Thursday, 04 March 2021 21:30

10 Tiny Details In Cyberpunk 2077 That Raise Unanswered Questions

Written by Joseph Heindl
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There's plenty in Cyberpunk 2077 that raises some interesting questions. But will fans ever get any answers to these?

For all its issues, Cyberpunk 2077 boasts one strength that few can dispute: its setting. Night City is an immensely exciting sandbox for players to explore. It's simultaneously vast and dense, comprised of countless interconnected roads and walkways, and each of these leads to an eye-popping sight or a futuristic activity to partake in.

RELATED: Cyberpunk 2077: 10 MASSIVE Games That Have Maps Smaller Than Night City

With such a colossal playground, though, gamers are bound to encounter aspects that don't seem as thought-out as the rest. These details can break the illusion and pull you out of the experience if you think about them for too long. Perhaps the creators will provide answers in the future, but for now, these details remain a mystery.

10 Johnny Moves A Bucket

Remember, Johnny Silverhand may be a prominent and beloved character, both in the marketing and in the game itself, but he's technically dead. His personality and memories were simply encoded onto a biochip. Because V now has that bioship, he/she sees visions of Johnny as their minds clash. Basically, the washed-up rock star isn't physically there.

So, how does he move objects in the environment? During one of his early conversations with V, Johnny grabs a piece of refuse and sits on it like a stool. Shouldn't he have just phased through it, though? How can a hallucination affect something that's actually there? At least when the Joker pestered Batman in Arkham Knight, he didn't raise any questions like this.

9 Do All Taxis Whine This Much?

Night City's prime taxi service is a collection of armored cars controlled by an AI named Delamain. At first glance, these all appear to be under the control of a hive mind, but a side quest soon reveals that Delamain's personality has split. Several cars haven't come back to base for a variety of reasons, from rebellious spite to sensory overload to suicidal hopelessness.

For all this trouble, it makes one wonder if other AI taxis lie in other cities. Are divergent cabs a recurring issue? Wouldn't it drive (no pun intended) people away if their Uber cars could say, "No"? What if Delamain went on an angst-filled rampage across the city? With his weaponry, he could level several buildings. You'd better tip him well.

8 How Prominent Is The US Law, Really?

Although it takes place in the far future, Cyberpunk 2077 contains several mentions of the United States, indicating that it's still a global presence. One of the gun stores is even called "2nd Amendment." As amusing as this is, though, it calls into question the role of the US government in general.

Delamain states that V can use him as a weapon however he sees fit, but would wielding an armored car with this much firepower really be classified as legal? Then again, the police in this town accept help from mercenaries. Cyborg criminals run rampant throughout the streets even with this extra manpower, which isn't surprising when idealist cops like River are left out to dry. It's hard to sell this place as adhering to any form of law, so why bring it up in the first place?

7 Don't Have Scanners For Potential Braindance Infiltrators?

Braindances are common pastimes and sources of pleasure in Night City, but they also have other, more clandestine uses. V and company sometimes use this technology to capture a simulation of a specific room, allowing for valuable reconnaissance before a big job.

Repurposing braindances in this way seems surprisingly easy. Therefore, why don't buildings and organizations have some measures to protect against such infiltration. It's especially confusing when robbing Arasaka. This is a multi-million-dollar corporation with vast amounts of resources on hand. Would they really be thwarted by such a seemingly simple trick?

6 How Did Johnny Last As Long As He Did?

Johnny Silverhand is an enigma in many ways. In the flashbacks, he's a rock star who moonlights as a terrorist. The dialogue indicates that he's been doing it for a while, but how is that possible?

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Even if facial recognition tech wasn't as advanced in his time, he's still a public figure. The cops or corporate thugs should easily be able to identify him and pick him off. It's not like he wears a mask or tries to hide himself during his attacks. Does he just think no one wants to take on such a musical sensation? He might have had a better case for this if the game tied into Bill & Ted.

5 Do People's Bodies Have A Tolerance To Cybernetic Enhancements?

It's obvious from the get-go that people in Cyberpunk's setting are mechanized to an insane degree. They can plug themselves into various devices with ease; they can scan the environment and get instant info on seemingly everyone and everything; and they can replace any appendage with cold, hard steel.

Do people in the future have an increased tolerance for these things? If you get a foreign object inside you in the present, then you have a good chance of getting infected. How did the people in Cyberpunk 2077 overcome this hurdle? In reality, their bodies should reject something as radical as a robotic face. Audiences are supposed to accept these visuals as the conventions of the cyberpunk genre, but that's sometimes easier said than done.

4 What's With The Money?

Whenever V makes a transaction, the funds are automatically added or subtracted in his/her HUD. One could ask how a physical stack of bills instantly goes into V's account, but you could chalk that up to a gameplay quirk.

The bigger question is how you prevent your assets from being stolen. Hacking into devices and even people is easy enough, so what's to stop criminals from using this ability to rob unsuspecting citizens? They could hide behind a dumpster, breach a guy's protocols, and steal all the cash in his head. It'd be cyberpunk credit card fraud.

3 Facial Recognition Tech

One of the perks of having scanner is that you can instantly get info on each person and whether or not he/she is wanted by the cops. In addition, the characters mention facial recognition software on multiple occasions. With how much body alterations people have at their disposal, though, such tech should be a non-issue for would-be crooks.

They had similar recognition tech in Minority Report, but the protagonist got around this by getting an underground transplant. The residents of Night City should be able to do the same thing, especially with the abundance of ripperdocs around.

2 How Are There Not More Cyberpsychos?

The Beat on the Brat side quest has V fistfight a military veteran with a robotic arm and leg. He brags that he could punch a hole in a truck. This certainly tracks with some of the other ludicrously powerful augments in the game.

RELATED: Cyberpunk 2077: The 10 Strongest People In Night City According To Lore

Armed with such tools, many people would likely misuse for their own gain. The best adjustments from ripperdocs aren't that expensive, after all. Veterans with PTSD, in particular, might be in more danger of going off the deep end. Does Night City really seem like the place to heal a damaged psyche? Combine that with easy access to hand cannons, and you've got a dozen mass shootings and toppled buildings just waiting to happen.

1 I Am Vengeance! I Am The Night! I Am Murk Man!

As with most open-world games, Cyberpunk 2077 contains a slew of Easter Eggs referencing other media. Most of these are just visual gags or cheeky lines, but one raises more questions than others. In a cave north of the Sunset Motel, players can find a black car that's suspiciously reminiscent of the Batmobile. It's high-tech even by Cyberpunk standards, equaling one of the most expensive vehicles, and the tools surrounding it point to a vigilante known as "Murk Man."

This is all surprisingly in-depth for a throwaway gag. It seems a superhero once roamed the streets of Night City, someone with a ton of resources and a passion for justice. The fact that no one talks about him anymore only increases his mystique. He obviously failed his mission, but did the suits and media erase him from history? Perhaps they were afraid of him and what he could inspire. That might be why Johnny Silverhand made himself so public: to prevent the same thing from happening to him. As corrupt as Night City is, maybe it could use a kick from a new Dark Knight, a man of mystery whose very existence raises a ton of questions.

NEXT: 10 Classic Cyberpunk Games That Came Out Way Before 2077

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