My good pal Jackie Welles has commandeered my wheels. He needs them for something, and promised to give me a lift home in return. We’ve worked together for years, I trust him, and it’s been a long day, so I accept the trade. Unfortunately, we’re ambushed by armed thugs. I hate it when that happens.

After nailing a bunch of headshots, we use our charm to pass through a blockade and head home. Jackie’s wittering on about something or other, but I’m not paying attention. I’m looking out the window, watching Night City pass me by. V’s lived here a while now, but I still haven’t explored most of the city, so I’m trying to take in as much as possible. There’s a neon sign for a brothel, an energy drink being promoted very provocatively, a neon sign for a sex shop, a giant billboard depicting a giant, glowing woman, and another neon brothel. Night City loves shagging, that much is clear.

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I’m Glad I Gave Cyberpunk 2077 A Second Chance

I jumped back into Cyberpunk 2077 with the Phantom Liberty DLC, and I’m glad I did

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My trance is broken by a prompt to skip the car ride. Clearly the game thinks as much of Jackie’s conversation skills as I do, but the message rips me straight out of the game. While my view was a little on the repetitive side – we get it, we live in a sexy world – I was exploring Night City with my eyes. There were no NPCs getting in the way, no distractions to lure me off course, and no annoying quest markers ruining my view. It was just me and Jackie, him driving, me watching the world go by.

There’s no way I’d skip a car ride in Cyberpunk 2077, and I don’t think anyone should. There’s always something going on in the city, something new to see. I get that I’m relatively early in the game, but I can’t see myself ever skipping a journey. Hopping in a taxi from one of my chooms is already my favourite way of getting around, and I feel like I’m learning my way around the city, too.

I often navigate, virtually and physically, by pubs, but in Cyberpunk, I recognise adverts. They look a little different when you’re on foot, but I still remember the route that Jackie took and work out my location from there.

This makes car journeys not only a handy way to have important story conversations on the move, but to immerse you in Night City. It’s appropriate that I navigate this world by billboards; this is a capitalist hellscape, after all. And all of that comes not from the minimap or fast travel, but from sitting in the passenger seat and listening to Jackie’s inane monologues about gangs or drugs or whatever else pops into his brawny brain.

I know the prompt is just fast travel, but it’s implemented in the least immersive fashion possible, and it takes so much away from the game. It’s nice to have the option to skip these kinds of things, but I don’t understand the people who do. It’s not quite as bad as skipping conversations or cutscenes, but Night City isn’t the same if you don’t explore it from V’s perspective.

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