Cyberpunk 2077 – A Tour Through Night City
Post by KostaAndreadis @ 01:03pm 27/01/21 | Comments
A virtual tour through Night City, as powered by NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 series of graphics cards, where impressive real-time ray-tracing, DLSS rendering, neon lighting, rule the streets. Alongside corpos and gangs.
Presented by NVIDIA
Outside of Keanu Reeves, who stars alongside protagonist V as ex-rocker-hacktivist Johnny Silverhand, the biggest presence found throughout Cyberpunk 2077 is the setting of Night City. A stunning open-world filled with towering skyscrapers, bustling streets and alley-ways, retro-future fashion, post-apocalyptic wasteland-like surroundings, and an incredible sense of scale.
Serving as a look at a potential future, one where Corpos rule from up high and various Gangs vie for control over everything down below, it’s the perfect setting for a new narrative-driven RPG from the studio that brought us The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
With wonderful art-direction to heighten an age of greed, excess, futuristic soft-drinks, body augmentations, and virtual getaways called braindances, developer CD Projekt Red has managed to fill every corner of the sprawling Night City with tonnes of detail. So much so that walking its streets feels like you’ve become a tourist entering a new city for the first time.
Detail that shines brightest on PC thanks to NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics, where real-time ray-tracing and DLSS rendering help present one of the most stunning digital landscapes we’ve seen to date. Based on the 1980s pen-and-paper RPG Cyberpunk 2020, there’s also lore and history found everywhere in Night City, and a few surprises too. Like finding out the AI-run cabs have been overrun by rogue AI experiencing what can only be described as an artificial breakdown. Or, a vending machine that has seemingly become aware of its own mortality.
With a focus on history, first-hand impressions, and awe-inspiring sights -- here’s a look at the major districts and regions found in Night City running on NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 series of graphics cards.
A virtual tour if you will, so let’s (brain)dance.
Located on the north-side of Night City, Watson is where V’s adventure begins and where he or she first looks to make it big. Densely populated, Watson is home to the rather dilapidated Arasaka Waterfront, the Kabuki and Little China regions, an industrial park churning out future-smoke, and is filled with everything from giant apartment towers to open-air markets. Watson is something of a Night City melting pot as it brings together the haves and the have-nots – perfect for beginning your Cyberpunk 2077 and Night City adventure.
It’s also a melting pot because the streets are ruled by the Tyger Claws. As V, even though you can complete various jobs for the gang in and around Watson, stepping on their turf or trying to steal one of their graffiti covered rides (because, hey, they look awesome) isn’t advised. The most eye-catching location in Watson though is the Kabuki Market, the open-air multi-level mall that’s also the go-to place for black market augmentations and CyberWare. That and the nightclubs, places which will make you feel like you’ve died and gone to neon heaven.
As the entertainment center of Night City, Westbrook’s Japantown is a visual feast for the senses. Like New York’s Time Square but every corner is that multiplied by 2077. Tall buildings, restaurants, night clubs, and other venues all lit up in a way that would make the mayor of Las Vegas wonder about the power bill. Basically, the place to go if you’ve got some eddies burning a hole in your back pocket. Westbrook is also home to North Oak, a Beverly Hills-like spot where mansions and lavish homes overlook the jaw-dropping skyline of Japantown – the entertainment heart of Night City.
For the elites that want to live it up in an inner-city apartment, and not have to worry about gang violence and the less desirable filling up the streets, there’s Charter Hill. If you’re a rich (and probably corrupt) Corpo or a cyborg popstar like Lizzy Wizzy, Westbrook is where you’ll hang out and probably live. On the account of the sheer danger found everywhere else.
Although it’s the sort of coastal location reminiscent of a bustling real-world beach-side spot like Santa Monica, Pacifica in the year 2077 is a post-apocalyptic vision of sunny California where burning cars and graffiti fill up the streets alongside massive buildings barely holding it together. It’s the sort of place you’d expect to find zombies, except it’s populated and controlled by the mysterious gang of netrunners called the Voodoo Boys.
