Johnny Silverhand is a “douche canoe”. That’s not a Cyberpunk 2077 spoiler, it’s just one thing said by his girlfriend that will make you say -“Wait, did she say canoe or Keanu?”. Despite its porn-centric futurism and its sexism, the game does in fact do justice to women with strong and varied roles. Still, like most idealized “edgy” girlfriends, Johnny’s “partner” has nothing truly interesting to say. Johnny, on the other hand, is an interesting character. Though, he’s perhaps not an ideal role for Keanu who struggles with acting like a convincing jerk. John Wick is a better role for him. Cyberpunk 2077 is, thankfully, a thinly disguised John Wick simulator. The sensation of moving through warehouses and clubs using every weapon at your disposal to gruesomely dispatch every last villain is there and it’s exhilarating. Alas, Johnny Silverhand constantly insisting that every man only wants you for sex will make you yearn for the gentleman that is John Wick. Johnny does not get this jealous with the male versions of V. Though, I fully accept sexism in the game as a key element of reality, writers should perhaps have compensated for this imbalance. If Johnny were developing feelings for V, his behaviour would at least make some sense. As it stands, he’s (so far) just a sexist old condescending jerk from the 2020’s that I must try to ignore like an abusive creep while romancing better men and women. Though, I will admit that Johnny Silverhand does stick with you as a character. I’ve been dreaming of him lately and if I were to bump into meatspace Keanu, I’d admittedly find it difficult to not see some Johnny in him.
The game’s 2077 street terms are especially adorable. It’s not Nadsat but, it’s trying. The use of the word “choom” for friend works on many levels and I’m already hearing it (ironically) in online chatter. My favourite term so far is V’s use of “nova” which carries meaning which ranges from amazing to ok. It seems as if “nova“ can replace almost any word as long as the fit feels right. Our protagonist V at times even signs off on a text with “nova” instead of goodbye and somehow, it works. Overall it’s more evidence of writers who genuinely tried to make the effort to sculpt language for the sake of immersion. It’s at times irksome and even cornball but also wonderful. The game is, first and foremost, immersive, detailed and character-driven. It transmits experience beautifully and in Cyberpunk 2077 one can see hints of the future of filmmaking itself. The writing and art direction has substantial quality, to Tomasz Marchewka’s credit. There’s a novelist at work here, that much is clear. The layered narrative detail he and his team managed to inject into this game boggles the mind. After the dust settles and people stop over-dramatizing the slightest glitches, it’s what will likely create a lasting affection for this game.
