In June, CD Projekt Red confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 would support non-lethal playthroughs, a full reversal on what the company indicated would be the case just last year. While the idea of Cyberpunk 2077 non-lethal playthroughs is certain to be exciting for fans that want to perform pacifist runs in the RPG, others are likely to be looking to enact just a little bit more violence in Night City. Fortunately, there will be many tools to facilitate such brutality, including the deadly nanowires.
According to Cyberpunk 2077 Senior Level Designer Miles Tost, the nanowires are metal strings that are attached to the arms of V, the player character. Functioning as something like a garrote, the Cyberpunk 2077 nanowires can be pulled out and connected, making them the perfect weapon for stealth strangulation. For players that would prefer something a little messier, Tost notes that the nanowires are "really sharp" and can be used to "slice people into tiny, bite-sized pieces."
This Cyberpunk 2077 cyberware also has additional functionality in its ability to hack enemies from a distance. Indeed, players that are excited about the hacking opportunities that Cyberpunk 2077 will offer can look forward to using nanowires to "upload some powerful malware" into foes. As indicated by Tost, doing so will cause compromised enemies to "basically shoot themselves" and more.
That said, players will seemingly not be able to use the lethal force of the nanowires against every character in the game, as it has recently been indicated that Cyberpunk 2077 will not allow attacks on children and some story NPCs. However, considering the expected size of Cyberpunk 2077, it is unlikely that there will be a shortage of opponents to dispatch with these powerful combat tools.
With respect to when fans can expect to see the full power of the nanowires in action, CD Projekt Red has confirmed that new Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay will be shown during PAX West 2019. This convention is just a little more than a month away, and thus the public could be witnessing some lethal nanowire takedowns in short order. Until then, there is a great deal of Cyberpunk 2077 information coming from CD Projekt Red to keep fans occupied.
Cyberpunk 2077 will release on April 16, 2020, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.