Cyberpunk 2077: 10 Harsh Gameplay Truths You Need To Know
9. It Might Only Have The Illusion Of Choice
The idea of choice is a dangerous one in video games.
Mass Effect's trilogy was built on a personality model which fluctuated with every decision, missions ended with clear and opposed consequences... then it all came down to A, B or C.
Cyberpunk 2077 has again pushed the idea of choice, but already the grand scope which was once presented to us has been stripped back. In later entries I'll delve into more gameplay-centric specifics, but for now we’ll look at the narratives.
Cyberpunk put out four posters recently, each describing a different way of life in Night City. There’s necessity over style, style over substance, substance over style, and substance and style.
With the promise of being able to choose our own backstory, many thought we’d have these four options for multiple starting points, similar to Dragon Age: Origins. The most optimistic even speculated we might have a couple of options in each, giving eight variable openings.
It appears from the demo (though it’s not confirmed) that there’ll only be three backstories; Techie, Netrunner and Solo. It looks like the classes will determine your start, rather than any narrative choice on your part.