My main problem with the story:
I believe it's pretty dumb to make an open world game full of Gigs and Side missions and vehicles to buy and cyberware to maximize...
BUT make a story that says I'm dying in a few weeks tops.
I mean.. you are dying and "oh, I need to do a Gig to buy this new car"!?!
So the urgency in the main quest makes exploration meaningless "storywise".
I always felt "off" whenever I was ignoring main content to do a random gig by a fixer I had never met before.
Really, V could even die in the end, if it made sense for the story (at least for me) BUT a fully open world game, almost sandbox like, but with a hugely urgent questline!? The game itself was compromised cause of that.
Imagine Ciri being held by the throat by the wild hunt in a mountain and Geralt was like "OH, gonna take some contracts to buy a new sword before I go help her"
I really wish they chose a different story. (Ps, eng not my main lang)
I believe it's pretty dumb to make an open world game full of Gigs and Side missions and vehicles to buy and cyberware to maximize...
BUT make a story that says I'm dying in a few weeks tops.
I mean.. you are dying and "oh, I need to do a Gig to buy this new car"!?!
So the urgency in the main quest makes exploration meaningless "storywise".
I always felt "off" whenever I was ignoring main content to do a random gig by a fixer I had never met before.
Really, V could even die in the end, if it made sense for the story (at least for me) BUT a fully open world game, almost sandbox like, but with a hugely urgent questline!? The game itself was compromised cause of that.
Imagine Ciri being held by the throat by the wild hunt in a mountain and Geralt was like "OH, gonna take some contracts to buy a new sword before I go help her"
I really wish they chose a different story. (Ps, eng not my main lang)
Of course, it's much better to play gwent, hunt monsters and buy new swords as you ignore the search for your daughter who's on the run from the group of interdimensional genocidal elves. There's no urgency here or anything...
Back to the OP.The story was pretty good. But no fun.
Problem is during gameplay I felt like I wasn't protagonist.
I've played The Witcher over and over again.
Because Geralt was me. And I continued to play Mass Effect. Shepard was me.
But I wasn't Johnny...
The cp story is not for V. It's for Johnny.
The main quest felt like it was all for Johnny.
story was so much fun before Johnny showed up.
It would have been more interesting if you let me play as Johnny instead of the supporting character V.
Playing a supporting role is not very fun.
Ps. sorry for my english
I didn't see this angle. I guess I can share mine.
Sure, V, gets to know Johnny's story, because that turns out to be the bug in their head.
It just doesn't feel to me like Johnny has the leading role. He is the underdog and embraces it. At least in the sun ending.
V makes a profound impact on the NC, beyond what Johnny could have hoped to achieve. V also rids of that trash Smasher for good. On their path, V has the opportunity to help many others, and that feels good. V comes to ultimately owning the place and being a menace that no one wants to be in the way of. The way I take the sun ending is that V is successful and continues to exist, however that happened. That is me and my V. We never stop fighting, and we had Johnny as the buddy with us for the journey called Cyberpunk 2077.
So, yeah, I gotcha, but I don't feel ya. It could be that the game leaves to the player to fill out the gaps and see the rest through their individual lens.
Ah yes, in the sun ending, we saw many faces V was making throughout game updates. First, it looked like fear. Then heart attack. The one I see now is discomfort from the light. Right, V, let's get in there and drive that Caliburn through the Crystal Palace. That is how I choose to take it.
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Totally agree. I call it a Keanu Reeves simulator. It's obvious that they wanted to build the entire game around him, and I guess that's okay if the person playing your game is a fan of Reeves. But someone who couldn't give a crap, like myself, it makes the entire experience uninteresting and unimmersive. celebrities ruin everything. It's the same reason I will not watch the Witcher series on Netflix. Henry Cavill don't look anything like Geralt, and they should have went CGI like all the good RE movies and just hired the voice actors to play their parts.
Still, you missed the point in my view on the story and how it made the game feel off.
Open world games feel better when they give us some time to explore.
CP2077 main story, by it's very nature, can't give any "time off".
Funny, That's exactly what I was thinking... I have to find a sweet new sword before search Siri, or even better, to craft my sweet Cat School Gear
Or go see if is there is something interesting in a chest protected by a monster at the very end of the map... Maybe an awesome stuff who could be very useful for beat Imlerith, who know...
