Category Archives: Cyberpunk

A visual allegory.Screenshot: CD Projekt

Poor old Cyberpunk 2077. Is a phrase I never thought Id think. But here we are, just a couple of weeks away from its first year on sale (!), and I do find myself feeling odd twinges. Because goodness me, its rather popular on Steam today.

Hovering in the top half of Steams top 10 top sellers, CD Projekts beleaguered game seems to be finding new love with its current half price sale. Down to $30, rather than the incredibly optimistic $60 its laughably maintained for almost 12 months, people are jumping to get it. And, you know what, fair enough really. Because at this point the game has received literally thousands of bug fixes, patches, patches to fix previous patches, removed wetness, added even wetterness, and on the PC at least, is a functioning, enormous RPG.

On console, thats still a whole other matter. In a year that has seen CD Projekt get hacked, their source code stolen and auctioned online, they tried to bury the severity of that hack under the noise of E3, while also being taken off sale by Sony for six months, and having the extent of the crunch their developers were put under made very visible. Which perhaps could have been better received if the promised next-gen versions of the game for PS5 and XBS had appeared when promised. Which of course they didnt. And still havent.

But todaytoday theyre having a good day. As VCG reported, CDP president Adam Kiciski got all giddy and told Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, We believe that in the long run Cyberpunk 2077 will be perceived as a very good game, and like our other titles, it will sell for years.

Meanwhile, Cyberpunks quest director, PaweSasko, rushed to Twitter in child-like joy at seeing the game get not-terrible reviews on Steam. In fact, boosted by the current sale, the game is registering Very Positive.

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Noting that these reviews have arrived in the last few days, Sasko adds, You cant imagine what it means to me. Sniff.

He later added, Over 15K very positive reviews in the last days, while both #Cyberpunk2077 and #TheWitcher3 are on the global list of Steam top sellers, concluding, Thank you so much!

Forbes caught the game at the very top of Steams list earlier, although at the time of writing its being pipped by, er, Farming Simulator 22.

Eventually someones going to tap them all on the shoulder and remind them theyve got to get the game working for consoles at some point, and the sadness will all rush back in. But lets let them have this one.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Is Having Its First Good Day - Kotaku

Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that has been rife with issues and glitches ever since it was released on public sale, but now an indie game developer has given his knowledge and expertise on some of the AI problems in the CD Projekt Red title.

While improvements have already been made to the game over the past year with patching, there are still glaring issues with the AAA title overall.

CD Projekt Red does seem determined to fix these issues and fully realise the title that fans have hoped for from the very beginning.

Writing on the r/CyberpunkGame subreddit u/Alamoa20, an indie game dev with experience, highlighted some of the issues across the AI in the game, and what CDPR will hopefully be looking at to rectify them.

They said: When I look at Night City's Civilians, they're obviously not finite state machines. They have behavioural trees and a path. You can see them walking, stopping at a vending machine and getting a drink, sitting down at a bench, leaning on a railing, looking at their phone, taking a smoke, a drink, a snack.

The problem is that it's incomplete. There's no "loopback", so to speak. They keep walking till they despawn or till they turn around and walk back.

Read More: Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 1.4 Update: Release Date, Roadmap, Patch Notes and Everything We Know So Far

The Redditor would also point out the issues with the Police AI in the game, which fans have been commenting on since the games initial release.

Police AI is no different. Them spawning behind you is so jarringly obvious, that it is insane for me to think devs saw this and thought it was okay.

They needed and wanted a system, but the one they were working on was likely NOT going to be ready by release date, so they had to work around it. A simple spawn out of the player's zone of sight. Inside a building, out in the desert.

No testing was done. Just a placeholder illusion to say Okay, the system is there, at least. It's a very watered down iteration.

Were expecting that the next update for the game will be introduced in early 2022, with CDPR having noted this year that theyre looking to release the Next-Gen versions of the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in the new year.

Read More: Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 1.4 Update: Fans React to Potential Multiplayer Release

Enter the November Giveaway to win a Nintendo Switch with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and FIFA 22 Legacy Edition!

