Cyberpunk can be compared to Grand Theft Auto Five set in the future where one customizes their character and explores ‘Night City’: a fictional metropolis set between Los Angelos and San Fransisco.” Cyberpunk is far from family-friendly, achieving the Mature rating for gore, language, and any other explicit theme one can think of. Bright neon lights, Cyborgs, and robots are everywhere as one explores “Night City’. Cyberpunk was announced in 2012, and the game is still in the works. There have been numerous push backs of the game release date due to the developers attempting to perfect this massive project. The release date for Cyberpunk is September 17, 2020. Interestingly enough, the Coronavirus is not pushing the due date back, so CD Projekt Red’s developers are continually working on the game. 

Compared to CD Projekt Red’s popular Witcher III game where one plays as the Geralt of Rivia with no other options, in Cyberpunk, one chooses their upbringing and customizes their character. The player has three upbringing choices: Nomad, Street Kid, or Corporate. A street kid has lived his life on the streets and traveled ‘Night City’s’ underworld, receiving respect, and ties with gang members. A corporate would give you more speech influence over characters in corporate positions. Gamers don’t know much about Nomad yet and are excited to find out.  

The single-player campaign is a primary reason players are excited for Cyberpunk. Various factions and corporations in Cyperpunk offer replayability. Interestingly enough, CD Projekt Red has given players the option to do a pacifist run. Nearly every gun has a non-kill option like stun, and this will influence one’s gameplay and the story later on in the game. However, if you feel like killing everyone in your path, the choice is up to you. If anybody watched the Cyberpunk trailer released in the Summer of 2019, players would know that Keanu Reeves is in Cyberpunk. Will Reeves be similar to a John Wick kind of character who kicks but like he does in the movies? We’ll see. 

In terms of creating your character, you get to choose between a male, and a female body, customize that body to your liking and pick a male or female voice. How you customize your character will influence your gameplay style. For example, a bulkier character may be slower but have more health. People will be referred to as their name, instead of their gender pronouns to promote gender-neutrality. 

As Cyberpunk is a role-playing game, one levels up accordingly and can upgrade its stats. Players will have the basic stats like strength, and stamina but a new stat CD Projekt Red has inserted is ‘cool’. One’s cool stat will influence how they deal with hairy situations. A low cool level will result in freaking out in a gunfight or being more susceptible to lie detection. 

Cyberpunk is 2020’s most anticipated video game, and gamers can’t wait to get their hands on it. Will Cyberpunk disappoint, and be considered a failure by many players around the globe? I think not. CD Projekt Red has not published many games, but all of them are works of art. CD Projekt Red takes time to create their final product, and Cyberpunk should be a game of the decade.