There's no way around it: the Cyberpunk 2077 promised in 2018 is not the Cyberpunk 2077 that was delivered in 2020. Performance issues aside, the game was once believed to be a definitive next-gen RPG experience complete with parkour around Night City, a thorough background for V with multiple options and not just lifepaths, a living Night City with awesome NPCs and unique dynamic weather, the ability to customize vehicles, and much, much more.
Cyberpunk 2077 may be in a satisfactory state now and it may even have a brighter future with its free and premium DLC, but the fact of the matter is that Cyberpunk 2077 will never be the game fans wanted it to be. It's something else entirely, and perhaps one of the most unique ways that factors in comes from something more mundane that parkour: the subway and monorail system. There's something to it that had fans talking about it before and after release, but it boils down rather simply.
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At E3 2018, Cyberpunk 2077 featured a jaw-dropping trailer and showcase of Night City. Note that, as seen above, it opens with V on a monorail, but a travel system isn't often something that big or exciting. The problem is, CD Projekt Red took something mundane and managed to make it big and exciting. The monorail shown off wasn't like a monorail someone would encounter in real life, it was one in Night City.
CD Projekt Red would release more promotional images that also put V on subways (as seen below), but again, it wasn't the fact that it was a subway that was exciting. It was a subway in Night City. Yet, the Night City players received doesn't feel like the worst place to live in 2077, and everything designed to bring that dying metropolis with a cyberpunk aesthetic to live was watered down. The monorail system featured heavily in Cyberpunk 2077 marketing and promotions still appears in the game, but there's no way to really access it legitimately (glitches and mods have gotten players up there). There's subway entrances around the city, but they are inaccessible. They represent promised parts of the game that died, but were more heavily used in marketing for the game than many others.
Now, it's worth mentioning that the above trailer didn't express the fact that these systems would be rideable, but many read reasonable implications into it. Running through subways to flee the police in Night City, an epic fight on top of a monorail, utilizing unique body replacements when doing so, and finding unique NPC interactions with Night City citizens all sound like a real dream. Of course, perhaps the writing was on the wall as promised Cyberpunk 2077 features were announced cut, and more and more of V's big dream was watered down. But knowing that they are there and not utilized in such a way as to make them exciting Night City subways and monorails feels empty.
When Cyberpunk 2077 launched, the excitement was high and quickly whittled away. High-end PCs could run the game, even if it wasn't the game many wanted it to be, but consoles were left in the dark. It was a shock to see the game launch, see success, and crash all in the course of a few hours. As many more learned all the shortcomings of Night City, it quickly became clear it wasn't just one problem, but several. Performance is being fixed up, at least to some degree, and that begs a big question: what about Night City?
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The Cyberpunk 2077 of 2018 is gone, and now there's only the Cyberpunk 2077 of 2020. As the game works toward its promised future, with performance at least gaining ground, many are ready for CD Projekt Red to shell out free DLC and premium expansions. Looking at the Witcher 3 outlines what to expect of Cyberpunk 2077's free DLC, and while something like vehicle customization or new items, weapons, and more are all possible, it's unlikely this free DLC will restore the subway and monorail system. After all, again, the problem is how something mundane became so exciting, and implementing it or fixing it up now will just highlight how mundane the systems mechanically are.
Love it or hate, fast travel is a must in all games, and with the way it works now, subways and monorails can't really play a role in that. However, that limitation if utilized correctly may not apply to premium DLC expansions. Not only would it make sense to make the subways and monorails operable for certain DLC components within that, but it could really become a Night City subway or monorail if utilized correctly.
The aforementioned examples are just ideas that could fulfill that. With police spawns in Cyberpunk 2077 improved, perhaps players could do a chase through a subway or monorail system as part of some job or new heist. Perhaps this leads to, or perhaps in another instance, V could be on top of a monorail, engaging in melee and ranged combat, dipping inside, crawling out, or doing something to bring the classic train fight trope to life (Cyberpunk-style). Perhaps there could be aspects of the train or monorail V must fix or solve to present it from exploding, and maybe there will be NPCs on that train that catch the eye and capture the heart.
None of this is impossible, but it's also speculation. CD Project Red could go in an entirely different direction with its DLC expansions, but the fact of the matter remains: whatever it emphasizes in these DLC, it needs to deliver on the Night City promise of 2018, even if in smaller portions.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X upgrades are in the works.
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