Few upcoming games are stirring up the hype cauldron like Cyberpunk 2077. With a stylish artstyle, solid role-playing base, and the team behind Witcher 3, fan excitement is at an all-time high. Needless to say, those who caught the start of the Night City Wire, the livestream about the game, were eager to learn all they could.
What fans learned during the livestream in question came in the form of some gameplay, some talks with designers, and a brand new trailer. While talks with the team behind the game showed their enthusiasm for Cyberpunk 2077, it was the trailer that showed what players have to look forward to.
Considering the Night City Wire was actually pushed to the 25th, fans were waiting longer than they thought they'd have to for the news. It was well worth the wait. The trailer showed the presumed main character, Mr. V, meeting up with an old friend in Night City, but there was little reminiscing. The focus was on the promises his friend was making of a new life, or more specifically, becoming a legend. Said legend involved in the making the heist of a bio-chip held by a corporation. For those not in the know, corporations tend to be major villains in cyberpunk stories. This one, Arasaka, responds with lethal force when the heist goes sideways. Keanu Reeeves' character, Mr. Silverhand, does appear (seemingly as a hologram), right at the end of the trailer.
There is a lot to go over in the trailer, both in terms of story and the brief flashes of gameplay seen. The diverse gameplay shown might be one of the reasons for Cyberpunk's most recent delay. One section shows Mr. V jumping high and firing a rocket from his wrist; is that frequently usable, story given, an optional upgrade? Another shows a car-chase shootout hybrid. Another shows a shootout with a robot that requires some acrobatic jumps, possibly even a boss fight.
As for story, the game's lead quest-designer Pawel Sasko confirmed that everything shown was for the game's prologue. The trailer ends with what looks like a betrayal for Mr. V, followed by him getting shot in the head. There is also a possibility that the appearance of Reeves' character at the end, who mirrored V's movements, was not a hologram, but a disguise. There's even the possibility that the whole prologue is Mr. V's Braindance, and he won't even be in the rest of the game. Maybe it will all be explained in the Cyberpunk 2077 comic book series, when it comes out.
Besides the trailer itself, there was news about the game's layout (six city districts and the Badlands surrounding them), the Braindance segments (reliving someone else's memory), and a tie-in anime series (made by Trigger). Not mentioned was Cyberpunk's multiplayer, which was delayed even more than the original game.
Cyberpunk 2077 releases November 19th for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5, Xbox Series X, and Stadia versions in development.