So after their admittedly muted E3 2012 press conference reveal, the Polish developers who brought us the Witcher series has recently released their first real trailer for a computer game based off the popular Cyberpunk pen and paper RPG. And… in my purely personal opinion it is a very beautiful set piece, yet it is one that doesn’t feel like it grabs one of the game’s two target audiences. Fans of the pen and paper franchise who are fast on the pause button should be able to pick up little details like the policeman’s badge that reads “Night City Police Department” or the “Militech” maker’s mark on the side of his gun. While being ostentatious is never a good thing to see, I have to wonder if CD Projekt went too far in the other direction. Up until I saw the title at the end of the premier, my thoughts were “Man, Deus Ex 4 is going to be amazing.”
Fortunately, CD Projekt has released statements to both Machinama and Gametrailers that help clarify a few things for people who might have missed what was going on. The woman in white was in a cyber-psychosis rage and being “apprehended” by Night City’s “Psycho Squad.” For those not familiar with the setting, cyber-psychosis is a case of dementia that occurs when a person becomes too cybernetically enhanced. When this happens, they begin to scorn biological flesh and develop a superiority complex towards normal humans. In turn, police departments maintain special units specifically for combating cyber-psychos such as Night City’s aptly named Psycho Squad. Sometimes these units recruit from the people they hunt, as is the case with our female cyborg by the end of the trailer.
Admittedly, it’s still somewhat early in the development cycle so Cyberpunk 2077 could still turn out to be both worthy of the franchise name and capable of impressing gamers not familiar with its pen and paper origins. That being said, while showcasing some undeniably impressive sizzle, the announcement trailer didn’t really have much steak except for a tantalizing hint about another project to be announced on February 5th. Is this Witcher 3, as some journalists seem to think? Teased snippets seem to suggest there might be something to this belief. Either way we’ll know for sure early next month.
In the meantime, check the official site for updates and screenshots and be sure to sound off with your own opinions on the trailer. Am I right to be suspicious or am I just expecting too much?
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