Ok, so was thinking about where the story for the sequel of Cyberpunk 2077 could go while reinstalling mods after the 2.11 update. This is just what’s popped into my head and has nothing to do with actual game development. I’m just letting my imagination run.

While I would love to see the world expanded to an Asian country (imagine Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, etc given the cyberpunk treatment…well…even more than they already are) I’m going to run with the idea that the sequel will be set in Chicago.

So, the first thing I think of when I think about Chicago, is the mob. I think that a compelling story could start right at the top. And when I think of the top, I think the Crystal Palace. I’m thinking a mob boss living the luxe life and thinking that nothing can take them down (possibly alluding to the demise of Saburo Arasaka) when BAM! Not another boss, but a coup from within their organization. They’re attacked, a fight ensues, they’re left for dead. But wait! They’re alive! They’ve escaped in a pod and lands in Chicago. Maybe they’re taken in by some street kids who don’t recognize them. Maybe one of them sees the nice clothes and jewellery and thinks that helping them will reward them? Once they’ve recovered, they have a choice to either reward their rescuers or punish them in lieu of the people who really hurt them as they turn their ire to those who have wronged them.

(But Life path choices! I hear you cry.

Possible other choices could be, the mobster’s significant other, a wannabe who tries to oust the boss and fails, a child of the mobster who’s wrongly accused of instigating the coup, an illegitimate child who DID instigate the coup, maybe even one of the staff who tries to help the wrong person…)

Intro music!

The rest of the game will be them trying to climb back up to the top through a world they had a part of ruining for a large number of people. They could have to befriend and build trust with people who have been hurt and maybe even ruined by them and what they’ve done to reach the heights they’d previously enjoyed. Perhaps they even see the truth of what they’ve done or see another way of life they’ve never considered before. There’d be a lot of opportunities to build relationships or burn bridges on their path back to power that takes them all over the map including space and back. They could have several paths to follow including reclaiming their throne, revenge on everyone who wronged them, taking over another powerful gang, building a new empire, abandoning it all for a peaceful quiet life or maybe even destroying everything out of spite. Of course, their love interests could have a huge part to play in the path they choose.

I’d love to see the usual human romanceable characters as well as AI ones (can you imagine a construct of a past lover or even a rogue AI to love?). They could be in cyberspace, inhabit a robotic body or even take over a human body if they’re augmented enough to be compromised in such a way! What if it’s actually using you to achieve its own ends? What if everything has been the machinations of an AI collective! But I digress…) It would be wonderful to explore that kind of dynamic and the implications. And relationship configurations could be more varied as well ranging from none to monogamous to menage to poly. I understand the limitations of writing and programming a full-fledged relationship so I won’t suggest being able to romance everyone or being able to buy/sell/customize every apartment/house/car/bike/weapon/item of clothing we encounter though it would be something I’d love to see.

As for the multiplayer rumours, I’d love to see PvE stuff which would work well within the story. You and a bunch of gangsters get together to pull off a heist, or a gang war. Maybe some conflict over turf where you need to reclaim/protect the area. See who can steal the most cars? Make the most revenue using your ill-gotten skills? Run items all over the city. Maybe there’s a limited number of people for a job and everyone fulfils a certain role to pull it off? The possibilities are endless, wild and could make for fun teamwork as well as being varied enough not be overly grindy feeling.

Anyway, this is just me spit-balling. I have a crazy imagination, I know. I’d love to see if I actually hit on anything. Would you be interested in seeing any of these? What do you want to see?

Or maybe I should just write it all into a book…