CYBERPUNK 2077's Night City Wire: Episode 3 Round-Up
The third and final episode of Night City Wire streamed a couple of days ago and gave us a few final details before the game’s release. While nothing major gameplay-wise made its way into the stream, it’s chock-full of great worldbuilding intricacies showing gamers just how in-depth CD Projekt Red has gone to bring Cyberpunk 2077 to life. The highlights I’ll be going over in this wrap-up of the episode will cover Night City itself, its gangs, and the PC requirements to run the game. Though it doesn’t sound like much, there’s quite a bit to unpack. Without wasting more time, let’s jump into it.
The stream started out with the above video which shows off more of the city than we’ve seen in more ways than one. First of all, there’s a focus on the media and advertisements that we’ll start to become more familiar with as we play the game. We see talk show hosts, news reporters, and greasy salesmen but that’s just the first few moments. There’s an emphasis on showing both sides of the coin that is Night City. You have the glitz and glam of the high society socialites who rub elbows and pose for the cameras in their shiny tech and clothes. You also have the underworld gangs that would rather shoot you in the face before rubbing elbows with you. It’s a cool back and forth throughout.
The visuals are stunning in the characters and especially the environments. I’m not sure if we’ve gotten this close of a look into the neon-lit advertisements that flood the streets as we have here. It does look reminiscent of Bladerunner, and that’s fantastic! Night City has a little bit for everyone. If you want to get a closer look into the city, check out this link that makes its way into the video right here.
Next up, we get an extensive look at the gangs that we’ll be dealing with as V. Some of them we get to work with and others would rather wipe our blood off of their boots. Each one comes with its own set of unique weapons, outfits, and vehicles to take a spin around the city in. Some of them had more screen time than others but this is a quick synopsis of each.
Night City Gangs:
Maelstrom - Crazy cyborg gang-bangers. They act before they think and don’t care about the outcome.
Valentinos - This is a gang with a code of honor and God. Their biggest adversary is 6th Street.
6th Street - A group of patriots who love to use their second amendment right. Transferring your pickup will be the way they hustle for you.
Voodoo Boys - Thought to be a myth; magic and running is their gambit. The Voodoo boys had their own settlement until the Animals showed up.
Animals - This gang is built up of hired muscle. More like, a bunch of juice heads ready for a fight.
Tyger Claws - The Tygers work the streets. Don’t ask too many questions or you might end up in a bad situation with these guys.
Moxes - Outcasts, prostitutes, and pimps have created a bond. They’ve been pushed around and now they’ve banded together to keep each other safe from the Tygers.
Nomad Factions:
Wraiths - Not much was actually shown for me to formulate any kind of opinion. They do look hostile though.
Aldecaldos - This faction’s focus is on the family. They’ll always have your back as long as you have theirs.
This is the last topic and its one that all PC players have been waiting for. The minimum system requirements to run the game and the recommended settings for the optimal experience. These notes can be viewed above or on Steam.
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7 or 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K or AMD FX-8310
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 or AMD Radeon RX 470
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 70 GB HDD available space
Additional Notes: SSD recommended
Recommended:
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 3 3200G
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon R9 Fury
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 70 GB SSD available space
This is supposedly the last of the Night City Wire streams and it’s sad to see it come to an end. Luckily, that means we’re closer to release day. The developers have already said that the game is green so that’s a good indicator that there’ll be no more delays. Cyberpunk 2077 will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Google Stadia, and PC via Steam on November 19th.