You can find all of the latest Cyberpunk 2077 News and everything Gaming related right here at GiveMeSport.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 1.4: Game Dev Highlights Issues With Ai That Need Fixing in Update - GiveMeSport

Cyberpunk"Drive your mind down deep underground. Feel the cosmos whirling around"Key motifs

cityscapes, technology, cyberspace, tactical style clothing, guns, robotics

High-Tech/Low-Life, the Digital Dystopia

Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Neuromancer, Johnny Mnemonic, New Rose Motel, Altered Carbon, Black Mirror, Snowpiercer, Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk, as a genre, includes a wide variety of visual aesthetics but is recognised by its encompassing theme of "high tech, low life." This became prominent in the 1980s. thanks to the works of authors like Philip K. Dick, Roger Zelazny, J. G. Ballard, Philip Jose Farmer, and Harlan Ellison as they examined the impact of drug culture, technology, and the sexual revolution while avoiding the utopian tendencies of earlier science fiction.

Settings in the cyberpunk genre range from the richly colored, rough-around-the-edges urban jungles of Akira (1988), to the hyper-futuristic, neon cityscapes and bleak wastelands of Blade Runner 2049 (2017), with the first work in cyberpunk fiction being William Gibson's Neuromancer novel.

Themes used in cyberpunk media involve artificial intelligence, class uprising, governmental and corporate corruption, anarchy, gang warfare, and transhumanism. The range is broad but the cyberpunk aesthetic is often used to convey deeper meanings and commentate on modern society and sometimes predictions of our future society.

Cyberpunk was likely the partial inspiration (or anti-inspiration) for Solarpunk - an aesthetic that also aspires to cast a glance into the future, but does so with a much less nihilistic perspective and played a role in inspiring Vaporwave since both seem to share a seeming disdain for mainstream capitalism, but Vaporwave is more sarcastic and mocking compared to Cyberpunk, which is more open with its disdain for the corporate dystopia. In truth, most online aesthetics almost completely owe their entire existence to Cyberpunk and its rebelliousness to the status quo of the 1980s; everything from the Steampunk and Dieselpunk of yesteryear to any sort of micro-genres that will pop up in the future.

Cyberpunk fashion, also known as tech wear, is heavily influenced by films like Johnny Mnemonic, Blade Runner, and The Matrix and could be interpreted as being "futuristic gothic fashion" and involves trench coats, boots, shiny black clothing, colored "dreads" that women might wear, etc.

Cyberpunk has been very influential to film and television, inspiring the aesthetics of movies, television shows, and anime. There just seems to be something encoded into the DNA of cyberpunk that makes it incredibly compatible with a lot of future-themed speculative media, even that aimed for children (an argument could even be made that the Sonic SatAM series from the '90s is something of an example of cyberpunk since it involves a group of freedom fighters fighting back an oppressive technologically-based regime run by Dr. Robotnik).

The cyberpunk genre has spurred the creation of various cyberpunk-themed video games such as Cloudpunk, Va-11 Hall-A, and most notably Cyberpunk 2077.

While Cyberpunk itself is not a genre of music (nor does it have one genre associated with it), there are some characteristics of music that tend to make it sound Cyberpunk. These characteristics include the use of synthesizers, Cyberpunk themes, and sounding dark. Music is typically lacks vocals. Synthwave music tends to sound Cyberpunk.[1]

Cyberpunk podcasts include podcasts that are related to cyberpunk interests, including science, technology, privacy, and cybersecurity.

Transhumanism is an international philosophical movement that advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology. This very philosophy has very close ties to the Cyberpunk aesthetic in that, what's more Cyberpunk than becoming part human/part machine? There have also been numerous examples of protagonists in Cyberpunk fiction that are transhuman in their own right (most famously, Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell is an example of Transhumanism in Cyberpunk).

Cybersecurity (also known as information security or infosec), is the practice of protecting computer systems and data from security hackers, cybercriminals, spies, or other bad actors.[2] "Hackers" are now generally understood to be bad actors, but hacker culture reclaims the label for people who see programming and computer systems as a medium of freedom and creativity.[3]

The "high tech, low life" nature of cybersecurity is often reflected in the offensive and defensive security operatives of cyberpunk fiction and media. In Neuromancer, the protagonist Henry Case is a security hacker working to penetrate corporate computer networks. In Ghost in the Shell, Motoko Kusanagi is referred to as a hacker as short hand for her programming ability which she uses to investigate and prevent cybercrime.

Many characters in cyberpunk fiction and media embody hacker culture and the hacker ethic, which asserts that all information should be free.[4] The protagonists of The Matrix embody the late 1990s self-image of hackers attempting to free humanity from corporate dominiation of technology.[5] Today, many advocates and users of free and open source software adopt a cyberpunk aesthetic, as demonstrated by the r/unixporn subreddit.

