Comment on Cyberpunk 2077 director thanks fans as the game hits a 95% positive review rating on Steam
Hegar@kbin.social 4 months ago
I'm ~3/4s through my second playthrough and appreciating it more and more. Haven't picked up the expansion yet either.
I found it hits much harder with a female character. The Johnny Silverhand situation especially felt much more... metaphorically resonant? And Jackie feels more rogue-with-a-heart-of-gold when his best buddy is a woman.
Quickhacks are OP but felt correctly haxx0r, mantis blades are super fun. I enjoyed the combat well enough. Cars are meh, but it's cyberpunk so if you're not riding a futuristic bike ala Akira you're doing it wrong. And wiping out on a bike is great.
The characterisation and world building are what really shine. I was reluctant to play the corpo background but it really makes the story sing.
::: spoiler spoiler
The first time you're in a car with Judy she has a prominent tattoo that says "underwater where thoughts can breathe". Then next mission or a while later her apartment has jellyfish looking paint splotches and an aquarium. It's expanded on more explicitly later, but I really enjoy the way they pull together their characters.
The scene with Takemura on the roof talking about Bakeneko is another moment that I enjoyed first playthrough and came to really appreciate a lot the second time. His food snobbery becomes quite endearing after he accidentally texts you his attempts to search for restaurants.
:::
kautau@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It’s also my opinion the female voice actor did an incredible job where as the male voice actor did a great job. Even in the most basic of side quests, it feels like she is giving it her all to be V in that situation whereas on the other hand some lines it feels like he’s just phoning it in.
Admittedly I haven’t played the new expansion as male v yet, and that may change my opinion. Especially considering I think Keanu gave 110% percent on phantom liberty where I feel like there are certain lines in the original game that were just read from a sheet without context and marked as done
Chozo@fedia.io 4 months ago
100% agree. Male V just sounds like "generic video game man who is tough, but not too tough", where as the female V sounds like a hardened, cold bitch that you don't want to fuck with. Cherami Leigh's got range.
kautau@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yeah like I said in my other comment, I’m having fun playing through a male v playthrough with the thinking that male v just doesn’t open up often, and is trying his best to keep his cards close. It’s a fun experiment, and plays homage to how male v’s voice actor plays the character, and how a hardened veteran nomad v or abused street kid v might interact with folks, but Cherami’s amazing work is canonical V to me.
Hegar@kbin.social 4 months ago
Oh yeah, that's a great point. I admit I stalled out of my male playthrough like 1/4 through, but for sure the voice acting felt lacking compared to female V, who really does a fantastic and job and sells every situation flawlessly. Now that you've mentioned it, it seems so obvious that that's a huge part of the why female V is better.
kautau@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I’m on a male playthrough a just recently started, and I think the trick is to realize that he’s playing the lines as a more aloof v, which is fine,and actually interesting psychologically as a v that “keeps his cards close to his chest and is cautious about who he opens up to” but you have to accept that version of v in your playthrough, whereas I got used to the “always emotionally invested v” of the female playthrough. Like I said, I still think he did a great job, but that mindset helps me to align the character with the experience. Either way, nice convo, choom
Hegar@kbin.social 4 months ago
That reading of the character makes sense and jives with how I connect with games I play. I'll keep it in mind when I go back for a male playthrough - gonna have to romance panam eventually. Agreed choom!