That said the beaches are still sandy, the water clear (at a glance… it’s heavily polluted), and Pacifica Pier is still (mostly) intact. Mostly. As a one-time vacation spot, you’ll find luxury hotels, the sizable Grand Imperial Mall, and various apartment buildings and storefronts. Plus, the remnants of a giant roller coaster and Ferris wheel – giving it all a sun-drenched ghost-town feel. In Pacifica there are still places you can go to grab a drink, relax, and hope you don’t run into an augmented maniac with cyberpsychosis.
Heywood is a place of contrasts, the clean high-tech north which borders the corpo-filled City Center and the slum-like south where the Valentinos and 6th Street gangs have taken control. The north-side, Wellsprings, has the air of a more upmarket Watson – though like any place found throughout Night City alleyways provide the grit that sits next to the more pristine streets and busier districts.
As the home to the Valentinos, Heywood gets a large chunk of its personality from graffiti, fashion, and chunky vehicles that are a hallmark of the gang. A lot of gold and chrome, which adds a toughness to the more rundown areas of Vista Del Rey. Here you’ll also find back-alley brawls for eddies, a favourite pastime of some of the residents.
With a section of City Center simply called Corpo Plaza, the heart of Night City is home to the tallest buildings and the brightest lights. Though on that front these buildings house the largest corporations of 2077, and the lights are, well, floodlights. Probably put in place to ensure there’s no dark corner or alley that can’t be controlled or monitored by corpo security. Although clean and mostly pristine, Corpo Plaza has the feel of a police state – albeit one where corporations are watching your every step. Case in point, the giant and intimidating Arasaka Tower.
Downtown is a little friendlier in that there’s restaurants and nightclubs and apartment buildings, basically the Park Avenue of Night City. A place for the richest of the rich. Even the Ripperdoc here sells only the finest of CyberWare.
Santo Domingo, which bridges the more densely populated areas of Night City with the outskirts of the Badlands, is something of a city within a city. The industrial district of Arroyo houses the giant Petrochem factory and several high-tech industrial plants, plus the dingy Red Dirt Bar for workers and fans of that aesthetic.
To the east of the industrial bustle though is Rancho Coronado, a place where you’ll find the sorts of houses you’d see in the suburbs of today – mailboxes, pathways, lawns, and garbage piling up on the sidewalk. Being Cyberpunk 2077 though, strip malls and other places are a hotbed of illegal activity, so much so that 6th Street gang controls the region without interference from the NCPD.
In the world of Cyberpunk 2077 to be a Nomad is to refuse to play a part in the Corpo game and live out in the real world, which in the case of Night City is the surrounding wasteland known as the Badlands. A sprawling desert broken up by small communities, warring factions, a massive junkyard, a giant solar-power farm, and even a few actual farms. The sort that would have chickens and cows and such.
The most visually impressive sight to behold though, is the Biotechnica farm. A place where synthetic protein derivatives are harvested on a truly massive scale in large tents that go as far as the eye can see. Here the protein that makes up most of the processed food you can eat throughout Night City is grown.
Cyberpunk 2077’s expansive world and Night City setting offers up a glimpse into an impressive future, and with GeForce RTX hardware playing on PC does the same.
Outside of Keanu Reeves, who stars alongside protagonist V as ex-rocker-hacktivist Johnny Silverhand, the biggest presence found throughout Cyberpunk 2077 is the setting of Night City. A stunning open-world filled with towering skyscrapers, bustling streets and alley-ways, retro-future fashion, post-apocalyptic wasteland-like surroundings, and an incredible sense of scale.
