Faces of Night City: A closer look at Cyberpunk 2077's weird, wonderful NPCs

NPCs of Cyberpunk 2077 — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

The moment I heard Cyberpunk 2077 had a photo mode, I knew I was in trouble. I was surprised when I finally sat down to play, however, because it wasn't the city I was drawn to. I mean, it's amazing for the most part. Evocative and atmospheric and completely absorbing at times. But the people on the streets—the waves of citizens constantly streaming past—are what really caught my eye. So I grabbed my virtual camera and took some portraits of the people I saw, as well as a few characters V meets during the story. Here are some of my favourites.

A woman with blue hair smiles at the camera — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A crime boss looks at the camera — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A smiling man with gold metallic skin — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

I've played around 40 hours of Cyberpunk so far, and I'd say a good five of those have been spent just walking. I love wandering the streets of Night City aimlessly, stopping in bars, crossing busy intersections, ducking down narrow alleyways, and talking to strangers. It's a smaller world than The Witcher 3, but infinitely more dense, and it's a joy to get lost in.

A woman with pink hair and augmented eyes — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A club bouncer with a baseball bat — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Braindance expert Judy Alvarez — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

If being stuck indoors during the pandemic has made you miss people-watching as much as me, you'll love Night City. The endless, teeming mass of humanity constantly shuffling past you on the streets is incredibly varied and exciting to look at. The outrageous future fashions, ornate cyber implants, and wild, colourful hairstyles make for a vivid and lively city.

A bartender at work — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Tattooed man with cyber implants — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A man on the street with headphones — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

The appearance of the NPCs you see around you in Night City changes depending on where you are. Out in the outskirts, in the Badlands, it's all bikers, nomads, and road warriors with dusty, retro-fitted vehicles. However, duck into a trendy bar like the Afterlife, a popular hangout for cyberpunk mercenaries, and you'll see extreme body mods, high-end cyberware, and exotic street fashions.

A nightclub patron smoking — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A man on the street with a brain implant — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A woman with heavy face augmentation — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

As is the case with most games, characters who are key to the story in Cyberpunk 2077 tend to look better than the regular, disposable people buzzing around on the street—but not by much. You might only glance at someone who passes you on the street, but freezing the game with the built-in photo mode often reveals a stunning level of detail. Kudos to the character artists.

A woman walking in the sun — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

An augmented man in the dark — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A bartender awaits your order — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Surprisingly, not everyone you encounter will look like a Blade Runner extra. Occasionally you'll see a person wandering around Night City who looks positively ordinary. No cyberware or outlandish clothes. Just a guy in a sweater with neatly parted hair and sensible shoes. And in a weird way, these aesthetic rebels stand out more among the throngs of augmented fashionistas.

A member of the Mox gang — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A heavily tattooed man — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A gangster brandishes a knife — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

The illusion isn't always perfect. People on the street don't really do much other than walk back and forth, sometimes stopping for a smoke or to sit down on a bench. The NPC simulation isn't as rich or reactive as something like Red Dead Redemption 2, but hundreds of small, scripted moments add a layer of hand-crafted detail, making the city feel full of life, if you don't look too closely.

Placide, a powerful netrunner — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A sitting cowboy with robotic legs — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A corporate woman — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Sometimes V will find themselves taking an elevator to the top of a gleaming corporate skyscraper, and the haughty, well-off people who dwell here contrast sharply with the crowds on the street below. While most Night City citizens wear their cyberware loud and proud, many corporate types keep it subtle, hidden away, partly obscured by their sharp tailored suits.

A man with a cybernetic visor — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A gangster with an assault rifle — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

You can interact with every NPC in Night City, but most of the time all you'll get back is a single, throwaway line of dialogue, similar to The Witcher 3. None of these lines are particularly interesting or funny, but they must have recorded thousands of them, as I don't think I've heard one repeated in my 40 hours with the game. I just wish the city's residents had more to say.

A man smokes a cigar in a diner — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A rocker with long hair and eye implants — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A woman drinks at a bar in a fancy hotel — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Night City is an occasionally stunning setting. The environmental design is detailed and dramatic, if a little lacking in the finer details. The sense of verticality, of the city clawing at the sky, is frequently breathtaking. It's still the people that have really impressed me. They don't do much, but they look good doing it, and the result is one of the most vibrant virtual cities you can explore on PC.

A tattoed woman smokes in the Afterlife bar — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

An augmented man meditates — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Dex, a fixer V works with early in the game — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

If it’s set in space, Andy will probably write about it. He loves sci-fi, adventure games, taking screenshots, Twin Peaks, weird sims, Alien: Isolation, and anything with a good story.