It has been years since Cyberpunk 2077’s disastrous release, and by now, the game has done a complete 180-degree turn. What was once a disappointment on CD Projekt Red’s rap sheet is now a legendary video game beloved by everyone, and I just know everyone is already looking forward to the sequel. As great as Cyberpunk 2077’s gameplay was as an open-world FPS RPG, I believe the next entry into this amazing franchise needs to look back to its TTRPG Roots. Because there’s more to Night City than just Johnny Silverhand and Adam Smasher, and it’s time we took a quick peek.
TTRPG Roots
Cyberpunk 2077 is based on the hit tabletop role-playing game Cyberpunk RED, and I think 2077 didn’t lean into that as much as I would’ve liked it to. I know this sounds like nitpicking, but hear me out. There are mechanics and rules in the game, which I will get into in a minute, but at the core of all these mechanics is the almost-overwhelming feeling of choice. Night City is a living, breathing city that gives the players tons of options, from what class I choose to how good I am to my local parking attendant. I believe that if CD Projekt Red, or any other capable developer, would pick up on these minuscule choices, then we’d have a worthy successor to Cyberpunk 2077.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is probably the prime example of a TTRPG turned video game, and the success it garnered shows just how much the gaming community is ready for more TTRPG elements to come to video games. BG3 utilized most of Dungeons & Dragons’ core mechanics and lore while maintaining the dice-based gameplay, and that included almost all class, race, and skill options. There’s also the aspect of opening up a whole world to multiplayer, which I believe could be easier for Cyberpunk devs if they used the BG3 formula. But player choice aside, I also think it’s important to state just how much Night City affects the player.
Upkeep
The Cyberpunk RED TTRPG is meant to be a bleak dystopia filled with tons of backstabbing mongrels and everyone looking out for themselves. Night City is meant to feed off you the closer you get to the top, and I believe the best way to exemplify this is through how much poverty your character goes through. Having a Cyberpunk video game that leans in closer to the TTRPG’s mechanics means having to make sure you have enough rent, having a stable income, knowing a few techs to make sure your cyberware stays preeminent, and so on. Currency in Cyberpunk 2077 felt more like the ability to buy luxuries than the ability to buy the things you needed to survive, and surviving day-to-day is the core feeling of being a Cyberpunk character.
Player Characters
There are many more options for player characters in the book than there are in the game, and I think the next Cyberpunk game should open up these avenues for players. One thing I find interesting in the TTRPG version of Cyberpunk is that not everyone gets to netrun the way V does in 2077. You had to be part of the netrunning class, and that itself is a whole can of worms that changes the gameplay drastically. Opening up character creation choices for the player could lead to endless replayability and a much more expansive story. A business person working in a high-end job while climbing the corporate ladder might not be as excited to jump on ratty jobs as they are doing favors for a fellow high-ranking official.
Sanity
One of the most gripping mechanics in the Cyberpunk TTRPG is Sanity, a meter that goes down or up depending on how chromed up your character is. This is originally meant to balance out your characters so they don’t become the next Adam Smasher, but it also opens up different avenues for storytelling. Dealing with the slow loss of humanity in the Cyberpunk world was one of the core topics that the TTRPG game has tackled, and I’d love to see how this is translated to video games. Cyberpsychosis is also something that isn’t explored as much in the video game as it was in the TTRPG, and for good reason, because cyberpsychosis could be game-ending for the characters. 2077 does have something similar to Cyberpsychosis, but that’s just a Grand Theft Auto player’s wet dream.
Overall, I have no large criticisms for what Cyberpunk 2077 is; I still believe it is the best way to get into Cyberpunk as a franchise. CD Projekt Red also deserves tons of praise for developing an adaptation of the TTRPG that is as palatable as it is. I am very excited for the future of this franchise, and of course, I will be sinking hours into the game no matter which mechanics they add or retain.
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