PAX Aus 2019 - Cyberpunk 2077 Stage Demo

Over the years, PAX Australia has drawn some major international games to the show, and the fans have reacted with great enthusiasm for that, so when CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 was coming, the reaction was incredible.

I will preface this and say that the demo was the same that I saw at E3 2019, but there was a much tighter focus and of course, different audience to watch it. At E3, the audience was comprised of media folks, business people and the occasional fan, but at PAX Australia, it was almost entirely fans that packed the theatre and packed it they did, the main theatre at the Melbourne Convention Centre can hold over 2000 people and while the top most section was not used, the rest was and it full. At the follow up panels, people had to be turned away, such was the demand to see that panel and for good reason, it was done amazingly well.

The man who was playing the game was Jacek and running us through was Hollie, both hailing from CD Projekt Red and both made for a nice presence on stage, especially with the byplay between them. It was clear that the presentation was scripted, but the two had a dynamic that made it fun to watch regardless and this was very evident towards the end of the boss fight, when another emphasis was made about it being your Cyberpunk experience, your rules as it is entirely possible to play the game, without killing anyone, something that Jacek decided he did not want to do, much to Hollie’s and our, amusement.

The demo highlighted the options that were available to players, with the main character being that of the netrunner class, a character the specialises in hacking and subterfuge, but after getting to where the main objective was, they swapped out to a strength-based character. The difference in the two play styles is very obvious, there is little doubt that some players will find the most unique way to play through the story, while I myself will likely stick with a very standard, balanced character. Being able to see both points of view, meant that we could see the other side of a choice, something that is usually denied to us, unless we replay the game again, something that a few players will do, but not all.

Overall, the Cyberpunk 2077 on stage presentation, was amazing, it had the same content as I had previously seen before and I think I might have been only a single digit count of people in the theatre who could say that. There is no denying that the public loved it, they cheered when V hacked through the gym, leaving some unique carnage behind. While the game is still quite the way off, this helped alleviate the delay and that was enough for me.