Serving as a look at a potential future, one where Corpos rule from up high and various Gangs vie for control over everything down below, it’s the perfect setting for a new narrative-driven RPG from the studio that brought us The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
With wonderful art-direction to heighten an age of greed, excess, futuristic soft-drinks, body augmentations, and virtual getaways called braindances, developer CD Projekt Red has managed to fill every corner of the sprawling Night City with tonnes of detail. So much so that walking its streets feels like you’ve become a tourist entering a new city for the first time.
Related: Cyberpunk 2077 - How DLSS and Ray Tracing Present a Vision of the Future
Detail that shines brightest on PC thanks to NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics, where real-time ray-tracing and DLSS rendering help present one of the most stunning digital landscapes we’ve seen to date. Based on the 1980s pen-and-paper RPG Cyberpunk 2020, there’s also lore and history found everywhere in Night City, and a few surprises too. Like finding out the AI-run cabs have been overrun by rogue AI experiencing what can only be described as an artificial breakdown. Or, a vending machine that has seemingly become aware of its own mortality.
With a focus on history, first-hand impressions, and awe-inspiring sights -- here’s a look at the major districts and regions found in Night City running on NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 series of graphics cards.
A virtual tour if you will, so let’s (brain)dance.
Watson – The Beginning
Located on the north-side of Night City, Watson is where V’s adventure begins and where he or she first looks to make it big. Densely populated, Watson is home to the rather dilapidated Arasaka Waterfront, the Kabuki and Little China regions, an industrial park churning out future-smoke, and is filled with everything from giant apartment towers to open-air markets. Watson is something of a Night City melting pot as it brings together the haves and the have-nots – perfect for beginning your Cyberpunk 2077 and Night City adventure.
Densely populated, Watson is home to the rather dilapidated Arasaka Waterfront, the Kabuki and Little China regions, an industrial park churning out future-smoke.
It’s also a melting pot because the streets are ruled by the Tyger Claws. As V, even though you can complete various jobs for the gang in and around Watson, stepping on their turf or trying to steal one of their graffiti covered rides (because, hey, they look awesome) isn’t advised. The most eye-catching location in Watson though is the Kabuki Market, the open-air multi-level mall that’s also the go-to place for black market augmentations and CyberWare. That and the nightclubs, places which will make you feel like you’ve died and gone to neon heaven.
Westbrook – The Entertainment Capital of the Future
As the entertainment center of Night City, Westbrook’s Japantown is a visual feast for the senses. Like New York’s Time Square but every corner is that multiplied by 2077. Tall buildings, restaurants, night clubs, and other venues all lit up in a way that would make the mayor of Las Vegas wonder about the power bill. Basically, the place to go if you’ve got some eddies burning a hole in your back pocket. Westbrook is also home to North Oak, a Beverly Hills-like spot where mansions and lavish homes overlook the jaw-dropping skyline of Japantown – the entertainment heart of Night City.
As the entertainment center of Night City, Westbrook’s Japantown is a visual feast for the senses. Like New York’s Time Square but every corner is that multiplied by 2077.
For the elites that want to live it up in an inner-city apartment, and not have to worry about gang violence and the less desirable filling up the streets, there’s Charter Hill. If you’re a rich (and probably corrupt) Corpo or a cyborg popstar like Lizzy Wizzy, Westbrook is where you’ll hang out and probably live. On the account of the sheer danger found everywhere else.
Pacifica – Beachside Post Apocalyptica
Although it’s the sort of coastal location reminiscent of a bustling real-world beach-side spot like Santa Monica, Pacifica in the year 2077 is a post-apocalyptic vision of sunny California where burning cars and graffiti fill up the streets alongside massive buildings barely holding it together. It’s the sort of place you’d expect to find zombies, except it’s populated and controlled by the mysterious gang of netrunners called the Voodoo Boys.
Pacifica in the year 2077 is a post-apocalyptic vision of sunny California where burning cars and graffiti fill up the streets alongside massive buildings barely holding it together.
