Cyberpunk 2077's gameplay is still only being shown behind closed doors, but developer CD Projekt Red gave us the next best thing: a set of four fresh new screenshots to roll up in your Gamescom 2018 excitement. Where the E3 2018 trailer and screens mostly set up the near-future dystopia of Night City, these shots are more character focused; specifically, three out of the four feature the main character's fellow cyberpunk and gun-for-hire Jackie Welles.
Let's take a deeper look at the screenshots, introduced with the titles CDPR gave them in their filenames. Those little bits of info are always helpful for getting some extra context.
Any Last Words
Assuming this shot takes place from Cyberpunk 2077's usual first-person perspective, things are not looking very good for our hero V. The neon tracksuit and smug look gives the central character a low-level mobster feel, while the other two seem to just want to get the execution over with. The towering industrial equipment behind them reinforces CD Projekt Red's desire to make Night City vertically, not just horizontally, expansive.
Outnumbered but not Outgunned
Here we're re-introduced to V's friend Jackie Welles - he's the only one without a weird mass of glowing orange lights poking out of his head. He's also the only other one who seems to be on your side in this particular Mexican standoff, so it's a good thing he brought both his guns. Gaming documentarian Danny O'Dwyer mentioned in a tweet that both this screenshot and the one before it resembled "dialogue moments" he saw in the E3 2018 gameplay demo, so they probably aren't just staged cinematic scenes.
Shoot Through Walls
This image's title helpfully draws our attention the bullets punching through a solid concrete wall in the background. There will be a lot more to shooting in Cyberpunk 2077 than just pointing and clicking, with cybernetic and weapon upgrades offering the ability to target ricochet shots around corners, for instance, or chew straight through the environment as seen here. We also get a good look at Jackie Welle's future-samurai haircut, complete with a geometrically shaven scalp and a topknot. Yes, it looks kind of weird on him, but it wouldn't be cyberpunk without strange fashion choices.
Your Chakra's Off, Babe
Here Jackie receives acupuncture treatment from somebody with a killer "Pris from Blade Runner" haircut. This candle lit scene is a cool reminder that Night City isn't just neon and big guns - there are all kinds of subcultures out there, and ancient medicinal practices like acupuncture persist in our cyberpunk future of ripperdocs and brain implants.
Come with us as we break down 20 Cyberpunk 2077 ads to learn more about the world.