(or yeah, earn all the cards available... because obviously, without the complete Gwent set, you can't defeat the Wild Hunt, it's well know...)
That I suppose (only a guess), it's because it's the playable character that's dying that it feels more urgent. If it was for example, Jackie who was dying and had only a few weeks left to live, and to V to find a "cure" for him, it would seem "way less urgent" and that buying a car in the meantime would have a little bit more sense...
"Sorry Jackie, you'll wait, I have other things to do..."
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You are given time to explore. How often, after completing some main story quest did you hear: "Bye, now, i'll call you once I gather more info". And they call you after 12-48 hours. You are given reason to do sidequests - Rogue wants 15k eddies for helping you find Hellman.
Would it work better if V was given longer life expectancy? Yes, it would. But the story having urgency is not a problem per se in a story-driven game, open world or not.
Besides, nobody's forcing you to do all of those gigs and NCPD scanner hustles. Look at them as all possible ways for V to earn money in NC instead of "to-do list".
I agree that the way the main quest was handled is a problem. It pushes you too much. Maybe if there were more consequences for not doing it when it wants you to, that would have fixed the problem. Not necessarily bad ones mind you...let the player decide if the more/better money/equipment/xp/contacts is worth the chance of being too lae etc. The other solution (bad one) is to gate new MQ missions behind
street cred....but people will see that as an unnecessary grind, which brings its own problem.
Unless you are doing Rogue's part first 15k is an insult
You are right that you are given time to complete few quests, but if you want to go beyond 'few' then you have to ignore the main story and that's a shame.
street cred....but people will see that as an unnecessary grind, which brings its own problem.
No, just no
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Unless you are doing Rogue's part first 15k is an insult
You are right that you are given time to complete few quests, but if you want to go beyond 'few' then you have to ignore the main story and that's a shame.
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I felt this pressure in other games too.
And that taught me to thick-mindedly ignore it.
It works in CP2077 too. Yes, everyone wants to see you next night but, in practice, you can spend that and a few next nights bashing gangs, and only then show up maaaybe for one of those people. All good.
Or, that Dex' limousine. I leveled up to lvl=50 before I entered it, and was like sup Dex. That must have been almost a month after the invitation. Very patient folks.
Did not have that problem, but I've also sinked 500h in to fallout 4 *urgently (not)looking for my son*
I'Ve cleared the map before entering the point of no return. It all felt like stuff I was doing, was to distract my self from the fact it has to end, both the game and V's story.
Kinda like STALKER the best way to play that game is to pospone the end as long as you can xD
I'Ve cleared the map before entering the point of no return. It all felt like stuff I was doing, was to distract my self from the fact it has to end, both the game and V's story.
Kinda like STALKER the best way to play that game is to pospone the end as long as you can xD
In almost every computer RPG i have ever played the totally urgent life or death quest is the one you do last.
Does it make sense?
No it does not.
There are reasons for doing it that way though.
In the end its like any other puppet show. You can sit back and enjoy it or Moan that you can see the strings.
Does it make sense?
No it does not.
There are reasons for doing it that way though.
In the end its like any other puppet show. You can sit back and enjoy it or Moan that you can see the strings.
Games I have played goal usually have vague goals and protagonist is uncertain if their son or Ciri is where rumors say, so there is no real urgency. In Cyberpunk main characters knows that time limit is two weeks. Also Arasaka or cops does not seem to be that interested about Saburo Arasaka murder suspect running around town outside main story (maybe I missed some information)? Transition from lifepaths to main game via montage is most confusing thing I have ever seen in videogame so far. It also frustrating that most interesting part where Jackie and V become friends and (in)famous is just skipped. Why you need even gather more fame or street cred when everyone seem to know and respect you from start?
When you have many issues with Cyberpunk puppet show, those strings change as visible as anchor chains and they pull experience towards bottom.
For me 20-30% (most main and side stories) of Cyberpunk was GOTY-material, but while I loved story I still feel that Silverhand was protagonist and that V would have been meaningless forgotten street kid wiithout Silverhands influence, V was vehicle, but Silverhand was driver. Idea that there's voice in protagonist head that questions your choices is superb, but not when choices don't have that much visible impact. Sure, Night City is bleak environment, so theme that you don't matter in Night City no matter what you choose is fitting and you can't show that hopelessness without giving choices, but thats not very encouraging for multiple playthroughs.
