For two years running, Cyberpunk 2077 has been one of the biggest, most hyped games at E3. Last year, CD Projekt Red unveiled a notoriously lengthy hands-off demo of the upcoming title, showing off some of the narrative and character interactions, as well as the exploration and action gameplay. This year, the studio once again featured a behind-closed-doors demo that clocked in at a whopping 50 minutes. In case you’re wondering, yes, Cyberpunk 2077 is definitely still worth the hype.

Choosing Your Approach

Last year’s demo of Cyberpunk 2077 focused on the story, characters, and interactions, with the action gameplay almost seeming secondary. The latest demo spotlighted the gameplay much more extensively, with an emphasis on how you can interact with the world, enemies, and NPCs, as well as the combat and stealth mechanics.

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that players could potentially complete Cyberpunk 2077 without ever executing an enemy. Based on the E3 demo, I can confirm that this looks like a possibility. It won’t be easy — in fact, it seems like going for a no-fatality run could get extremely difficult, especially considering how many enemies like to travel in groups, but it certainly looks doable.

Going for stealth, player character V entered a rundown warehouse that acted as the hub of operations for the Animals, a gang of bloated bodybuilders who would put 1990s Scott Steiner to shame. V was sneaking around corners, hiding behind walls, and using different kinds of tech to hack into security systems and disable cameras. Obviously, playing carefully often creates multiple high-pressure situations one after another, especially when you’re surrounded by hulking enemies like the Animals and you’re trying your damnedest to not get spotted.

After a bit of careful stealth play, the CD Projekt Red rep changed things up and showed off some of the more in-your-face gameplay, getting into gun fights and taking on the Animals in straight-up combat. The shooting was fast-paced and action-packed, and despite the sheer mass of the bodybuilders, they were enhanced to perform physics-defying high-speed dashes toward the player. These aren’t your garden variety muscle-heads!

The shooting seemed fast and tight, with V’s shots landing quite accurately and hitting their bulky, vein-y targets. While Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG first and foremost, it features plenty of shooting — if you’re not going the pacifist route — and from what I could see, it definitely seems like the aiming is precise and the shooting is responsive.

One of the cooler aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 — and something that drives home the whole dystopian, cybernetic aspect — is enemy hacking. During the demo, the protagonist hacked into an enemy character, which resulted in that villain taking out a bunch of his allies against his will.

Street Cred

The RPG element really kicks in when you’re building your character at the start of the game. V is fully customizable, allowing you to not only select a gender, but also a unique look. You can select the kind of clothes that V wears, too, as well as hairstyles and body modifications.

Once you’ve decided on a look, you can then choose the type of personality V will have, ranging from street smart shenanigans to a reserved, corporate demeanor. Unlike your appearance, these personality traits will have a direct impact on V’s position and influence in the game world. During dialogue sequences, for example, you’ll have more options available to you, so you can take on a smooth talking approach if you’ve got that street cred, or you can lean toward a diplomatic way of addressing the NPCs.

Big World, Big Possibilities

This time around, the E3 demo didn’t showcase the world much — however, the rep informed onlookers watching that the sci-fi, futuristic setting of Night City would be an open, living, breathing techno-urban wonderland with plenty to see and do.

Given how ambitious Cyberpunk 2077 very clearly is, it’s going to be interesting seeing how CD Projekt Red infuses life into the world with NPCs, dialogue, and side missions.

Insert Mandatory Keanu Reeves Comment Here

Cyberpunk 2077 has been in development for about seven years, give or take. The game went from a simple promotional logo screen to one of the most talked about and anticipated titles. The team at CD Projekt Red is cooking up something big and daunting, and seeing the game evolve over the years has been a lot of fun.

We should finally be able to get our hands on Cyberpunk 2077 sometime in the next year.

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