CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 releases in September with high expectations, as many gamers expect it to carry on CD Projekt Red's Witcher 3 legacy in establishing the next major landmark in immersive open world role-playing games.
But aside from breathtaking visuals and a game world filled with life, Cyberpunk 2077's most worthy attribute may be in its DLC content, which could certainly be full new packages in caliber, if they are indeed similar to The Witcher 3's DLC content
In a recent call to CD Projekt Red's investors, the company confirmed some early details regarding Cyberpunk 2077's DLC. While nothing specific was explained about any inclusions in the DLC, it was confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 would have the equivalent amount of content in their DLC as The Witcher 3's.
The Witcher 3 Set the High Bar
The Witcher 3 set the bar high for DLC content, as it included two full blown campaigns included in its two major DLC expansions. These were comprised of the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions, the latter of which provided a full new gigantic game map to explore. This does not necessarily mean Cyberpunk 2077 will take exactly the same route, as it could favor smaller DLC packs, but more quantity of them. Either way, the current confirmation suggests a satisfyingly large amount of DLC content for the Cyberpunk 2077 community to remain active in playing the game long after the base game is finished.
For those unfamiliar, or who may not vividly recall The Witcher 3's DLC, the huge scale of its two major expansions easily added another hundred hours of gameplay to The Witcher 3. In terms of gameplay, Blood and Wine could essentially be regarded as an entirely new Witcher game in itself, with a map full of main quests, side quests, and plenty more to do.
Furthermore, CD Projekt RED allowed players to start their games in the Witcher 3's campaign expansions as new players, as if each could be its own stand-alone game or campaign. If Cyberpunk 2077 follows this content strategy in similar ways, it is entirely possibly there could be some new districts or areas of Night City, or possibly an entirely different city to explore in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. The Witcher 3's expansions also included new Tesham Mutna Armor and Manticore Armor, as well as Grandmaster-level crafted sets. Given Cyberpunk 2077's fixation on cyberware and related technologies, it will be exciting to see what sort of extra perks and cyberware equipment gamers will get to experiment and play around with in the Cyberpunk 2077 DLC content.
With an already impressive array of features in the DLC's, The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion also gave way to multiple endings within their respective campaigns, defying the abnormally linear formulas most DLC content is prone to in most games. Hopefully, Cyberpunk 2077's DLC content will reflect this level of depth as well.
And finally, The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion raised the level cap and another among the 16 free DLC packs was The Witcher 3 New Game+ feature. The New Game+ allowed players to return and replay the game from the beginning of any campaign, while starting with the player's collected gear and progression after finishing the previous campaign. This makes for stronger incentive to progress through the game again while making one's character stronger and more steadfast. This would certainly be a welcome feature in Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077's Progression System
Cyberpunk 2077 integrates cyberware into its character progression system which will allow players to switch abilities in and out depending on their current style of play or thirst for experimentation. Abilities will be segregated into 12 categories defined by Attributes such as Strength, Intelligence, Luck, and Tech.
Drawing from the inspiration and standards set by CD Project Red's The Witcher 3, there should be lots of abilities to tweak one's build with enhanced cyber-ware and perhaps even some new Attribute categories to unlock new ability types. More ability to distribute Attributes further would also be welcome for those wishing for more creative hybrid character builds. CD Project RED is clearly giving players plenty of choice in Cyberpunk 2077, and hopefully Cyberpunk 2077's DLC enshrines these concepts further by following in the path of The Witcher 3's DLC content.
Cyberpunk 2077 releases September 17, 2020, on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.