Cyberpunk 2077 Allows For Non-Lethal Playthroughs

CD Projekt Red revealed a ton of new details about Cyberpunk 2077 during its latest deep-dive video. Among the topics the developer discussed were the different ways in which players could go about playing the game, and it turns out, that includes non-lethal playthroughs.

During an interview that followed the gameplay demo, CD Projekt Red revealed that players can play through the entirety of Cyberpunk 2077 without killing another character if they so choose. "You can finish the whole game, you can finish the quests without killing a single person," quest designer Philipp Weber confirmed.

That said, you won't be able to avoid confrontations entirely if you do attempt a non-lethal playthrough, but these encounters don't need to turn fatal. "The thing is, Night City isn't a very peaceful place, so you can never play like a full pacifist who is never engaging in any kind of combat because people will attack you sometimes," Weber said. " But you can choose to not kill them. Like in real life, sometimes if there's attacks, you don't immediately kill everyone; you can solve situations in different ways."

Of Cyberpunk 2077's several character classes, the Netrunner seems the most suited for non-lethal playthroughs because it emphasizes stealthiness and hacking, but it isn't the only class capable of non-lethal runs; it turns out any type of character can play through the game without killing another character, but it may require a bit of ingenuity depending on how you've developed your avatar.

"Not only the Netrunner is able to do non-lethal playthroughs. Every player, however you want to skill your character, you're able to do it somehow," Weber said. However, your approach to each situation will depend much on your surroundings. "Let's say you're in some rundown ruin that doesn't have lots of netrunning abilities, of course a Netrunner still has ways to do [a non-lethal run], but he might not be able to use all of his netrunning skills."

We learned a lot of other interesting tidbits about Cyberpunk 2077 during the deep-dive, including how sidequests will work in the game and how cyberware will change gameplay. CD Projekt Red also revealed it wants to solve an annoying RPG problem with the game, and that it's working with real city planners to design Night City.

Cyberpunk 2077 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 16, 2020. The game is also coming to Google Stadia. You can read more about the title's collector's edition and pre-order bonuses in our Cyberpunk 2077 pre-order guide.