C2077 Concern: How "interactive" is the world going to be?

[elkston]

This passage from the "GamesBeat" review concerns me:
(https://venturebeat.com/2020/12/07/cyberpunk-2077-review-a-look-at-the-present-not-the-future/)

So despite how alive the city feels due to its mind-blowing ray-traced lighting, it’s still sterile. Things don’t just happen in Night City. At its heart, Cyberpunk 2077 is a map game. You choose a quest off the menu and then go and do whatever the developer designed for you.

This philosophy filters down into the world itself and how interactive it really is. You’ll find pachinko machines and arcade games, but you can’t play them. You can scan people to reveal information about them, but I never found a use for that. If you want to have sex, two sex workers appear on your map. You’ll find empty seats throughout Night City, but you can only sit in certain designated chairs and only when the game permits it. If the game wants, you can sit back and drink a beer with a friend, but this is not something you can initiate on your own.

All of this limits the potential for emergent storytelling. You aren’t going to stumble off the main quest line and into a series of unpredictable moments. Instead, CD Projekt Red is the one prescribing all of the action.

So what was getting me most excited about C77 was having a big city and outskirts to explore in detail - Dues Ex-style.

Now I'm wondering -- is this just going to be pretty, but "static" environment? Can you pick up move/throw objects? Can you crouch under things, climb over things to explore the environment?

Or are all these actions only possible when scripted by the plot or quest code. If its the latter then this is really disappointing. After all this time, I was hoping for a dense exploration experience.

I don't want a "GTA"-sized map, but with shallow interactivity when you get to those areas.

NO, I don't expect every single building to be explorable and vastly detailed; but at least a choice selection of landmarks where you can go and just stumble onto things to uncover the world and narrative.

Like when you're in these bars talking to characters. After you're finished picking up your next quest in the bar, can you explore that bar further and maybe find a hidden stash in the basement? Maybe the entrance to a sewer system where you can go for more adventures?

This is what I'm talking about. This is the kind of adventure I want.

I guess I'll find out in a few hours if this is going to be possible.

 

[Couchpotato]

Doesn't bother me I'm here for the semi-open world Cyberpunk interactive story.

Bottom-line after an hour playing it delivers on what I like about RPGs.

That reviewer is a hack for giving it a 60/100. He had an axe to grind.

 

[joxer]

I'm here for only one thing.
Pyromania.

 

[wolfgrimdark]

I suspect going through the story will still be immersive and fun.

But this again is why I have thousands of hours in FO and Skyrim. People vent against these games all the time but they are very interactive and some of the best open world games I have played. The engine may be old but it really allows you to do so much more then other games not to mention how mod friendly it is because its been out so long many people know them.

But I can't really answer how interactive C2077 is as I am only just getting through the tutorial ... will find out later. Still I am not expecting it to be like a Beth game in that sense.

I expect it to feel more like Mass Effect or something like that.

 

[JFarrell71]

The world isn't particularly interactive. At least I think that will be the general take. You won't be playing pool or videogames or whatever, and you can't afaik move things around. Neither was The Witcher 3, though I suspect everyone will forget that when they criticize CP for it.

What you can do: turn on televisions, turn on/off other machines (floodlights one I can think of right now), interact with cameras, etc via hacking, pick up things (obviously), read shards, read emails/browse the internet, hack access points.

Basically, there are no minigames. It would be funny to do a Venn diagram of people who complained it was too much like GTA and people who complain about the lack of minigames. For my part, I tend to do minigames exactly once, and then never bother with them again. So I don't miss their exclusion. (Gwent was an exception)

 

[JDR13]

I'm not a fan of minigames, and I'm glad CDPR didn't feel the need to include them in CP.

However, had they done so, I'm pretty confident they would have been done in such a way as to not break immersion. The dice poker, fistfighting, etc, in the Witcher games all felt like a natural part of those worlds to me.

As far as interactivity, I would have liked to see more.

 

[JFarrell71]

I'm not a fan of minigames, and I'm glad CDPR didn't feel the need to include them in CP.

However, had they done so, I'm pretty confident they would have been done in such a way as to not break immersion. The dice poker, fistfighting, etc, in the Witcher games all felt like a natural part of those worlds to me.

As far as interactivity, I would have liked to see more.

There is fist fighting, and though I haven't encountered it yet myself, there is car racing (which I'll probably avoid the same way I did horse racing in W3). So as you say, things that feel a natural part of the world.

 

[JDR13]

There is fist fighting, and though I haven't encountered it yet myself, there is car racing (which I'll probably avoid the same way I did horse racing in W3). So as you say, things that feel a natural part of the world.

I forgot about the boxing/fistfighting. I declined the invite and have been ignoring it ever since. I figured it would be the same as melee in a normal fight. So it's not?

 

[joxer]

FO and Skyrim.
...
But I can't really answer how interactive C2077 is as I am only just getting through the tutorial … will find out later. Still I am not expecting it to be like a Beth game in that sense.

There is one crucial difference.
Trashmobs in Cyberpunk DO NOT respawn.
At least I didn't notice any.
Yes, I love it.

 

[JFarrell71]

I forgot about the boxing/fistfighting. I declined the invite and have been ignoring it ever since. I figured it would be the same as melee in a normal fight. So it's not?

I haven't pursued it beyond the initial robot. I'll let you know. It wasn't much more than a normal fight in W3 so I'm not expecting much. But the fighters may have some voice lines/personality.

 

[elkston]

Update:

So after maybe 40 hours of play, I'll say that while I'm still slightly dissapointed that its not exactly "Deus-Ex-but-bigger", I am having a really intense experience.

The actual missions and side-gigs do have well laid-out places where you can find multiple points of entry and stealth options. Also, walking and driving around the city really are immersive. Once you start getting some perks, the combat kicks up too.

I would definitely recommend this game to Deus-Ex fans, but temper your "sandbox" expectations just a tad bit.

Essentially, what I'm doing is driving to main quest objectives, but then any points of interests that pop up along the way, I stop and do those side quests/gigs…

I still think I'm in the first half of the game though, so there is plenty left to make opinions on.