Introduced by none other than John Wick, himself, CD Projekt Red's hotly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 made a surprise appearance at Xbox's E3 2019 press conference with an all-new cinematic trailer.
The last footage the world's seen of Cyberpunk 2077 was a live stream of the breathtaking demo shown off at 2018's E3 and Gamescom, making this cinematic look at the game a massive deal. Showing off the upcoming game's beautiful cutscenes and deep, hard-hitting approach to storytelling, the Xbox E3 trailer for Cyberpunk gives credence to the rumor that the game has already come a long way since the last time viewers laid eyes upon it. There at E3 2019 to give the game's long-awaited release date was Keanu Reeves, who was also revealed to play an in-game character.
The cinematic trailer follows a dark chapter for the male version of the game's protagonist, a technologically augmented Night City denizen who's invariably known as V regardless of gender. The trailer sees V and their equally modified partner, Jackie Welles, pulling off a major job to enrich themselves and Dexter DeShawn, a shady fixer who organizes illicit activities for the highest bidder. Each of these characters were featured in the previous gameplay demo footage, but this grim trailer sheds light on each of the characters, revealing the complexity and impermanence of underground partnerships, as well as the mortality of key characters. The trailer concludes with John Wick star Keanu Reeves' unnamed character derisively telling V, "Wake the fuck up, samurai. We have a city to burn," before revealing the game's release date - which is a bit sooner than we expected.
CD Projekt Red has made a huge deal about Cyberpunk 2077 adding serious weight and variety to player choice, and - despite not showing gameplay - this cinematic trailer perfectly captures what the Witcher developer has been talking about. During the mission, either the player character, Jackie, or both of the men evidently made a major decision that seems to have affected the course of the entire game's story. Seeming to have shot their way out of a criminal den to obtain a highly valuable cybernetic chip, V and Jackie arrive at their getaway with the former's celebration cut short by the sudden death of a mortally wounded Jackie. Ultimately, it's the decision that killed Jackie that also prompts Dexter to turn on V, giving the player no other choice but to go toe-to-toe with the crime lord and his goons.
From what little players have been shown prior to today's trailer, Jackie seemed to have been a key character that would normally be untouchable in most RPGs. However, Cyberpunk 2077 clearly isn't one of them, and CD Projekt Red fans understandably can't wait to see more. This trailer was hugely unexpected, even at Microsoft's excellent, game-filled E3 presser, so readers shouldn't yet rule out further information about the game as E3 2019 continues. Luckily, Screen Rant will be covering it all, so be on the lookout for more E3 news.
Source: Cyberpunk 2077/YouTube
Cyberpunk 2077 releases on April 16, 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.