Is Act I the Cyberpunk 2077 game we wanted?

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I was thinking about it and I can't help but think that the period leading up to the Heist is pretty much the Cyberpunk 2077 game I wanted. Jackie, you, Viktor, T-Bug, Evelyn, Judy, and all the other members of the cast are characters that I feel are more interesting than the rest of the cast (sorry, Panam) but the stakes feel a bit more appropriate. You're trying to do the BIG SCORE and everything is about leading up to that.

You also are doing "small jobs" up until that point that make sense with the Side Gigs.

If they'd stretched this part out and made the Heist the end of the "first" Cyberpunk game, I think I might have liked it more.

What do you think?
 

Myajha

Forum regular
I found Jackie two dimensional, since he really didn't play much aspect in act 1, and when he did his personality was all over the place, but you could see the Jackie from the Night City Wires in there, just not in Act 1.

Personally I loved Panam, and don't see why we couldn't have brought her into a Act 1 type storyline. Instead we got Cyberpunk Act 1, and the "Here's Johnny Show" for Acts 2 and 3.

So on the premise I agree with you, just not in agreement that the characters in Act 1 were fully fleshed out enough in Act 1 to make a full game on them. They'd need some fleshing out, but then the idea of the mission would be fine.
 

Ashii

Forum veteran
I admit that I enjoyed main story in act 1 more than what we get after the heist. It was focused on V, on the heist, on going up with her reputation. Then after the heist everything went downhill and I was simply not interested in the main story at all. I found side jobs way, way more interesting than Johnny/chip plot we received.

Like you said, Judy, Evelyn, T-Bug, Jackie, Viktor, those were the characters I cared for the most, than npcs I met later on.
 
Game is about a generation slowly losing their humanity and as the proto, you get to decide what is more important to you in life; glory, fame? Fighting for what is "right" or more "simple" matters such as family and friends? I got other problems with the Act I but I believe it served its purpose.
 
I was thinking about it and I can't help but think that the period leading up to the Heist is pretty much the Cyberpunk 2077 game I wanted. Jackie, you, Viktor, T-Bug, Evelyn, Judy, and all the other members of the cast are characters that I feel are more interesting than the rest of the cast (sorry, Panam) but the stakes feel a bit more appropriate. You're trying to do the BIG SCORE and everything is about leading up to that.

You also are doing "small jobs" up until that point that make sense with the Side Gigs.

If they'd stretched this part out and made the Heist the end of the "first" Cyberpunk game, I think I might have liked it more.

What do you think?

I mean I love the characters you meet after the heist ... and technically Panam is there before the heist, but yeah, I think I can agree with your overall point. I would much rather have a game that really took its time with the main story, and was solely focused on your main character raising up through the ranks as a merc.
 
You mean the montage? yes. That is the game I thought I was going to play.

The montage is pretty much nothing remotely interesting and I think people are projecting on it. You steal a briefcase and talk to Padre. There's nothing particularly important in it that isn't covered by the Scavenger and Maelstrom quests.

They are the "big jobs we pull before the Heist" quests that everyone keeps asking for,

The only difference would be a couple of extra ones.
 

Icinix

Forum veteran
Spot on.

There is nothing I can add that hasn't been added better already, but Act 1 screamed at me the potential Cyberpunk 2077 had. The opportunity to really create a story about V and their relationships....

...when it shifted focus after Act 1, whilst I still love the game and I had a good time with the main story, it was nothing compared to everything else it was and what it promised to that point.

Those moments with Misty still break my heart and want to spend more time on that friendship, it feels like there is a story with Vik we'll never get to experience, I want to dance like a dork with Jackie at random clubs and bars.

It's a shame that a world so lit up in neon lights with "It's not about saving the world, it's about saving yourself" focused so much on someone who had already died.
 
Probably I like act 1 but its short and it even has 1 quest with choices that makes a different outcome! the acts after just feels like I am johnny's errands boy it doesnt feel like I have any choices to make at all and it doesnt help that I am on a deadline sure I can do what I want as there is no real time limit but it seriously ruins my immersion when I remember I only have "a few weeks" left to live and here I am running around stealing data for some fixer for 1k eddies?
 
Act 1 was what I wanted, what I expected and what I thought I had purchased the game for.
When Act 2 started and I realized just how short Act 1 was, I was so disappointed. In fact I was so disappointed that with that and the consecutive game crashes I just gave up on the game altogether. Never finished it and do not plan on going back to it.

