First one I killed and strangely it didn't seem to make any difference despite saying they're to be brought in alive.
You can still complete all the missions with killing them; it doesn't matter until you've taken care of all the cyberpsychos. (Personally, I like the challenge of knocking them out - and there's a piece of cyberware that makes all weapons, including guns, knock-out weapons. Although you can still kill people once they are unconscious....)
Been up and down on Panam's missions. Up - setting up the diversion, then killing all of the gang. Panam expecting my V to be quiet about it was hilarious. Loudly took one out and she's complaining we now have to kill them all, and the problem is? Down - the game makes it sound like you'll be sneaking into Raff's hideout and take him out. Not drive up at night, full headlights on, into a guns blazing punch-up! Up - the raiding the power station was OK but... Down - the game has aim assist, apply it on the damn vehicle shoot sections too you idiots. Then the AV crashes and I get this crappy drone scan section, followed by a route that places me on the wrong side of the ship to hit a not very obvious keyboard due to everything else going on. Up - Turns out the katana works on droids as well as humans, up to an including a big security drone too! Bonkers but very fun. The pursuit sequence worked OK. The game did mess around on scoping out the gas station. But got in around the back, onto the roof and took out the snipers quietly, then the guards on the ground floor before slicing up the remaining guards and drones. Down - Having done that, I got Hellmann and found I was blocked from picking up all the loot! Still, I can go back for it, right? Wrong, it warps you away, total game bullcrap. Still, do enjoy the writing, even on the crappy bits, as its that good. Oh yeah, killed Woodman too. Bye bye sicko. The Scapel katana is hugely fun.
Just a snapshot of my Corpo netrunner V on her way with Jackie to the first mission. She was the comic relief to Jackie’s comic relief.
Did the end of Act 2 quests. One day games will have truly epic quest design to match their epic plot moments but this isn't so for this game. It starts off badly with an attack on an Arasuka port facility that lacks alternate routes. It's go in and kill everyone and that's. I see no way of doing it by stealth. It then follows up with a big, epic story moment that has terrible gameplay. Terrible map routing, first person platforming rubbish, soldiers standing next to explosive canisters, oh and a cheating boss. Which is where a bad quest went off the cliff to being goddamn awful. Killed Oda and I have Takemura complaining about it! About a guy who from the moment he turned up shat alk over Takemura. Oda was an honourless dog and he died like one. The final part of this quest trilogy looked straight forward and fun, but turns out to have secret objective rubbish in it. Now I might go back to do the part I missed but it is very irritating that it is even there. The gameworld remains amazing, it looks great and the weapons are a lot of fun. But how these quests got signed off as good to play I do not know.
I actually haven’t finished Act 2. Been doing a bunch of side quests and having fun. Lol. I don’t even know how the game ends.
Oh. Ooops. Sorry about that, hopefully haven't given too much away. Really thought I was far enough behind to not worry about spoilers.
Tis all good. I began reading and saw where it was headed and immediately looked away. Lol. I mean it’s mostly my fault: the game’s 2 years old, I’m just dragging ass finishing it because the side content has me hooked.
I’m impressed with how quickly you blasted through the main quest! I suppose it can be completed fairly fast if you focus on it, but I can’t stop getting sidetracked every little thing. My new V is pretty much the same as the old one I beat the game with, netrunner/pistolier, but immersiveness of vr makes it feel fresh. Seated conversations with NPC's are especially good, all those expressive animations look even better in 3D, and invite you to gesticulate your way into the world too. One of the best places to just go walking is still Kabuki, and I felt I should recreate the first shot I took of "old V", though the camera system in vr is weird, hard to tell exactly where your frame is. Spoiler
It's testimony to the story being rather gripping but I didn't expect it to be that, well, compact. So going to explore as much as possible before kicking it off. Did the Riders on the Storm which was a mix of the good and bad. Killed everyone in the area only for, after I do the next bit, more to magically appear. What follows is vehicle shooting, but more a blatant attempt by the game to get me to deplete ammo. These sequences desperately needed aim assist, they're a mess without it. Then it had a bit in a dark motel where it was so dark I couldn't see where to go. I Fly Away was a good little quest that covered Spoiler a send-off for Scorpion Stadium Job was a load of arse. If you step over a badly displayes hologram line, you instantly fail it! So they all got killed. The "soldiers" of 6th Street got their "war", he was a pale rider of death whose name was V. Got revenge on that Cyberpsycho job I tried earlier. She dead. Pisces, hmm.... Spoiler this became hilarious with Maiko thinking the doll implant gave her a chance my katana wielding V. She lost her head. Along the way did a load of NCPD jobs that really paid out, as I bought the double jump.
