The protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077 is drawing comparisons to Geralt of the Witcher series - and they're not all favorable. V, the player character of CD Projekt Red's newest game, is an edgy grump, much like the studio's last protagonist. Unfortunately, V appears to be missing a vital component of Geralt's gruff personality.
There's no denying that Geralt is a little rough around the edges. The monster-hunting mutant is as prone to bar fights and brooding as he is to heroism. But it bears pointing out that the Butcher of Blavikin's cynical selfish streak is the result of his enduring oppression as a member of the mutant witcher caste. What makes Geralt a great protagonist is that this mistreatment also leads him to a genuine concern for the downtrodden. Of course, depending on the backstory players choose, V can also be an outcast. But Cyberpunk 2077's trailers have not yet shown that V's misfortunes cause them to be particularly heroic or kind toward others who are down on their luck. Simply put, their lack of sympathy makes them hard to sympathize with.
Judging from trailers, V is more than a little pushy. The character bosses around friends, allies, cyberpunk gang members, service workers - even computers. Nearly every line of dialogue V utters is a threat, demand, or demand backed up with a threat. The masculine V's voice acting is also rather grating. Lines like, "Find a spot close to the bar or as close as you can. F--k procedures," are hardly Shakespearean, but when delivered with a Duke Nukem-esque level of attempted badassery, they need to land well or else devolve into cringe-inducing, failed camp. And no amount of voice acting skill can sell V mocking others' accents or incessantly demeaning those around them.
Why V In Cyberpunk 2077 Is Such A Jerk
However, much of this crassness can be explained by the so-called "Three Rules of Cyberpunk." CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is based on the long-running Cyberpunk roleplaying game series created by Mike Pondsmith. In turn, Pondsmith's satirical games drew inspiration from existing sci-fi stories that formed the basis of the emerging cyberpunk genre. Pondsmith boiled down the essence of cyberpunk into three principles for players looking to authentically inhabit their characters. The Three Rules of Cyberpunk are: "Style Over Substance," "Attitude Is Everything," and "Live On The Edge." Essentially, characters in the Cyberpunk series are brash, crude rebels who are concerned with looking cool.
It's no surprise that the protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077 adheres to Pondsmith's principles. Pondsmith is working closely on this Cyberpunk sequel, and it's clear that V is designed to be a typical Cyberpunk character: a genre-appropriate, flashy, trashy jerk. And while great cyberpunk campaigns function as science-fiction and action stories, it's important to recall that Cyberpunk is a fundamentally satirical universe. Pondsmith set out to lampoon the greed, bombastic aesthetic, and alienating capitalism that typified the 1980s when the first Cyberpunk RPG was penned. It's not a coincidence that the villains of the series are known simply as "the Corporations."
In fact, V's over-the-top personality appears to be deliberate on V's part, an effort to fit into the dramatic world of Night City's criminal underbelly. This is not dissimilar to Geralt's gruff demeanor being a socially constructed role he is expected to fill as a witcher. Still, unless V demonstrates humanizing empathy like Geralt, it will be difficult to identify with their egotistical facade of a personality.
Geralt is a subversively grouchy hero befitting of his twisted fairy tale setting of the Witcher series, while V is a vulgar rogue befitting of their own dystopian setting. But Geralt's sincere concern for those around him, especially fellow outcasts, make him a far more likable character. As for whether or not V's self-consciously bombastic schtick proves irritating after playing dozens of hours of Cyberpunk 2077, gamers will have to decide for themselves once they've had some time with the game.