CD Projekt Red Level Designer Says Cyberpunk 2077 Will Be A Deeper RPG Experience Than The Witcher 3

CD Projekt Red Level Designer Says Cyberpunk 2077 Will Be A Deeper RPG Experience Than The Witcher 3
Credit: CD Projekt Red

CD Projekt Red will release Cyberpunk 2077 in November, and it’ll be their first major release since 2015’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is widely regarded as one of the best open-world RPG games of the current generation, and of all-time. So, naturally, expectations are very high for CDPR’s upcoming first-person, open-world RPG.

While speaking with Netrunner 2077, CD Projekt RED‘s senior level designer Miles Tost said that, while some people are viewing Cyberpunk 2077 as a first-person shooter, it’s an RPG first, and it’s an even deeper experience than The Witcher 3.

“I think people tend to forget that Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG first and foremost,” said CD Projekt Red’s senior level designer. “So customization and equipment choices, making choices in the skills you have, the talents, how your character looks, how you choose dialogue, it’s the center stage of this experience. I think some people look at this game and think ‘Oh man, it’s first-person and has guns! It’s a shooter,’ and that’s a very surface-level assessment. I think in many ways, it’s a much, much deeper role-playing experience than The Witcher 3.”

Earlier this month, CD Projekt Red released a ton of new information regarding the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, including three different origin stories for the game’s main protagonist, all of which are detailed below.

  • Street Kid – V will be from the Heywood district, and his/her childhood memories include: “robbing buildings, running away from badges, and the taste of blood from a split lip.” With this backstory, V will come from a place where everyone is constantly fighting for a “slice of the street.”
  • Nomad – The Nomad backstory is a more peaceful upbringing for V, as the game’s main protagonist spends their formative years in a rural location, before ultimately deciding to move towards Night City because his/her family is “in pieces.” In the game, Nomads have a powerful hunger for freedom and are willing to do whatever it takes to find it.
  • Corpo – V will begin his or her journey as a corporate employee, where they’re working under Saburo Arasaka, who is 158 years old and is described as being megalomaniacal and obsessed. The Corpo boss also says that he hates America, and says that his duty is to elevate Japan to its former glory. With this backstory, V is, or was, responsible for keeping Arasaka in power.

Barring any further delays, Cyberpunk 2077 will launch on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 19.

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