If you have finished the game, I think you know there's a lot of things that point to a future Expansion about The Crystal Palace, Mr. Blue Eyes & Rogue AIs. Since the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 was disappointing, I posted this to give feedback for the future Expansion. My intention is not been a backseat driver for the writers. I just want to point out what we generally expect from an Expansion.
1) Give a campaign with a satisfying length - Short campaigns might be cool but in the Cyberpunk base game, the story felt like a rushed one with so much unexplored areas, even though story sometimes had really good moments. Spending some time between massive set piece moments will help to build characters & it will create an emotional attachment. Examples of such moments are going to a wedding with Shani or Priscilla's quests in Witcher 3. Try to incorporate those moments into the main quest between climactic moments.
2) Actual Branching paths - I think most people can agree that Cyberpunk just had an illusion of choice in most moments. Even most endings out of 7, can be achieved by just playing the final quest again & again which greatly reduces the replayability. In contrary to this, even Witcher 2 had 2 complete paths depending on your choices in Flotsam.
3) Sometimes it's okay to be small - Most criticisms for Cyberpunk directed towards how the massive Night City behave in the game. There's so much bugs and glitches while it's interactivity is way less than modern AAA titles. Setting the expansion inside a Space Station like Crystal Palace will be a good thing because CDPR can focus on the details of a confined area instead of trying fill out a massive map. Many NPCs with unique daily activities is much appreciated. I remember how people react to Geralt after returning to an area that I previously did a quest & villagers reacting to me depending on the outcome. Also, sometimes when I follow a NPC they they actually proceed to do some quest related things instead of just standing still. Little details like this are rare in Cyberpunk comparing to Witcher 3. CDPR maybe able focus on those instead of trying to render hundreds of generic NPCs.
4) Better Set Piece Moments - CDPR tried to put some set pieces in Cyberpunk but they were disappointing because of the heavily scripted nature. Sometimes enemies don't even die unless they are in a predetermined position. (Specially in Takemura chase scene) Many of those moments were confined to shooting the chasing enemies while riding a car. There should be more open set pieces with occasional choices. I loved the Ascension level in Crysis & various set pieces in Call of Duty that breaks the usual gameplay loop. Maybe we finally get a chance to pilot an AV or Spaceship? Or a Zero Gravity exploration quest in space?
5) No teleporting cops - Since it's a space station, at least put a hole in the walls to spawn Drone while you guys figure out what to do with the human cops.
6) No montages please - I was really disappointed to find out that the introduction to Night City in the game were limited to a montage cutscene with Jackie. CDPR lost a huge opportunity to build Night City as a character in the prologue. Please don't do that in Expansions. Let the Crystal Palace build itself by showing it through well paced quests.
7) Celebrities & Youtubers? - I love Keanu & watched his movies repeatedly. But if CDPR thinks that Keanu is essential & they need to create an entire game around him just to sell copies, they are wrong in the long run. I would have played Cyberpunk game made with a clear vision from the start of the the development instead of something that cobbled together to fit Keanu in the last minute. I know that some people don't agree but I loved the performance of Keanu in the game. However, I would rather play a game with a complete story without a celebrity.
Witcher 3 succeeded without any celebrity in the marketing.
Same goes with the Youtubers? I have no idea why you guys put Alanah Pierce & other Twitch streamers in the game. It's kinda distracting. Witcher 3 had cameos by few Youtubers but those were subtle. (Ex: Trolls) If you didn't know who they were, those moments fit right in to the game. Also if you really want those cameos, consider people who actually helped you since the beginning like Yong Yea & Angry Joe instead of going for whoever famous right now.
8) End with a Bang - Story in the base game was cool but I felt like it's way less epic than the marketing which said "We have a city to burn". So forgive me for expecting a Corporate war in the biggest Cyberpunk adaptation or a Fallout 3 ending where you actually burn some stuff. Giving a better ending where you actually affect the world around you is appreciated instead of NEWS mentioning that the Arasaka Tower got another break-in. Since the Crystal Palace is far away from the rest of the world, you guys can do wild things in the story.
9) New Skills - Maybe some DLC specific Skills like Zero G ones? Can't expect to make use of that underwater skill in space.
10) Cosmetics - removing armor system to subdermal armor or something is kinda necessary because I don't wanna look like the Red Carpet of Oscar Awards, just because a pink thong has better armor than the pants that I've found in the beginning.
11) Side Activities - I don't know what people do for fun in space but I don't wanna go to an inventory screen everytime I want to eat a space hot dog.
12) Better side quests - I've said this million times in the forum but don't put fetch quests like Gigs. Instead put quality cutscenes & NPC interactions. Quality over quantity always matter unless it's a MMO or an Ubisoft game.
13) Ending - At least give one ending where you feel good & accomplished something. I know CDPR stories are morally grey & bittersweet but Witcher 3 & RDR 2 did this way better than Cyberpunk.
14) More Third Person cutscenes - I kinda understand why CDPR chose to go full first person. However ending cutscenes in third person were some of my best moments in the game. Since the base game is very linear, I felt V is a pre-established character in the universe which is not necessarily a bad thing. So more third person cutscenes might be great.
15) Let the world shine - Even though CDPR marketed different districts of Night City has it's own personality, I didn't feel it in the game that much. At least having one quest that properly introduce you to the location will fix this. CDPR should look at Witcher 3 again and learn that stories need some slow moments.
16) Reveal when it's ready - please don't put any footage out, if you don't even have any idea what the final game might be. "Everything is subjected to change" should not be a marketing slogan.
17) Conclude the DLC story. No huge bait for another DLC or cliffhanger ending.
18) Release when it's ready.
In contrary to the popular polish beliefs, the word "Ready" doesn't mean "with a plethora of bugs"
19) No microtransactions. You guys kinda didn't do what was promised. Please, at least don't do this.
20) Better performance - I was shocked to find out that Blood & Wine actually perform better than the base game. Frame drops in crowded areas are significantly less in B&W. I don't think any other game did this with a DLC. So I have faith in you guys.
This is just one guy's opinion. Please join the conversation with your ideas.
Cyberpunk or Table Top Games were never a thing in my country. My knowledge about the Crystal Palace is from Youtube & Wikis. Please add something if you know more things that we can see in an Expansion.
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