CD Projekt REDCyberpunk 2077 isn’t even out yet, but I just know there are already some people out there who reckon the game looks too easy and will be desperate to know just how soon they can ramp up the challenge as much as possible.
Luckily, just like The Witcher games, Cyberpunk 2077 will have multiple difficulty modes – including a hardcore option that ups the difficulty to the max and disables the game’s user interface completely for a uniquely immersive (and punishing) experience that puts everything on you – no hand holding, guiding, or advise of any kind.
CD Projekt REDCyberpunk 2077 UI coordinator Alvin Liu told WCCFtech:
The most fun one I think will be the Hardcore setting where we turn off the UI … And that will be a real challenge for a lot of players. Also, at the same time, if you want to play more casually for the story and maybe you’re not experienced with shooters, which was a real big concern for us. We want to tell a story and maybe you’re a big fan of The Witcher and you’re not comfortable playing a shooter, we have settings available for that.
While a super hard mode is great for the more masochistic players out there, it’s also nice to hear that CD Projekt RED is developing the game with some more accessible modes. The Witcher 3 had a mode called “Just The Story” which let you breeze through the game so you could enjoy the narrative, and it sounds like Cyberpunk will offer something similar.
Liu reminded fans that there’s even a smart gun in the sci-fi RPG which will help players who aren’t quite as experienced with shooters. The tradeoff is that the weapon is a little weaker, but it’s an option for those who can’t aim terribly well.
In The Witcher 3, you could also pick and choose which elements of the UI you wanted on at any time, including the map, health bar, tips, and equipped items. Given CD Projekt RED’s commitment to making their games as good as they can be, I’d imagine we’ll get similar options in Cyberpunk 2077 for building the perfect custom UI.
CD Projekt REDOf course, you can just turn everything off and see what happens. Who needs to see how much health you have left when you’re living HARDCORE, right? Critics are already calling it the Dark Souls of difficulty modes. Probably.
What I’m really hoping is that anyone who beats Cyberpunk 2077 on Hardcore will get taken out for ice cream by Keanu Reeves, but that’s currently unconfirmed.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.