The Cyberpunk community has a strong interest in privacy and cybersecurity.[6] Members of the community advocate improving personal privacy and security by using linux and tools like DuckDuckGo, Firefox, and VPNs.[7] Other resources for personal privacy and security are privacytools.io and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Surveillance Self-Defense.

Biopunk is a subgenre of Cyberpunk that focuses on biotechnology.

For more information, see Biopunk.

Bronzepunk takes Greco-Roman aesthetics and puts them into a pseudo-modern world. The name comes from the use of bronze-age technology, albiet with modern twists.

For more information, see Bronzepunk.

Clockpunk takes elements of Cyberpunk and puts them into a Renaissance setting. Some call it steampunk without the steam.[8]

For more information, see Clockpunk.

Ironpunk adds traits of Cyberpunk to an Iron Age setting.

Nowpunk essentially says that Cyberpunk is now. Bruce Sterling used it to describe his 2005 novel, titled The Zenith Angle.

For more information, see Nowpunk.

Solarpunk is the opposite of cyberpunk. It features an optimistic view of the future, emphasizing renewable energy, handcrafted wares, and anti-capitalism.

For more information, see Solarpunk.

Lunarpunk is closely related to Solarpunk with its emphasis on nature and renewable energy, with an addition of witchcraft.

For more information, see Lunarpunk.

Tupinipunk refers to the Brazilian sci-fi/cyberpunk movement. This is a criticism of the Euro-centric and US-centric views that tend to dominate Cyperpunk.

For more information, see Tupinipunk.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

From Julie Watai's SAMURAI-GIRLS photography set with cyberpunk elements

Things are going to get chilly when the capitalists upload their consciousnesses into giant servers which will be kept cool by blocking out the sun

de/human(eyes) your 'self'

Kiss the cybernetwork with your mouth open wide.

Blade Runner could be seen as the epitome of cyberpunk

We're in the Cyberpunk era now, fam!

Johnny Silverhand, a character in the video game Cyberpunk 2077.

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Cyberpunk | Aesthetics Wiki | Fandom

Trying to define Cyberpunk is a difficult task. In short, however, Cyberpunk refers to both a culture and a genre.

Cyberpunk is asub-genre of science fiction that features advanced science and technology in an urban, dystopian future. On one side you have powerfulmega-corporations and private security forces, and on the other you have the dark and gritty underworld of illegal trade, gangs, drugs, and vice. In between all of this ispolitics, corruption, and social upheaval.

High tech. Low life.

Cyberpunk is also a culture withattitude and a distinct style. Anti-authoritarian, brand-averse, tech-literate; these are just some of the qualities you may find ina cyberpunk.

Looking for a long answer? Read on!

Cyberpunk began as a literary movement but has become a subcultural organism. What is Cyberpunk? is a complex and multi-layered question, whose answer is ever-changing as the subculture and our perception of the future changes. The tendrils, that began in the written word, have infiltrated beyond movies to all forms of art, fashion and philosophy generating an all-encompassing and ever-growing subculture.

There are number of ways to examine the origins of the cyberpunk movement. The term cyberpunk itself can be traced to the short story Cyberpunk by Bruce Bethke. Then of course, there are the core cyberpunk authors that are generally accepted to have laid the ground work of the cyberpunk movement William Gibson (Gibson is considered the founder of Cyberpunk), Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley and Lewis Shiner. There are also a number of precursor novels that had strong themes and imagery that would be later associated with the cyberpunk genre such as The Demolished Man (1953) and The Stars My Destination (1956) by Alfred Bester, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Phillip K. Dick, Dr. Adder (Written in 1972, but not published until 1984) by K.W. Jeter, Gravitys Rainbow (1973) by Thomas Pynchon, The Shockwave Rider (1975) by John Brunner, and True Names (1981) by Vernor Vinge. More recently Neal Stephenson, author of Snow Crash (1992), is largely credited with bringing cyberpunk into the post-cyberpunk era.

I was afraid to watch Blade Runner in the theater because I was afraid the movie would be better than what I myself had been able to imagine. In a way, I was right to be afraid, because even the first few minutes were better.

