Cyberpunk 2077's Animals Might All Mean More Than You Think

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is a game that managed to come back from the brink due to updates to its performance, graphics, and leveling system, which received complete overhauls in the 2.0 update. But one thing that the game has never lacked is a great story, full of complex characters and layered symbolism spread throughout its techno-dystopian setting.

One aspect of Night City which may initially go under the radar for players is the near-complete lack of animals, but this becomes more obvious as the game continues, players explore the map, and characters make references to the lost animal population of the area. The absence of animals in most parts ofmakes those that do show up especially significant, and they tend to be used as symbols or metaphors for certain parts of the story, as well as the characters which inhabit 's world.

First up on the scant list of animals in is the iguana, of which there are actually two in the game's story. The first is present in the game's prologue if players start as a nomad, transporting the reptile across the Night City border. The second time, an iguana egg can be found within Konpeki Plaza during the mission to steal from 's Arasaka Corporation, and eventually made into a pet in V's apartment.

The latest episode of Night City Wire details Cyberpunk 2077's lifepath backstories for each of the Nomad, Corpo, and Street Kid options.

In both instances, the iguana is found by V and Jackie, during a gig which they are woefully unprepared for. The nomad quest sees V and Jackie almost killed for their cargo, the contents of which they aren't even aware of at the time. And as anyone who has played the game knows, the heist in Konpeki Plaza did not work out well for either the player or their friend. The iguana's meaning can be extrapolated from these similarities in their appearances, and from V's ownership of the pet iguana after the heist.

Iguanas as symbols in fiction have a complicated history, sometimes representing a struggle for freedom as in, other times