The third episode of Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire gave us a tour of the city and a rundown of the gangs that control its streets, but there’s still a lot more to see.
I went through the event’s trailers and interviews and pulled out some more details that will change the way you see Cyberpunk 2077 – from its seedy underbelly all the way through to its regularly scheduled rocket launches. Here are 10 things you may have missed.
There’s drinks, drugs, and carousing
You’ll be able to get sloppy when you’re enjoying the Night City life. In the space of about fifteen seconds of the Postcards from Night City trailer we see dancing, drinking, dropping pills, virtual reality sex, and then more drinking but this time you’re also bringing a drink for a go-go dancer. It looks like you’ll be able to cut loose pretty hard when the mood strikes you.
There are police mechs
The police in Night City unabashedly serve the corporate overlords who control the city, making them little better than a heavily armed gang – and in terms of actually protecting the common folk of Night City, probably quite a bit worse. But. They do have rad mechs that look like they could kick ED-209’s ass. Hopefully we can hijack or hack them for ourselves and take them for a spin.
Night City’s history ties in to the tabletop game
The trailer briefly mentions that what became Night City was founded by the entrepreneur Richard Night, in whose memory the city was renamed. Night’s life is a key part of the backstory for Cyberpunk 2020, the tabletop game that inspired Cyberpunk 2077. His murder was a mysterious story seed for game masters to use as they saw fit, but CD Projekt Red may spin its own definitive version of events.
AR is everywhere
The Night City skyline is defined just as much by physical skyscrapers as it is by holographic displays. The real-life equivalent of banner ads fill the sky, but sometimes they seem to serve a more artistic purpose as well: giant holographic koi fish swimming through Night City’s Japantown is a recurring image in the trailer and an eerily beautiful sight.
Verticality makes elevators feel like portals
CD Projekt Red has been pushing the concept of verticality in Cyberpunk 2077, but it gave one very solid example during Night City Wire: elevators. You may be exploring one part of the city when you happen on an elevator you haven’t taken before. It could lead somewhere entirely new, or you could step out onto a familiar bit of turf you didn’t even realize was on top of (or below) the place you were exploring before.
You’ll find “mini stories” on the street
You’ll have a hand in massive events that shake Night City as you play through the main story missions of Cyberpunk 2077. On the other side of the spectrum, the developers have taken joy in seeding smaller stories and encounters throughout the city that let you “play detective” as you follow their threads.
Night City has a spaceport
Space travel has become much more commonplace in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, though like many of Night City’s wonders, only the upper class get to enjoy its benefits. Seeing a rocket landing in the trailer is enough to make me hope we head into orbit ourselves at some point. Sounds like a great scenario for a DLC expansion, come to think of it…
There’s a Star Trek reference
Your pal Jackie puts his feelings toward the Maelstrom gang succinctly: “I hate these Borg fuckers.” He’s dunking on their tendency to cybernetically modify themselves to the point that they’re barely recognizable as humans, and he’s using a reference to Star Trek to do it. This proves that a) Star Trek: The Next Generation is still a cultural touchstone in 2077, as it should be, and b) Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t afraid to reference real-life pop culture when it makes sense.
Judy Alvarez is a central character
We previously met Judy Alvarez as our guide into the world of investigative braindancing, but it seems like she may also help introduce you to its underworld elements. We hear her talking about why she’s affiliated with the Moxes, the fact that the Voodoo Boys are regarded as bogeymen among hackers, and warning V that everybody in the city either flies high or “sinks into quicksand”.
The Afterlife is the epicenter of mercenary life
There are hired guns, and then there are Afterlife mercenaries. The club serves as a gathering place and somewhat of a collective for the finest soldiers of fortune in Night City, and it sounds like you’ll spend a lot of time there between jobs – whether you’re looking for your next gig or toasting to the friends you lost in the last one.
If you already know you want to head to Night City ASAP, check out our Cyberpunk 2077 pre-order guide.