I met Ridley Scott years later, maybe a decade or more after Blade Runner was released. I told him what Neuromancer was made of, and he had basically the same list of ingredients for Blade Runner. William Gibson

Blade Runner and Neuromancer were a convergence event that created the filmological and literary birth of a movement. Blade Runner influenced, and still does, all cyberpunk that would come after it visually, the same way that Neuromancer influenced, and still does, all cyberpunk literature. Cyberpunk never was just a literary genre.

We can break down a basic definition of cyberpunk by dissecting the word itself. Cyber refers to technology, and is most often associated with cyberspace (this word was originally coined by William Gibson himself), and cybernetic enhancements to the body. But this can can also refer to other technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology for instance.

Punk, on the other hand, refers to the people and the attitude that cyberpunk has. Protagonists in cyberpunk tend to be outsiders, anti-heros, outcasts, criminals, visionaries, dissenters, and misfits. The underlying aspect that applies to all of these groups is their subversive nature.

To subvert is to overthrow or undermine something. The cyberpunk genre itself subverted science fiction, and we never looked back. To be punk is to question authority, and to actively subvert any of that authority you dont agree with. Different people do this in different ways, just as our cyberpunk protagonists do. An example is Motoko Kusanagi from the Ghost in the Shell franchise. On the surface she seems to be a tool and agent for the Japanese government. This is true, but this is not what defines her, nor how she defines herself. Throughout the series she is not afraid to go rogue and take things into her own hands if it will get her closer to what she thinks is right fuck the politicians. She is a subversive element within the government.

There are a number of quotes that help to illustrate the essence of cyberpunk:

The future is already here its just not very evenly distributed. William Gibson

This quote puts the cyber/punk and the High Tech, Low Life, dichotomy into context. There exists today high technology, but this technology has failed to erode away social divisions leaving a disparity between the classes which leads to social strife. In addition, although this technology exists the low class does not have the means by which to benefit from it, thus widening the divide as the rich elite get richer and thus have more access to technology.

Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. Bruce Sterling

This is an important concept. We do terrible things to rats in the pursuit of progress, and we are not impervious to any of them. Many cyberpunk plots resolve around some sort of drug effect or brain tampering that we have, in reality, already done to rats. Its just a matter of time before we start tampering with ourselves in the same ways. Rats are just the preview.

The street finds its own use for things. William Gibson

This gets down to the punk/low life aspect of cyberpunk and puts it into the context of the open source, maker, and DIY movements. The rate of technological development is so fast that we generate a lot of stuff that is just there, and obsolete. These things lose their perceived value and are discarded, but then this refuse can be repurposed and used in ways that the original creators never would have imagined. Like using a DVD player to test for HIV.

Biopunk is a subgenre of cyberpunk, that focuses more on the biological technologies such as genetic manipulation. Often cited examples are Gattaca, and Dark Angel. These can be consideredcyberpunk because although Biopunk tends to lack the cyberspace and cybernetic aspects that cyberpunk sports, it is faithful to the High Tech, Low Life, aspects. It is a different visualization of the same ideas.

Post-Cyberpunk is a modern reaction to the now antiquated visual qualities of 80s inspired cyberpunk. Post-Cyberpunk tends to have a greater focus on Transhumanism, space travel, and emerging technologies that werent imagined at the time of the 80s.

A cyberpunk has attitude. This attitude is culturally and socially aware, just like the fiction from which they take their name. They question everything and anyone and decide for themselves what they believe is true. This path to understanding yields different world views and opinions, but diversity is key to a successful population. A cyberpunk knows that the system isnt in your favor, and the deck is stacked against you. A cyberpunk knows how to hack the system so that doesnt matter. Dont fuck with a cyberpunk.

A cyberpunk has style. This style can be different for each person. It can be practical (Mil-Tec) or flashy (Cybergoth). The style often mirrors the cyberpunk personal philosophy and thus can vary drastically. There are recurring themes such as traditional punk, Blade Runner-inspired, Matrix-inspired, CPUs, Mil-Tec, and Cybergoth.

Cyberpunk is now. Many of the things that were predicted in cyberpunk are coming to pass today. Improvements in prosthetics and brain computer interface have resulted in brain controlled prosthetics, a mainstay of cyberpunk. Corporations increasing dominate global politics, and influence culture creating a situation ripe for subversion. The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer, creating a larger and larger divide. The cyberworld is ever merging with the real world through things such as the Internet of Things, social media, mobile technology, virtual reality, and augmented reality. Hackers have brought gangs, corporations, governments, and individuals to their knees. We have entered the cyberpunk age. Welcome.