That said the beaches are still sandy, the water clear (at a glance… it’s heavily polluted), and Pacifica Pier is still (mostly) intact. Mostly. As a one-time vacation spot, you’ll find luxury hotels, the sizable Grand Imperial Mall, and various apartment buildings and storefronts. Plus, the remnants of a giant roller coaster and Ferris wheel – giving it all a sun-drenched ghost-town feel. In Pacifica there are still places you can go to grab a drink, relax, and hope you don’t run into an augmented maniac with cyberpsychosis.
Heywood – Two Sides of the Neon Coin
Heywood is a place of contrasts, the clean high-tech north which borders the corpo-filled City Center and the slum-like south where the Valentinos and 6th Street gangs have taken control. The north-side, Wellsprings, has the air of a more upmarket Watson – though like any place found throughout Night City alleyways provide the grit that sits next to the more pristine streets and busier districts.
Heywood is a place of contrasts, the clean high-tech north which borders the corpo-filled City Center and the slum-like south where the Valentinos and 6th Street gangs have taken control.
As the home to the Valentinos, Heywood gets a large chunk of its personality from graffiti, fashion, and chunky vehicles that are a hallmark of the gang. A lot of gold and chrome, which adds a toughness to the more rundown areas of Vista Del Rey. Here you’ll also find back-alley brawls for eddies, a favourite pastime of some of the residents.
City Center – Skyscrapers Jutting Through the Clouds
With a section of City Center simply called Corpo Plaza, the heart of Night City is home to the tallest buildings and the brightest lights. Though on that front these buildings house the largest corporations of 2077, and the lights are, well, floodlights. Probably put in place to ensure there’s no dark corner or alley that can’t be controlled or monitored by corpo security. Although clean and mostly pristine, Corpo Plaza has the feel of a police state – albeit one where corporations are watching your every step. Case in point, the giant and intimidating Arasaka Tower.
Although clean and mostly pristine, Corpo Plaza has the feel of a police state – albeit one where corporations are watching your every step. Case in point, the giant and intimidating Arasaka Tower.
Downtown is a little friendlier in that there’s restaurants and nightclubs and apartment buildings, basically the Park Avenue of Night City. A place for the richest of the rich. Even the Ripperdoc here sells only the finest of CyberWare.
Santo Domingo – The Burbs
Santo Domingo, which bridges the more densely populated areas of Night City with the outskirts of the Badlands, is something of a city within a city. The industrial district of Arroyo houses the giant Petrochem factory and several high-tech industrial plants, plus the dingy Red Dirt Bar for workers and fans of that aesthetic.
Rancho Coronado is a place where you’ll find the sorts of houses you’d see in the suburbs of today – mailboxes, pathways, lawns, and garbage piling up on the sidewalk.
To the east of the industrial bustle though is Rancho Coronado, a place where you’ll find the sorts of houses you’d see in the suburbs of today – mailboxes, pathways, lawns, and garbage piling up on the sidewalk. Being Cyberpunk 2077 though, strip malls and other places are a hotbed of illegal activity, so much so that 6th Street gang controls the region without interference from the NCPD.
Badlands – Nomad Culture
In the world of Cyberpunk 2077 to be a Nomad is to refuse to play a part in the Corpo game and live out in the real world, which in the case of Night City is the surrounding wasteland known as the Badlands. A sprawling desert broken up by small communities, warring factions, a massive junkyard, a giant solar-power farm, and even a few actual farms. The sort that would have chickens and cows and such.
A sprawling desert broken up by small communities, warring factions, a massive junkyard, a giant solar-power farm, and even a few actual farms.
The most visually impressive sight to behold though, is the Biotechnica farm. A place where synthetic protein derivatives are harvested on a truly massive scale in large tents that go as far as the eye can see. Here the protein that makes up most of the processed food you can eat throughout Night City is grown.
Cyberpunk 2077’s expansive world and Night City setting offers up a glimpse into an impressive future, and with GeForce RTX hardware playing on PC does the same.
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