Cyberpunk 2077’s sequel has one area I need to see improved

There are a few things we know about Cyberpunk 2077: it is set in the not-too-distant future and the not-too-distant future is pretty damn gay.

From lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters to the ability to customise genitals and voice to make V’s gender fit your own, CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 was not afraid to show us an accepting future.

Which is why we can expect Cyberpunk 2 to be equally, or if not more, gay than its predecessor and let’s face it, it can do with some improvements.

Before we get to that, let’s take a look back at Cyberpunk 2077.

When we think about the much-loved RPG, it is easy to forget that it was far from loved when it was first released back in 2020.

Players were met with bugs, glitches and crashes that were so bad, that the game was virtually unplayable and was even removed from online retailers at one stage.

However, since then, CDPR has been hard at work making Cyberpunk 2077 the game it is today thanks to updates, patches and the award-nominated Phantom Liberty expansion.

Due to its less-than-smooth start, Cyberpunk 2077 has often been overlooked for its dedication to diversity and that all starts with the creation of our main character, V.

CD Projekt Red

When creating their V, players can choose between a masculine or feminine body type as well as being able to choose between two penis options and one vagina.

Once these choices have been selected, players can choose V’s voice with one being masculine and the other being feminine.

However, your voice type will be linked to V’s gender with the feminine voice making V “female” and the masculine one making them “male”.

As much as CDPR wanted to be inclusive, linking a voice to gender is not trans-inclusive at all and something that can be rectified in Cyberpunk 2.

For example, in the recently released Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players can select their pronouns and their chosen voice without having to select a gender.

Not only that but a player can identify as transgender in the game and even have conversations about how this has impacted their life.

I am not saying that being transgender has to have a whole storyline attached to it, as that is certainly not included for cisgender characters, but it was nice to see inclusive language and customisation added to an AAA release.

Which is why I hope this will happen in Cyberpunk 2, especially as we already have the framework with the original.

In Cyberpunk 2077, we meet bartender and engineer Claire who we can take a series of quests from.

It is only at the end of her questline that we discover she is trans, as evident by the trans flag on the back of her truck and some short lines of dialogue that she shares with V.

As a cisgender woman, I can’t share any personal thoughts on this but I will direct you to a post over on r/cyberpunkgame which shares one transgender fan’s thoughts on Claire’s character.

CD Projekt Red

“At one point in the missions, Claire Russell pulls you aside to tell you why it is that she's wanted you to take part in these races with her, and begins telling you the history of her relationship with her husband.

She tells you that they had been married for 13 years, and that they had been together since bringing her flowers at the hospital, where she was for her gender transition. And…

....and that's it. The next bit of dialogue isn't about V being surprised that she's trans - it's a continuation of the conversation about Claire's relationship with her husband, and the dialogue continues to focus around that. Claire's gender doesn't suddenly become the focus of the conversation. You just move on.”

The user goes on to explain how this meant a lot to them as a trans person and allowed them “to feel seen”.

“This is one thing that CDPR did EXTREMELY *RIGHT*,” they continued.

“I have never seen an openly trans person in a video game, much less any media, treated with so much grace.”

Of course, this is just the opinion of one person but it still goes to show how making games with inclusive characters will stay with a player for a long time.

This is another reason why I hope, and think, that Cyberpunk 2 will do more in terms of exploring sexuality, gender and identity.

In Night City, a person is free to be who they want to be in a trans-humanist future.

They can augment their body at will, add prosthetics and cyberware and nobody gives a damn who you are dating.

For the sequel, I hope that there will be the ability to adapt your body whenever you like at the Ripperdoc as well as the ability to augment your body without any gender-locks.

(The same can be said for hairstyles which, for some reason, are linked to masculine or feminine body types).

On the topic of body types, this post wouldn’t be complete with discussing the romances that V is able to pursue throughout the events of Cyberpunk 2077.

There are four main characters who V can start a relationship with: Judy, Panam, River or Kerry.

CD Projekt Red

However, unlike RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate 3 where romance options are attracted to the player no matter what, Cyberpunk 2077’s characters have their own sexualities.

Judy is a lesbian and will only be attracted to a V with a feminine body type and feminine voice. Panam will only romance a V with a masculine body type but has no preference on voice style.

As for River, whose whole storyline is optional, he wants a feminine body type with no preference on voice and last but not least, there’s Kerry.

Kerry’s sexuality has caused a stir over the years as CDPR first labelled him as being bisexual. However, if you pursue a relationship with the rock star, you will soon discover that he is only attracted to a masculine body type and voice.

Despite him being canonically bisexual, players have felt disappointed with the bisexual erasure and sites such as Gayming Mag have reported on this.

What makes things even more complicated is that according to R. Talsorian Games, Kerry is indeed bisexual but creators suspect that his attraction to a masculine presenting V “is deeply rooted into unresolved issues involving Johnny.

Male-presenting V fits that particular mould better, to his subconscious.”

Put simply, Kerry’s unresolved and unrequited love for Johnny Silverhand forms the basis of his attraction to V, more so than his sexuality.

It is perfectly normal for sexuality to change but for players playing through his storyline, it will look a whole lot like bi-erasure as opposed to unresolved issues that we are not told about in-game.

I guess this whole post sounds a lot like I am criticising Cyberpunk 2077 but if you know me, then you will know that it is one of my favourite games of all time.

That is why I am so passionate about CDPR continuing to learn and grow and implement more inclusivity into the next instalment.

In a time where doing something as simple as eating a ham sandwich can be seen as “woke” by a select few people, I hope that Cyberpunk 2 continues to explore a world where it doesn’t matter who you are, who you love or what you look like.