Cyberpunk 2077’s Dialogue System Doesn’t Get Nearly Enough Credit

thegamer.com:

Cyberpunk 2077 has received a lot of deserved criticism. It launched in a broken state, made even worse by a marketing cycle filled with lies and a gameplay experience that never once lived up to the groundbreaking and defining RPG we were promised time and time again from CD Projekt Red.

The launch of its next-gen update was met with a whimper, making it clear that it was far too late to make an epic comeback given all of Cyberpunk 2077’s past mistakes. But beneath all the controversy and shortcomings sits a game I still admire, even if I have to look past so many inconsistencies in order to appreciate the brilliance within.

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I’ve touched on this in other pieces before, but the dialogue system in Cyberpunk 2077 is rather innovative, offering a simplistic yet direct method of communication that makes it feel like we sit at the centre of each and every conversation. Whether we’re talking with a shopkeeper in one of Night City’s many businesses or laying out a life-or-death plan with fixers like Dexter DeShawn, it always feels like what V has to say matters.

Of course you’ll still stumble across instances where exchanges freeze as you’re given all the time in the world to select a response, but these are always in situations that themselves feel passive, often designed to accommodate exposition instead of moving the wider narrative forward. In other situations, such as the infiltration of Konpeki Plaza, you are constantly offered timed dialogue options that will change your character’s outward personality and how those around them will react. It feels real, and that matters.

Your final moments with Jackie can be filled with angry resentment or soft