The CD Projekt Red official Cyberpunk 2077 account dared to play with the players about their knowledge of Night City and what a trip down memory lane it was. Just on Twitter, they posted a challenge that asked whether the gamers knew the city so well that they could even tell a quest by just a few emojis. The emojis represented a cow, a detective, and a syringe. A user familiar with the game’s wilder side missions would feel like being punched in the gut with this emoji combination. It is an indisputable reference to one of the most infamously dark and wicked storied quests and the players’ reactions were swift and vivid.
The mission alluded to is the one where the police officer River Ward comes into the plot. More specifically, it points out “The Hunt,” which is a mission that takes V to the far edge of Night City, where there is a deserted farm. What is initially thought to be a search for the missing boy turns out to be a discovery of a serial kidnapper and a twisted, nightmarish scheme. So, this isn’t the usual Cyberpunk shoot-’em-ups; it’s a psychological horror detour that most probably leaves a lasting impact on every player. The community reaction to the tweet was a mixture of trauma, humor, and sheer disbelief, which is a good sign of the quest being both very powerful—and disturbing.
Reading the replies gives the impression of being in a mercenaries’ group therapy session. The range of reactions went from painful acknowledgment to outright denial of memories. One user, Kang.The.Merc, merely stated, “Thats foul choom ðŸ˜,” which to be honest, is quite an accurate description. Another player, Shooker, answered, “Aw hell naaaaaw, I hated that quest SO MUCH(jk the story behind it was incredible, loved it).” This does seem to depict a strange duality, doesn’t it? You abhor the process as it is quite uncomfortable, but at the same time, you are required to commend the storytelling’s audacity that it took to go down that route.
The players who made the most humorous comments were the ones who pointed out the ridiculous contrast the emojis gave. The user _Red_Herrings came up with a very sarcastic comment, saying, “It’s where you go to a nice animal farm and play with chickens, cows, and rabbits. I did not expect to see such a nice quest in Cyberpunk, very cute and warm.” Concurrently, Jerome (Quador) posted a peaceful farm picture along with the caption “I’m happy we went to see a working farm in this game. It is good to leave the city sometimes and just breathe the air…” The dark humor is common among this fanbase, which uses it as a coping mechanism to deal with the mission’s content.
Nevertheless, the serious discussion in the comments turned to the dark nature of the questline quickly. A lot of players referred to it as the “darkest” or “creepiest” one in the game. One user stormblessnomad, in a reply, pointed out the shocking end of the victim, “and what they did to said person.. yeah that’s probably the darkest quest and darkest storyline of the game.” Another, James2607298361, mentioned other harsh Regina Jones missions, saying they “give The Hunt a run for its eddies,” referring to the father-son braindance creators and the cyberpsycho taking revenge for his daughter. It sparked a mini-discussion over which quest could be the most messed up, which is a very Cyberpunk thing to do.
The emotional impact was quite clear. Users like shahkhn21 wrote, “One of the best quest in night city but it was dark too dark, can’t explain what I felt doing this quest.” Others, like Samantha, just said, “This one was rough.” And then there are the raw, unfiltered feelings: “PLEASE GOD NO, NO!” from Treza youssef or “Guys. What the fuck.” from Michael. They are not just comments; they are claims. CDPR made a scene that bypassed the usual shooter-looter excitement and went straight to the horror, and players are clearly still feeling it.
What is more, it is quite fascinating that this little emoji game is such a big driver of player engagement. Some, like pablo5425, tagged it “basically a main quest” and dared the developers to try it with a more obscure gig next time. Others, like laze91, used the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with the game’s design, wishing that the NCPD scanner missions would simply appear on the map instead of being the ones that have to be accidentally found. This is a perfect example of how a simply social media post can morph into a mix of collective recollection, critique, and community bonding.
