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Former Fallout lead artist Nate Purkeypile has explained why he believes Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't capture the feeling of a real city.
When it comes to open-world games, some will focus on the size of their map instead of the density of it, while others are all about world-building. A lot of Breath of the Wild's map is open space, but as soon as you arrive in any of the game's many villages, you get a real sense of what the world is like and each of their cultures. But there are a few who manage to excel in both places, namely the likes of GTA games and Fallout: New Vegas, but despite being one of the most beloved open-world games in recent memory, the former Fallout lead artist doesn't buy Cyberpunk 2077's city.
Speaking to Esports Insider, Purkeypile was asked what the limits of making a city work and feel alive without breaking the game. He said, "You have to test things more, dramatically so, but it does make it a lot more interesting," explaining, "Playing a GTA game versus Cyberpunk, one feels like an actual city, and one doesn’t. I love Cyberpunk and had a great time with the game, but that aspect of it doesn’t hit you on the same level at all. It doesn’t feel like a real place, really."
Granted, I'm not entirely sure I agree with his assessment, as I personally found Night City a far more engaging environment than the likes of Los Santos, even if the NPCs are less dense. Plus, Night City is a sci-fi setting compared to GTA's contemporary style, which makes it much harder to feel like a real place. Neither game really gives the NPCs much to do other than be objects in the world, but even then, I'd rather a game be filled with interesting events that make the world feel alive, like Rockstar focused on in Red Dead Redemption 2.