Some side stories were frustrating as well, just when things got interesting questline just ended.
For me game would have been better as linear singleplayer game without open world and lifepaths or montage. This felt sequel or expanded DLC to a game that was shown in montage.
Maybe Cyberpunk is not for me, I love theme and setting, but not gameplay. Expected something like Fallouts or Skyrim or Witcher 3, you often found something interesting when exploring in those, in this mostly trash you can sell or craft. Maybe I get hyped again when paid DLC info appears, but very worried about multiplayer feature because I have never played multiplayer that has not ruined singleplayer storytelling in some ways. Also adding multiplayer or online feature in singleplayer games worries me especially when promise was that singleplayer games would not be filled with microtransactions, but games might not be singleplayer any more.
Anyway english is not my main language, I played game 11 months ago and text wall was bit rant at times, so there might be factual errors. It might seem I hate this game, but it was not bad, I would say solid 83-84/100 experience for me. Also it is not first game I had issues with while majority liked it, I had issues with Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake also.
When you have many issues with Cyberpunk puppet show, those strings change as visible as anchor chains and they pull experience towards bottom.
For me 20-30% (most main and side stories) of Cyberpunk was GOTY-material, but while I loved story I still feel that Silverhand was protagonist and that V would have been meaningless forgotten street kid wiithout Silverhands influence, V was vehicle, but Silverhand was driver. Idea that there's voice in protagonist head that questions your choices is superb, but not when choices don't have that much visible impact. Sure, Night City is bleak environment, so theme that you don't matter in Night City no matter what you choose is fitting and you can't show that hopelessness without giving choices, but thats not very encouraging for multiple playthroughs.
Some side stories were frustrating as well, just when things got interesting questline just ended.
For me game would have been better as linear singleplayer game without open world and lifepaths or montage. This felt sequel or expanded DLC to a game that was shown in montage.
Maybe Cyberpunk is not for me, I love theme and setting, but not gameplay. Expected something like Fallouts or Skyrim or Witcher 3, you often found something interesting when exploring in those, in this mostly trash you can sell or craft. Maybe I get hyped again when paid DLC info appears, but very worried about multiplayer feature because I have never played multiplayer that has not ruined singleplayer storytelling in some ways. Also adding multiplayer or online feature in singleplayer games worries me especially when promise was that singleplayer games would not be filled with microtransactions, but games might not be singleplayer any more.
Anyway english is not my main language, I played game 11 months ago and text wall was bit rant at times, so there might be factual errors. It might seem I hate this game, but it was not bad, I would say solid 83-84/100 experience for me. Also it is not first game I had issues with while majority liked it, I had issues with Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake also.
Maybe
"Few weeks" if you listen Viktor. Which it's not very long, but it could be 3,4,5 or even more weeks.
Arasaka and Cops are not "interested" by Saburo's death (and his "murderer"), because Yorinobu keep obviously the secret on the true cause of Saburo's death and above all reject the fault on another corpo (Militech if I remember).
Maybe
"Few weeks" if you listen Viktor. Which it's not very long, but it could be 3,4,5 or even more weeks.
Arasaka and Cops are not "interested" by Saburo's death (and his "murderer"), because Yorinobu keep obviously the secret on the true cause of Saburo's death and above all reject the fault on another corpo (Militech if I remember).
Well, it seems I forgot that. Still game had clear time limit that was clear in main story and sense of urgency was much stronger than in Witcher 3 for example. This might be because I am somewhat Reeves fan, but I have hard time to imagine anyone else as Silverhand. While emotional impact might not have been always there I think Keanus voice was good fit.
It's only my opinion, but the fact it's seem more "urgent" is part of the reflection that is maintained in the game (it's in a bunch of quest...) What V could want :
- A long life at all price but alone and sad (or maybe almost "infinite" but alone and trapped in Mikoshi)
- A short but "happy" life with good friends or/and family.
- Or in V's case, possibly a life short, sad and alone.
I have said it before, and I'll quickly reiterate. If there was one minor difference I would've liked better is if there was an actual incremental factor, and that they didnt say 'a few weeks'.
Victor first could have said something like: "I dont know. What I do know is I cant fix it and it will get worse".