Cyberpunk has spread to all forms of media, creating a subculture rather a simple genre. There are cyberpunk movies, television, comics, music, and art everywhere. All you have to do is look. Cyberpunk has influenced fashion, architecture, and philosophy. Cyberpunk has become much more than what it was when it began. And it will continue to evolve and become more relevant as we move further from the Cyberpunk Now into the Cyberpunk Future.

NOTE: The development of this article is on-going and discussion is open to everyone. We actively encourage you to contribute your ideas and opinions in the comments below, and to challenge the definition we provide where necessary.

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What is Cyberpunk? Neon Dystopia

Starward Industries, a studio formed by former The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 and Dying Light developers, has released a new gameplay trailer for The Invincible. This new trailer gives us a first look at this new sci-fi thriller.

The Invincible is a first-person sci-fi thriller. In this game, players will assume the role of a space scientist on a hostile planet. Waking up as a space scientist on a hostile planet, you embark on a mysterious mission to find the missing crew of your spaceship. Survival will be also a matter of your correct choices, taken whilst uncovering the secrets of the planet, bigger than anyone thought.

In this game, players will assume the role of a scientist on board an interstellar scientific expedition. Players will embark on a mysterious mission to find the missing crew of their spaceship.

The games story will be inspired by Stanislaw Lems seminal sci-fi cult classic of the same name. Additionally, The Invincible will be using Unreal Engine. However, we dont know whether it will take advantage of Ray Tracing effects or DLSS.

Enjoy and stay tuned for more!

John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved - and still does - the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the "The Evolution of PC graphics cards."Contact: Email

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New gameplay trailer for the sci-fi thriller from former The Witcher 3 & Cyberpunk 2077 devs, The Invincible - DSOGaming

The most popular digital reseller in property of Valve, Steam, has just kicked off its Autumn Sale. This falls in line with the Black Friday Sale, which delivered its promise and came online today. Now that the sale is live, you can finally order from tons of products or online video games that are at a mighty discount. The Steam Autumn Sale will end on November 30, so there is almost a whole week for you to make your mind on whether or not you would like to participate in this sale.

The best time to buy games on Steam is the Autumn Sale. Get deals across thousands of titles for great prices with a variety of genres and themes at your fingertips! Dont wait too long before you pick up something because these discounts wont stick around forever so get what interests you now while theyre still available or prepare yourself for an eventual disappointment when its gone already.

The Steam Autumn Sale also allows users to nominate their favorite new games of 2021 across 10 categories and earn profile XP by doing just that. The nomination will help determine the finalists in each category. The voting for the same will be during Steams Winter sale.

But enough talking, lets take a couple of games facing a substantial discount, and believe it or not, one of them is Cyberpunk 2077. Only one year later, Cyberpunk 2077 is available for half of the price. So if you havent had the chance to enjoy this masterpiece (despite its all problems at launch), you can do it now for extra cheap.

Below you can find a couple of video games from different genres that have received a robust discount. I believe that those who didnt have the chance to afford these titles once they launched will be able to do so at this Steam Autumn Sale.

There are also some good, older video game titles for less than 5 or $5. Make sure you browse through Steams repository thoroughly and see all the offers included in the Steam Autumn Sale.

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The Steam Autumn Sale is Live with Cyberpunk 2077 at 50% discount - Future Game Releases

CD Projekt Red has announced that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of Cyberpunk 2077 will release in Q1 2022, followed by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's in Q2 2022. They had previously been planned for launch near the end of 2021, which itself would have been roughly a year after the games initially launched on last-gen consoles and PC.

Last month, the company's earnings report indicated that the target dates for the new versions of both games were "late 2021." On an earnings call, CD Projekt's Michael Nowakowski mentioned that the date could slip into 2022.

These PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions will leverage horsepower afforded by the new hardware, making them look and, presumably, run better than the PS4 and Xbox One versions. Details on specific enhancements or reduced load times have not yet been shared. Additionally, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will come with all previously released expansions, along with some new content inspired by the Netflix TV adaptation.

Those who already own the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 are eligible for a free upgrade to the new versions when they launch. Certain upgrades are available on the newer systems now, though the game is not a bespoke version made for them.

Cyberpunk 2077 has had quite the year since it launched in December 2020. After being taken down from the PlayStation Network Store shortly after its release, it was finally reinstated back in June with a warning that players could still experience issues when playing on the base PS4 console. However, the game has received a steady number of patches this year to fix its performance and bugs.

