Cyberpunk 2077is barely recognizable as the same game that was released over half a decade ago, with numerous improvements and content upgrades filling in the gaps of its previously missing potential. Aside from a plethora of performance and visual enhancements over the years, there’ve even been limited upgrades to the world of Night City itself, introducing more reactive NPCs and police chases for added enjoyment.
Even if it took some time to get there,Cyberpunk 2077has come much closer to its ambitious premise than ever before, butsome areas of the game are likely only to be fully fleshed out with its eventual successor. While it’s not a feature that willmake or breakCyberpunk’s sequel, there’s one area of2077’s Night City that always feels a little disappointing on a second visit.
Cyberpunk 2077 Doesn’t Have Enough Interiors
The Age-Old Problem Of Massive Open World RPGs
Although Night City looks gorgeous from a distance and is the perfect landscape to take advantage of itsupgraded photo mode features,the actual environments ofCyberpunk 2077themselves are somewhat devoid of life up close. Even if the astounding scale of a city likeCyberpunk 2077’s Night City makes it understandable for much of the game world to be devoid of player exploration, it still detracts from the overall immersion of the game.
While being able to enter every one ofCyberpunk 2077’s skyscrapers or housesmay be an unrealistic expectation, simplyincorporating more interactive environments within unique set pieces can add significantlyto immersion. Rather than having a plethora of vendors waiting on street corners selling the same generic goods, I would much prefer quality to quantity, with individually designed stores that offer more personality within a closed environment.
NexusMods userkeanuWheezehas already implemented their own usable train station in the game, letting you experience Night City from an entirely new perspective.
Not all ofCyberpunk 2077’s explorable interiors need to be special or unique in their own right; blander options, such as subway stations or service centers, createa more believable game world that’s easy to get lost in.Cyberpunk 2077already has plenty of unique buildings waiting to be explored, with structures like prisons and metro systems scattered throughout the map, providing prime opportunities to expand exploration variety.
Night City Feels Empty When It’s Mostly A Facade
Missing The Chance To Flesh Out Each Individual Area
These aren’t recent concerns either, as Reddit users likeWARHAMMERXOXOhave been bringing up the same complaints for years, with few updates to address the issue over its long update cycle. While the moment-to-moment gameplay in Night City has been drastically improved,these immersive elements seem more difficult to patch into the pre-existing game world.
While the set pieces ofCyberpunk 2077are more than serviceable as background dressing in between missions,Night City lacks much of the interactions and random events that make other open-world games likeGrand Theft Auto 5feel more alive. These problems are especially notable in the static trauma team responses and repeated NCPD blockades, which fail to capitalize on their greatest strength for reactive gameplay opportunities.
Thankfully, CD Project Redappears to be focusing on increasing immersion by introducing more immersive crowd simulations to Night City. However, it is also crucial that the same effort is put into the environments and interactive gameplay opportunitiesto avoidrepeatingCyberpunk 2077’s biggest mistake.