I don't want a celebrity in video games, especially one that is forever in your face. Act 1 was also the only act to have actual STORY choices with consequences, which is also something I wanted. Let alone Jackie :(

At this point though, I'm too tired to care about the game any more. I have also already made my mind up too about no longer purchasing any more CDPR titles and there are better companies with FAR better games out there. It isn't worth my time any more and I'll probably flog the game on Ebay at this point, either that or fling it in the furnace.
 

mbrto

Forum regular
maybe we will get more jacky via dlc, wouldnt count on it tough
i like the intro sequence
 
I mean I love the characters you meet after the heist ... and technically Panam is there before the heist, but yeah, I think I can agree with your overall point. I would much rather have a game that really took its time with the main story, and was solely focused on your main character raising up through the ranks as a merc.
This kind of topic is very subjective, depending on what people like more. You want an emotional story helping yourself survive, or do you want a story where you become the most badass merc in all of Night City just by raising through the ranks? I prefer the first option.

See, rarely something happens that makes me go all emotional and stuff. That's why I love deeply touching stories because I get to appreciate them more than anything else. Having that risk factor and the fact that you need to save yourself is what I like, a lot. I love to connect to the protagonist and those surrounding him, especially if there's a life or death question involved. All of that makes it so much more meaningful, makes you question things. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they can't do that through other means. It's definitely possible.

They could've made Act I longer, even the main story after that, for sure. But with that we have now, I can't help myself but appreciate every bit of the story they gave us. And I really, really hope we get to see V's journey continue in the future.
 
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I haven't completed the game yet, I keep restarting with a new character, partly because I learned from the previous one, partly cause I want to have something to look forward to.

That being said, on my previous character(s), even though I did alot of the side content, I noticed I got to a point where the difficulty was grey/easy.

So this time around(4th character), after doing the Mox, I did all the side jobs in Watson before progressing to the Heist and found the game even more enjoyable.

I love the story, but I wish, we would of gotten to play the "montage" part before jumping into the story. Like maybe do some 20 side jobs with Jacky before the story kicks in. I feel the story rushes the player and incites them to skip some great content in the game.

Once Johnny is in your head, the chip malfunction is a constant reminder that you should be focusing on the main story instead of "living" in Night City.
 
It says act 1 but to me feels like a prologue, doesn't mean i dont like it, i think its fine.

Life paths dont bother me, they add some nice flavour to dialogue

Time spent with jackie doesnt bother me either, i dont need more.

The thing that bothers me the most is the dialogue with Evelyn Parker regarding cutting Dex out which leads absolutely nowhere, its a head scratcher tbh, why's it even there? Just to get a non existent 40%

Stretching act 1 out to be a full stand alone could've worked i feel, pretty easily.

You free roam building SC and at a point are offered a job, you then need to get a crew together... Wait a minute that sounds like ME2 so nvm.

Anyhoo id a liked to have seen that dialogue choice with Evelyn explored more if i personally wanted anything
 

Ashii

Forum veteran
The thing that bothers me the most is the dialogue with Evelyn Parker regarding cutting Dex out which leads absolutely nowhere, its a head scratcher tbh, why's it even there? Just to get a non existent 40%

That's what bothers me, too. Why even talk about it if that leads literally nowhere? Not even a slight change of how dialogues are later or how V acts. Huge opportunity wasted, imo.
 
This kind of topic is very subjective, depending on what people like more. You want an emotional story helping yourself survive, or do you want a story where you become the most badass merc in all of Night City just by raising through the ranks? I prefer the first option.

You are right, it is subjective. I would argue that you can have an emotional story that is about you rising through the ranks and surviving Night City as a whole, without it utilizing a mcguffin ticking time bomb.

They could've made Act I longer, even the main story after that, for sure. But with that we have now, I can't help myself but appreciate every bit of the story they gave us. And I really, really hope we get to see V's journey continue in the future.
For what it is, I too enjoyed the story. I just wish it was longer. Hopefully they will expand upon it.
 
For me, the prologue was way too short. I mean, I took me some time to consider which path to choose. In the end I started my advanture as Corpo. It started really interesing - assassinations, espionage, damage control... it sounded all great. 0.5h later you are on the street and your life path doesn't matter any longer. Sure, you can sometimes choose CORP option from dialogue choices, but it doesn't matter for the plot. The game is too linear.

Gigs, NCPD jobs... it is too many of them and too little of main story. After I could roam freely in Watson (act I), it took many hours to complete eveything in the distric before I came back to the primary quest. After that much time you lose connection with the plot.
There should be more of main quests. Completing each of them should unlock some side quests, but not too many. That way you can feel the plot more fluid and consistant.

I also agree with Myajha. Jackie's story gained depth after his death.
 
Before release I thought i read or heard somewhere that each of the prologues were supposed to be around 4 hours long. I’m wondering why they changed it to a single mission, because a longer unique intro for each lifepath would have at least made the choice a little more important.
 
do lifepath's even matter?

it's not like they have some dialogue option that makes things easier, do they?
from my playthrough (as nomad and corpo): lifepath's don't matter, other than the starting outfits you get... that's basically it

(i would have hoped that we'd atleast get a skilltree related to the lifepath, so atleast the playstyles would differ... but nope)
 
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