It really is wild that you can't change your appearance in Cyberpunk 2077

A version of V with inadvisable moustache, makeup, nose hair, just a lot — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

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Cyberpunk 2077 has character creation so detailed someone has used it to make Elon Musk. I love a cheekbone slider as much as the next roleplayer, but the way I play games that have them is always the same—mess around with the options until I'm happy, and 20 minutes into the actual game realize I want to go back and change everything.

Sometimes the way you look under the moody lighting of character creation is at odds with how you look in the harsh light of an open world, or you need to switch hairstyles because it clips through your clothes, or you realize you've made a regrettably extravagant tattoo decision. Thankfully, it's become common for games to let you change your appearance mid-game, whether by visiting a hairdresser, a plastic surgeon, or a magical mirror in a black market emporium under Kirkwall.

Cyberpunk 2077 does not have any of these things. Which is surprising, given that it's a game where you can visit a ripperdoc to buy Gorilla Arms or get a second heart implanted in your chest. It's not just that there's no way to get a haircut, it's that there are no options for genre-appropriate body modifications like colorful synthskin or techhair. There are fully chrome NPCs in Night City, but no way to make V look like them.

In Night City, "style is everything". But the only way to change your style is by wearing different clothes.

The other reason it's surprising is that CD Projekt red put barbers who could change Geralt's appearance into The Witcher 3. They'd change his hairstyle and shave his beard, which would then grow back over time. There's no hair growth in Cyberpunk 2077, which is perhaps for the best given its pubic hair options. But barbers would still be a nice touch.

Geralt's joke hair options make him look like a band about to drop a fire first album — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Those barbers weren't in The Witcher 3 at launch, however. They were added with the Beard and Hairstyle Set, a free DLC shortly after release that had been teased with a joke "sneak peek" showing new looks for Geralt like flowing Fabio locks and a bowl cut. Even better, when the Blood and Wine expansion came out, it included a barber who would give Geralt that bowl cut if you completed a sidequest.

So perhaps we can expect character customization to be among the free DLC for Cyberpunk 2077. I've reached out to CD Projekt Red to ask if it's planned, but haven't received a reply. If it is a feature the studio is working on, there's no rush adding it. Really, take your time. This bright red moustache is starting to grow on me.

Cyberpunk 2077 change appearance: What are your options?

Jody's first computer was a Commodore 64, so he remembers having to use a code wheel to play Pool of Radiance. A former music journalist who interviewed everyone from Giorgio Moroder to Trent Reznor, Jody also co-hosted Australia's first radio show about videogames, Zed Games. He's written for Rock Paper Shotgun, The Big Issue, GamesRadar, Zam, Glixel, Five Out of Ten Magazine, and Playboy.com, whose cheques with the bunny logo made for fun conversations at the bank. Jody's first article for PC Gamer was about the audio of Alien Isolation, published in 2015, and since then he's written about why Silent Hill belongs on PC, why Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale is the best fantasy shopkeeper tycoon game, and how weird Lost Ark can get. Jody edited PC Gamer Indie from 2017 to 2018, and he eventually lived up to his promise to play every Warhammer videogame.