If there’s one thing CD Projekt Red is aiming for withCyberpunk 2077, it’s immersing players as best it can in the world of cyberpunk fantasy. The world of Night City is sprawling and filled with tons of unique characters, each with a story to be told. Every little bit ofCyberpunklore has been pumped into this game to be a true simulation of the game’s source material. The player’s character is particularly important for immersion as well, and this area is whereCyberpunkis giving players plenty of freedom in tailoring to their preferences.
One aspect where the game isn’t skimping is the initial character creator and customization. Like any other RPG, players inCyberpunk 2077are fully able to change how their character looks and speaks. It’s the “background check” and character lifepaths wereCyberpunk 2077is extremely unique; as players determine which past life suits them, that choice influences their immediate future in the game. Then as the game progresses, there’s substantial systems in place to tailor skills and abilities to the player’s playstyle.
Cyberpunk 2077’s Lifepaths and Attributes
The character creation phase at the beginning of the game is surprisingly intricate, despite some of the actual appearance-changing features being slightly less free-form compared to other games. The big ticket item during the initial character creator is the “background check” section, which iswhereCyberpunk 2077players determine their lifepath for the game’s story. From there, players can choose from Nomad, Street Kid, or Corporate, which dictates the opening prologue and several key events throughout the game’s story. Every lifepath has unique characteristics like unique dialogue options and lifepath-specific story beats exclusive to that player’s choice.
Beyond there, certain lifepaths are not entirely constrained to certain playstyles. Players are then given the ability to spec out different attributes and stats to their characters. There are five attributes that players can choose to increase as well: Body, Intelligence, Reflexes, Technical, and Cool. Players are given seven extra points in character creation to specialize their characters in certain ways,similar to SPECIAL inFallout. Then as the game goes on, there’s various different statistic and skill pools within the main attributes that players can learn abilities from like hacking, strength, weapon proficiency, and more.
Further Aesthetic Customization in Cyberpunk
Beyond the actual RPG gameplay elements themselves, there’s alsoplenty of aesthetic flair inCyberpunk’s character creator as well. While the appearance changes are largely done through preset designs instead of fine tuning skin tones and bone structure, there’s still plenty of aesthetic options for players. Aesthetic changes like cyberpunk-style body wiring, eye color and shape modifications, tattoos, and the other usual options like hair color and face shape are available to players.
There’s also plenty offreedom in overall body customization inCyberpunk 2077; players can mix and match between feminine and masculine options in body type and voice, and even goes further to the customization or removal of genitalia entirely. Then as the game goes on, all clothing and physical customizations are non-binary. Players have the freedom to customize their character’s appearance even further without being constrained by a specific body type.
Freedom and Inclusivity with Cyberpunk’s Protagonist
All of these options are in service toa world ofCyberpunkwhere players can truly be whoever they want.Cyberpunk 2077’s main protagonist, V, is designed with versatility and comprehensiveness in mind. Players can make V whoever they want them to be, and that’s a huge win from not only an inclusivity perspective, but a gameplay perspective as well. Everyone’s character can be tailored to who they want to be/look like, and can choose to play the game exactly how they want as well.
All of the body mods and changes gives players a chance to embody whoever they want to be, whether it’s a representation of themselves ora role they want their character to portray. That’s even further emphasized with the skills and attribute customization, which allows players to playCyberpunk 2077however they want to. Immersion is a big deal, and in an expansive world likeCyberpunk 2077is promising to be, the character customization is emphasizing that immersion wholeheartedly.
Cyberpunk 2077releases June 29, 2025, for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. Xbox Series X and PS5 versions are slated for 2021.
