What “Cyberpunk 2077” needs to shoot a “No Man’s Sky”

As we sit back and wait for CDPR to announce something, anything about the future of Cyberpunk 2077 beyond bug fixes, I want to pick up on an idea I’ve heard a lot. This CDPR can pull a No Man’s Sky with the game and turn a launch full of broken promises into long-term success, which they said they hope to do by continuing to work on it.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve given Cyberpunk a lot of negative coverage, so it may surprise you to learn that I… actually agree with that. I do think Cyberpunk could pulling a No Man’s Sky with the right kind of continuous development, but “might” doesn’t necessarily mean “will,” and that’s where my faith falters.

There is a baseline in Cyberpunk that works, similar to No Man’s Sky, albeit in a different genre. The basic concept of No Man’s Sky’s unlimited exploration is what they’ve relied on to expand the series with many updates and additions to what it is now, years later.

What I would say “works” about Cyberpunk are several things:

• Night City and its surroundings are a solid foundation for a world like this.
• The players seem very attached to their Vs and to the secondary characters in the story (Judy, Panama).
• Combat is surprisingly fun whether you shoot, hack (with a sword), or hack (with computers).

That’s the baseline, so what does he need to enter “No Man’s Sky” redemption territory?

Fill out the card

Cyberpunk doesn’t have to be infinitely replayable, but it needs to be more playable than it currently is. After clearing the map, all you have to do is cultivate tiny pockets of enemies. I would include a way to reactivate all gang meets and gigs so that I can replay them.

And when new quests are added? Many areas of the game need to be fleshed out, such as Pacifica or the Desert. The map is very large, but it is painfully underused in many places. Most places, in fact.

Many more bases

By basics, I mean… everything. More character creation options (and the ability to change your appearance after creation), including hairstyles and tattoos. No more cyberware, no more clothes, no more weapons, no more cars. It’s an easy trick that would keep players engaged if they had a way to work towards some cool new unlocks.

Difficulty changes

The game not only has to rework the combat AI so that enemies, gangs, and the police aren’t so stupid, but there is more of a real challenge in combat. Right now even the most difficult difficulties are a cinch, even with moderately concentrated build at intermediate levels, and for all of this to matter, the game cannot be a game. child indefinitely.

Free extensions

The key to No Man’s Sky success? All updates, even the most important, are free. I know this might not be the desired outcome for CDPR shareholders, but if they want to sell more copies of the base game like they say, I don’t think charging $ 20-40 for a larger DLC in 2022 is the way to go. , and I think future expansions of the game should be free. Good for the players, but ultimately good for the CDPR as I still don’t think it gets on record with them how much goodwill they’ve lost in this whole process.

Frequent updates

In short, I don’t want to Cyberpunk’s future to run as The Witcher 3, which had two months of 16 tiny free DLCs, and then its biggest expansions during the year. I think the game would benefit from frequent updates as we see in No Man’s Sky. Does that sound live? Good, because I think this game has the potential to support a long term future if it plays its cards well. No Man’s Sky also works as a live service these days, but that buzzword doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and more engagement means more sales. I’m not saying we need seasons, battle passes and the like, but yes, Cyberpunk 2077’s ongoing content is basically a good thing, and if it’s of sufficient quality, I think the base of fans would adopt it. There is more support for this game and this series than you might think from all the headlines, and again, that’s why I think the potential for a turnaround is there, if handled correctly.

It will be? I have no idea. We won’t really know until we understand the scope of the free DLC that would arrive this year after endless delays, and the game fully enters a new phase. More soon.

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