I would have liked that during the later stages the relic malfunction happened a bit faster (more frequently)
What it would accomplish to me is a) get rid of a specific timeframe and just use the 'you will die' as the overhanging doom. And b) it 'fixes' the perception of how bad it is at first (not too bad really) but actually gets worse over time.
I always took that post-heist examination at victors place as: the message was a far greater shock than the actual 'wound, and that feels more suitable also towards gameplay.
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And first time round I fell hard for it. Mind you, not even so much due to the narrative but because the main missions had a way of always being in your face. But I dont regret it. It sort of feels like a natural progression in a way. Skipping many og the sidestuffs because you need to reboot your brain.
Ofcourse I was heavily facepalmed when after the assault with the Basilisk and subsequent flee for the border and suddenly credits rolled. And I mean that in the way of: huh
its over? I completed it? NoooooooooLolz
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Sure. Nothing about the main story requires for V to have very short life expectancy. They could have made Vik give the answer: "I don't know, V, probably a few months, maybe some more..." and nothing would have changed for the worse.
Avoiding the overall concept of "from zero to hero" was actually one of the best choices for CDPR in this game. It was surprisingly refreshing to play a different story arc this time. We do some gigs and earn some fame among fixers and other people of course, but it's not the main scope of the game - and rightly so.
V isn't a mere vessel for Johnny, they both are important characters here, but we definitely play V's story, Johnny is secondary here. To me it's completely obvious.
As for the dissonance between time pressure in the main plot and open world side missions, it was discussed before, I think. It's the nature of such games - there are titles which have the same issue, because you want a fun gameplay with many things to do, yet you also want a nice dramatic plot, preferably with a sense of tension put on you, so that you know you take part in something very important. You, as a player, just got to deal with that dissonance problem somehow and have fun, or you need to look for other games.
Would | want more dynamic content in Night City, more things to do or events to stumble upon? Yes, I would, but we got what we got. Apart from technical issues and rough gameplay edges here and there, the game is still very, very decent.
V isn't a mere vessel for Johnny, they both are important characters here, but we definitely play V's story, Johnny is secondary here. To me it's completely obvious.
As for the dissonance between time pressure in the main plot and open world side missions, it was discussed before, I think. It's the nature of such games - there are titles which have the same issue, because you want a fun gameplay with many things to do, yet you also want a nice dramatic plot, preferably with a sense of tension put on you, so that you know you take part in something very important. You, as a player, just got to deal with that dissonance problem somehow and have fun, or you need to look for other games.
Would | want more dynamic content in Night City, more things to do or events to stumble upon? Yes, I would, but we got what we got. Apart from technical issues and rough gameplay edges here and there, the game is still very, very decent.
I'm surprised there's a lot of discussion here. : )
I have no problem with urgency and not interested in even the bugs.
Some people want the subway. But what does it achieve? Without a story, it means nothing.
In this type of game, the most important thing is to make player feel special through story.
Do you want to do miscellaneous things? There is UBISOFT. Do you want to be part of the world but not hero? Play MMORPGs. It perfectly suits your needs. I didn't like The Witcher 3 because it was open world. I like it because it has a dramatic plot and makes me feel like the protagonist of the world.
If the CDPR wanted the main character to be nothing, CP2077 would have had to be made as an MMORPG rather than a single-player RPG.
Considering the CDPR's previous works, there must have been a lot of people who had the same expectations as me.
Anyway, I hope CDPR releases it with a better story in the next DLC. CP2077 is a great game except for a bit of a disappointing storyline.
I have no problem with urgency and not interested in even the bugs.
Some people want the subway. But what does it achieve? Without a story, it means nothing.
In this type of game, the most important thing is to make player feel special through story.
Do you want to do miscellaneous things? There is UBISOFT. Do you want to be part of the world but not hero? Play MMORPGs. It perfectly suits your needs. I didn't like The Witcher 3 because it was open world. I like it because it has a dramatic plot and makes me feel like the protagonist of the world.
If the CDPR wanted the main character to be nothing, CP2077 would have had to be made as an MMORPG rather than a single-player RPG.
Considering the CDPR's previous works, there must have been a lot of people who had the same expectations as me.
Anyway, I hope CDPR releases it with a better story in the next DLC. CP2077 is a great game except for a bit of a disappointing storyline.
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