Had a hilarious quest with a guy who got a black market implant in a sensitive area. Said implant malfunctioned and set his balls on fire! The quest is getting Flaming Crotch Guy to a ripperdoc. And that's all it is. Did a gig job that was supposed to be implant retrieval, not to involve turning the place into an abbatoir, which is what happened. Cue a less than impressed fixer.
Iirc, that's pretty much the only "driving quest" available in the Prologue/Act1, when Watson/Northside is still on lock down. I think CDPR wanted a lot more urban driving quests like in GTA, but probably scrapped it when the development got tight. If you go to the bartender Claire at the Afterlife, she will have a series of "racing" jobs that are pretty fun. Doing this new playthrough, I'm having a new appreciation for Viktor/Misty, they are an interesting duo. A combination of doctor/psychic/priest/tattoo-artist, they go a long way. They get developed in the "Heroes" quest, Jackie's funeral, alongside Johnny they end being the central NPC's. And they're very well-realized, if a bit cheezy.
Been thinking about that . . . Firstly - integrated VR. CB:2077 proved you don’t need 3rd person in a vanguard AAA single player game imo. Second - keep Night City as is. It’s a fine canvas for a whole ‘nother game, probably two more. The engine can handle it, easy. Third - companions/multiplayer I think the warm reception of Edgerunners showed that the retro-future-fantasy aesthetic is fresh enough to keep the franchise going through another 5 years at least
The first improvement I’d like to see is for CDPR to ensure that the next game is ready for release. I want a game that runs smoothly on day one and is as free from bugs and glitches as reasonably possible. I agree about VR. I can’t think of another RPG that would lend itself so well to the VR experience. Personally, I’d like a different location for the next game. I’d be interested to see the game moved somewhere like Osaka with a more varied landscape surrounding the city (or cities).
The main thing I’d like to see is the next game dig deeper into Night City. The first game focused a lot on Johnny and Arasaka, with Night City mostly as a backdrop. I want to really get into the corporate feuds, the gang battles, the nature of life in the city, making us feel like we’re right in its beating heart. My ideal sequel would have a protagonist who’s a merc specializing in more investigative work, so you can do pure muscle jobs but get roped into solving more mysteries as well. You could work main-plot investigations revolving around corporate espionage, corruption in City Hall and the NCPD, and gang turf wars, and find out they’re all united by the rogue-AI conspiracy undercurrent running under the surface of Cyberpunk. But I think something like that would let you really sink your teeth into Night City in all its facets.
In terms of updating the landscape, they could make the badlands into a jungle. It would mess with lore, but not too much I think, maybe improve it even. Gang politics would be engrossing, as long as the writing holds up to rpg systems. I think we’ll see a hint of their interests in Phantom Liberty, which looks like a tantalizing throwback to John Carpenter
As far as gameplay, I want silenced sniper rifles, dammit! I want to snipe stealthily. I’d also like to see more interiors. Getting inside these big buildings, using some walkways way up, really exploiting the verticality and density even more than the game already does. I think it would be a mistake to leave Night City; it has so much character and is central to the setting. If you think the game needs more environments, you could always add the mountains outside the city, or include some sequences that travel to more locations. But I don’t think you can get away from Night City.
1. I'd like to be able to enter more buildings. 2. I would like the different origins to actually have a role playing effect on the game + adding more decision-making options to the game. 3. I'd like to be able to join an edgerunner team, but not have it be required. 4. A gang warfare dynamic 5. This is my big one: I want more random occurrences. One of the things I had mixed feelings about in Mafia 3 but that I think would fit perfectly in Night City is random occurrences/random attacks. You're a merc going around the city murdering people, stealing, sabotaging corpos, and involving yourself in political affairs and NO ONE wants to kill you? It just felt like a gaping hole in the game. I felt too safe and too badass just being able to go around straight wrecking **** with no fear of repercussions. 6*: I wouldn't mind a 3rd person option. Not required and could easily be done wrong, but....It'd work.
I don’t know, I liked having a game I can walk around in without constantly getting jumped by hostiles. It can get annoying when there are enemies everywhere you go. I liked the system of NCPD gigs and occasional firefights in progress that gave you stuff to get involved in, plus gangsters all over you could easily pick fights with, without having to worry about getting jumped when I just want to take in the scenery. What I could see the next game benefiting from is a reputation system. Get caught killing a lot of Tyger Claws, and the Tyger Claws you see lounging around start taking potshots at you. On the other hand, do them a lot of favors and they let you walk into territory they’d otherwise keep you out of. You can extend it to corps and even the city government/police as well as the gangs.
Ooh I love the above idea. I really enjoyed playing the PS5 upgrade last year, and I can't wait to revisit it once the DLC comes out.
It wouldn’t have to be constant. Mafia 3 had what seemed like a structured encounter system: if a gang randomly came after you the game would give you a nice break until it happened again. Included in the random occurrences would be other mercs or gangs fighting each other or the NCPD. Just honestly, more chaos would be nice to see.
