While it might not have been the game that was promised, there is still plenty to love about Cyberpunk 2077. As the year continues to pass by, fans are expectantly waiting for any word from CD Projekt Red on the game's upcoming free DLC. There has been plenty of speculation and even a leak or two regarding what's in store for V when the DLC finally releases, but one aspect of the base game that could use some tweaking in future iterations and updates is the lifepath system.
Although the game seems to be on an upward trajectory towards something of a redemption arc, unfortunately, when Cyberpunk 2077 was initially released, there were a lot of in-game systems that just weren't living up to what they were promised to be. Hopefully, CD Projekt makes good on one of the major draws of the game in the upcoming DLC by expanding on the lifepaths that were so heavily emphasized in Cyberpunk's marketing.
Cyberpunk 2077's Lifepath Issue
Cyberpunk 2077's lifepath system was hyped up in a major way in the game's marketing pre-release, but when players finally got their hands on the game in December 2020, they were disappointed to find out that the choice boiled down to little more than a 15-minute interactive intro cutscene. Players were given three paths to choose from that served as V's background in typical RPG fashion and marketing made that choice seem like it was going to have major consequences both good and bad later down the road. In reality, it changed the game's intro, as mentioned above, and provided some additional contextual dialogue options when in conversation with different characters.
Deeper Storytelling with Cyberpunk's Lifepaths in the DLC
It's unrealistic to expect the upcoming DLC to completely fix that issue by making the player's chosen lifepath more instrumental in the game's story as it would require a lot of changes to the core experience, however, CD Projekt could make good on those initial promises by fleshing out the lifepath options in the DLC. Instead of being mainly relegated to changing small lines of dialogue, each lifepath could open up new possible routes through the DLC missions.
One thing that Cyberpunk 2077 really nailed was the way that, more often than not, players could choose what angle they wanted to come at a mission from, influencing how each mission is approached. Usually, those choices came from whatever direction the player chose to allocate their skill points in, but the DLC could provide some missions where the player's chosen lifepath is what opens the door for mission variety. It's easy to imagine how someone from a corpo background might approach a given situation differently than someone from a nomad background.
Mission variety isn't the only way that lifepaths could influence the DLC's story, however. More dialogue options could be available for use in high-stakes situations where someone who played as a street kid might be able to disarm a precarious situation better than a corpo or nomad resulting in drastically different story outcomes. Situations like that were definitely in the base game of Cyberpunk 2077, however, they weren't as deep or as meaningful as many expected them to be. Hopefully, the DLC is able to really show players what the outcomes of their first seemingly major choice are in a way that's more than just the very start of Cyberpunk 2077's story.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions currently in development.