Probably one of the most hyped games of this generation, CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 is apparently taking its narrative and design cues from some of the most hyped games of previous generations.
“For my part, personally, Vampire [the Masquerade] Bloodlines. In terms of what is a RPG in the first-person and the way in which its non-linearity is built in the gameplay and dialogue, so this one of course. Specifically because it is the perfect example of a first person game and RPG that I personally enjoyed,” Cyberpunk 2077 mission director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz tells AreaJugones, with the help of Google translation.
“And I would also say the Deus Ex franchise, especially the original Deus Ex. This one had a great impact on me as a developer and player back when I played it for the first time many years ago. And what I really liked about that game was [you could complete] missions in many ways. It was not only based on dialogue decisions, since you also had the things that were on the map and [the] different points of entry that allowed you to get into buildings, as well as elements that opened different paths.
“In short, both Vampire Bloodlines and Deus Ex, they are my two greatest inspirations.”
Based on the 1998 paperware RPG Cyberpunk 2020, the game is a significant departure from the studio’s previous catalogue of fantasy games, swapping The Witcher’s medieval châteaus and hideous monster-babies with a futuristic city-dystopia and sleazy corporate politics. Which, maybe, isn’t actually such a significant departure, and more like a different version of the same thing.