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Cyberpunk 2077 And The Witcher 3 PS5 And Xbox Series ...

CD Projekthas announced its decided to take some more time on developing new-gen versions of its two biggest games. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S native editions of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have been pushed into next year.

The reveal of these delays comesas an update to investors on the CD Projektwebsite. Cyberpunk 2077s upgraded version will come in Q1 2022, while Witcher 3 fans will have to wait until Q2 2022 to adventure with Geralt of Rivia on the most recent console hardware. Heres the full quote of the delay from CDPRs site. (Note CDPR has translated this announcement from its original Polish-language version):

CD PROJEKT S.A. (hereinafter referred to as the Company) wishes to provide an update regarding its publication schedule for 2021 as concerns the release of dedicated versions of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for next-gen consoles (Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5). The Management Board of the Company hereby announces that, based on recommendations supplied by persons supervising development, it has decided to allocate additional time to both projects. The Company currently intends to release the next-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077 in the first quarter of 2022, and the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in the second quarter of 2022.

CD Projektis no stranger to taking its time developing games. Cyberpunk 2077 was famously in development for many years before its tumultuous release last December.Awash with technical issues and player dissatisfaction of the console ports, thePlayStation 4 version was pulled from the digital PlayStation Store (it has since been restored to the PSN store) and new refunding policies had to be enacted.

Its worth noting there are framerate enhancements whenplaying Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles currently, but any additional enhancements will not be available until the console native versions drop next year.

What do you think about these delays? Are you like me and have been waiting to play Cyberpunk on the new consoles? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Originally posted here:

CD Projekt Pushes Back New-Gen Cyberpunk 2077 And Witcher ...

Despite CD Projekt Red insisting at the beginning of September it was still on track to release the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Cyberpunk 2077and The Witcher 3: Wild Huntby the end of the year, that's no longer the case. The developer now plans to ship the console and PC upgrades for Cyberpunk 2077 in the first quarter of 2022 (i.e by the end of March), and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in Q2 (between March and June).

"Based on recommendations supplied by teams supervising the development of both games, we decided to postpone their releases until 2022," CDPR wrote on Twitter. "Apologies for the extended wait, but we wanted to make it right."

In a Cyberpunk 2077 roadmap it published in January after the game's disastrous debut last December, CDPR said the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions would drop in the second half of 2021. The studio revealed at WitcherCon in July that the current-gen update for The Witcher 3 was scheduled to arrive this year too.

In its financial report for the first half of 2021, CDPR included a chart suggesting that around a third of its development staff was working on Cyberpunk 2077 support and the current-gen version as of June 30th, though it's gradually transitioning the team to new projects. Developers are still working on the game's first expansion too, following the lackluster first DLC in August that really only added a few cosmetic items and a car.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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'Cyberpunk 2077' PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades delayed ...

Have grapple hook, will travel.Gif: Playism / FYQD-Studio

Bright Memory Infinite is an ambitious first-person shooter action game that fuses the futuristic samurai combat of something like Warframe with the epic adventure and platforming of games like Tomb Raider. But while FYQD-Studios game is an improvement upon its 2020 build, Bright Memory, there is still much to be desired from its underdeveloped story and busy combat system.

Bright Memory Infinites story is a benchwarmer, sat alongside the games far more appealing selling points of its lightning-fast combat, and crisp ray-tracing graphics. Rather than offering a compelling tale to hook you in, the game lets the raw power fantasy that emerges from its combat system stand out as its most memorable element. Unfortunately, this isnt enough. You can be putting on a clinic while mowing down enemies but if the games story doesnt offer a compelling reason for why youre increasing your body count, the result is more mindless fun than something you can savor. Heck, you get more narrative information from its Steam page than from the game itself.

All you need to know about the story is that one minute the games protagonist, Shelia Tan, is fighting faceless militia men, and the next, for some reason, shes fighting faceless armored warriors with flaming arrows and spears. Thankfully, she has a solid array of tools and skills with which to tackle her enemies, as she swaps between gun combat and swordplay on a dime. And for a while, being able to fight ancient warriors with an electromagnetic pulse, a rocket punch, and wickedly powerful guns, is almost an even trade for BMIs bland story. Your agility is a fleeting thrill as well, as you wall-run through environments and pull off extraordinary feats like grappling to the wing of a flying plane as you shoot and slice baddies off the aircraft.

