuous taking down Clouds, and after all that to just…get together? Like everything is okay? Felt off to me. Judy felt like a good friend, and someone I wanted to support, but not someone to pursue. I didn’t mind not being able to romance Panam or Kerry though. Panam was a mess who only cared about herself and her chaos family. I didn’t enjoy any of my quests with her. I like Johnny’s history with Kerry, but his hatred of a kpop girl group was ? concerning to say the least.

Ultimately, Johnny was the character I adored and always wanted more of. V and Johnny’s banter felt like the “quiet moment” idea I was searching for. The two of them felt at home together. The storyline of Johnny and his band mates was ABSOLUTELY the best one in the game. It showed V and Johnny’s mutual trust and respect for one another, and tested their relationship. The scene with Johnny and V in the landfill where Johnny’s body was buried broke my heart. I had V tell him that he was “the guy who save their life,” and hearing Johnny say that all he wants is for that to be true was so touching. Johnny is his best self with V. This is the only time he’s put another person before himself. It feels like he’s finally who he’s always wanted to be. I genuinely love Johnny and V’s relationship. If I could choose how the game ended, it would be V and Johnny getting to inhabit this body together until the end of their days. Playing female V added a lot to this dynamic too. Johnny was a complete ass to Alt and Rogue, and it feels like V taught Johnny that women are actual people.

Another quiet moment I loved was riding around the city on Jackie’s bike. Turning on some jazz and cruising across this wild, loud, vivid city was relaxing and striking at the same time. It gave me time to reflect on whatever quest I was in the middle of, or to get a call about a new one, or to stumble upon a random interesting thing. It brought harmony to the experience. Being able to call Jackie a few times and catch him up on everything that was going on was so sweet. V’s last goodbye to him was a lovely touch. When all the voicemails played during the credits, it made me think of us calling him after his passing.

Overall, my time with Cyberpunk was a delight. It made me think, it made me cry. It gave me a place to explore and discover. The characters I met and the way I felt while playing this game will stick with me. I’m grateful to my friend for motivating me to give it a second chance, it was certainly worth my time.