Bright Memory Infinite is in fact the second draft of a game released in 2020, then called simply Bright Memory. That first release was a mix of Dark Souls boss fight presentation, the fantasy action adventure flavoring of Tomb Raider, and Dishonoreds otherworldly abilities. While the core concepts were the same, the previous build was far less concerned with making a cohesive game, instead feeling like a gumbo of gameplay mechanics from action adventure and FPS games. It wasnt subtle, for instance, about its Dark Souls bonfire-lighting easter egg and its frenetic Devil May Cry-style meter report cards. BMI tidies a lot of this up, presenting a second version with a more cohesive focus that thankfully doesnt lean on distracting references to other games. Despite leaning more heavily on cyberpunk hack-and-slash gameplay than the fantasy artifact hunting aspects of its 2020 predecessor, it still feels a bit like a generic neurablender of different action games.

Read More: Bright Memory Is The Perfect Dark Zero Of 2020

Bright Memory Infinite really shines when it forces you to find a balance in how you stylishly dispatch your enemies. Rudimentary bullets will do chip damage to the games mythological creatures and ancient warriors, who either shrug them off or taunt you for trying to come at them without studying the blade, so youll have to get creative with the weaponry Shelia has strapped to her. One minute Im dealing with enemies like a Call of Duty player, ducking behind waist-high cover and doming them with headshots, and the next Im riposting swords, deflecting bullets, and force-pulling or air-juggling enemies. Once I got in the groove of Bright Memory Infinites combat, I found myself freestyling between gunplay and swordplay.

Image: Playism / FYQD-Studio

The games shining moments are in its boss fights. These enemies take inspiration from Chinese mythological creatures like the foo dog, or the six-armed asura demigod, and your battles with them warrant a replay to test your skills once you unlock more abilities. Whats satisfying about these encounters is that you feel the same sense of empowerment as a Devil May Cry characteryou are as much of a boss fight for them as they are for you. Being able to express yourself in a game with a multitude of combos is satisfying once you can figure out the timing of your abilitys cooldownsthat is, if the game doesnt crash under the pressure of your ambitions.

Although the games visuals and your own stylish abilities look and feel refined, combat can nonetheless be a bit clunky. Enemies seem to spawn out of thin air, and the trajectory of their arrows doesnt make sense based on where theyre positioned. On gamepad, the buttons are mapped such that face buttons have more than one role between battle and environment interactions, which is frustrating when you have to initiate cutscenes that have failstate quick time events. The games lightning-fast combat feels sleek, but also so frantic that youre just as likely to find yourself dying by falling off a combat area as you are to be killed by an enemy.

One aspect of the previous Bright Memory that I especially disliked was the ogling of its main character. At one point her skirt flew up like someone uncorked the winds of Aeolus from under her, and the Dead or Alive-style skins Shelia can wear in the game made the whole thing feel predatory. Bright Memory Infinite tones down Shelias sexualization a tad, and the more degenerate outfits are at least locked behind completing the game at harder difficulties, or through buying its DLC.

Uwu at your own discretion.Screenshot: Playism / FYQD-Studio / Kotaku

Bright Memory Infinite sneaks in a story beat here and there to excuse its mind-blowing set pieces and bonkers boss fights, but it would be so much better if there was a beefed-up narrative supporting the whole thing. Cutscenes abruptly appear out of nowhere after boss fights and combat encounters. The storys ending, which comes after the best boss fight in the game, cuts in like the final scene of The Sopranos. A lackluster cutscene, and then suddenly its over. It raises the question of whether there will be a follow-up game or expansion that improves its story as well as its combat because the games final cutscene doesnt provide any definitive closure.

Bright Memory Infinite is a game to play for a good time, but not a long time. Any enthusiasm it elicits comes from seeing cool gameplay mechanics from other games replicated well rather than being in awe of any original idea the game presents, which would have been easier to accept if the story didnt feel like an afterthought. Although the individual elements of its combat dont feel particularly original, theres something fresh about the way the game fuses them together. Still, the story fails to provide adequate context to your stylish slaughter. That, combined with the standard aspects of its gameplay, prevent the game from making enough of an impression to become a memory.

Read more from the original source:

This Lightning-Fast Action Game Is Like A Cyberpunk Tomb Raider With Warframe's Swordplay - Kotaku