If you are like most gamers, you have a lot of games you have purchased but have yet to play. I read somewhere recently that roughly 30% of purchased games are never played. (I may be making this up, so don’t quote me on it.) As I have revealed in other writings on this site, I have hundreds of games in my Steam library that remain untouched. (I am fully aware that Steam sales are a problem. I am working on it.)

The one game that I constantly promise myself that I will play but never get around to is Cyberpunk 2077 (CP 2077). I don’t intend to rehash the details of CP 2077’s abysmal launch here. We all collectively experienced the justified outrage together long ago, and this game's horrible launch is probably the largest factor in why I have been hesitant to really sink my teeth into it. However, for reasons that I don’t really need (or want) to explain, I found myself with a sudden urge to ignore one dystopia in favor of another.

Over the last month, I have put more than 200 hours into CP 2077, and I just can’t put it down. I plan on going into more detail on why this game is so compelling in some later articles and videos. I will probably do a full-on review of the game, but for now, I will give you the TLDR and say that CP 2077 is one of the greatest RPGs I have ever played.

There is so much to this game in terms of themes, writing, gameplay, etc., that I still have a lot more I want to experience before I start writing. There’s a huge mod scene that I am continuing to explore, and there are ARGs and mysteries that are ongoing… there’s a lot. So, instead of doing all of this behind the scenes, I am going to stream a modded version of the game with the intention of making it as immersive as I can.

Some examples of how CP2077 can be made to look:

Here is a full list of all the mods (both visual and gameplay) and the relevant settings I will be using. All of these mods are available on Nexus mods, with the exception of Dreampunk, which is available from NextGen Dreams on Patreon:

Dreampunk 2.0 – A visual tone mapping mod that delivers photorealistic visuals. Dreampunk does have some limitations and issues. It can make brighter scenes look incredibly washed out and darker scenes way too dark. I am going to try to mitigate these issues by controlling the weather and keeping it raining most of the time. The mod makes the game look very realistic, but if it causes crashes or other issues, I will have to remove it.

Weathermancer – A mod that allows me to set the in-game weather. Using this in conjunction with Dreampunk 2.0 to deliver the visuals.

Always First Equip – A mod that randomly performs weapon inspection animations.

Disable W-S Keys to Select Dialog Options – A mod that does what it says.

Environment Textures Overhaul – ETO 1.1 2K – A mod that increases the details of in-game textures. I switched to Surfaces mod for 4K textures.

Surfaces - Various 4K Texture Packs. I play with a 1440p monitor, so the 4K textures may be overkill, but if any issues arise, I will go back to ETO 2K.

Fast Travel to Any Fast Travel Point – A mod that allows me to fast travel to any fast travel point from anywhere on the map.

Improved Environmental LODs – A mod that loads in more detail at a distance for better visuals.

Limited HUD – A mod that limits the appearance of HUD elements. I am limiting the appearance of HUD elements as much as possible. They will only appear when I use ocular zoom or in combat.

Smarter Scrapper – A mod that automates scrapping weapons and equipment since the vanilla implementation of the inventory system is tedious.

Advanced Control Mod 1.2.3 – An advanced mod that allows for movement controls like lean, scroll wheel speed adjustment, and more.

Smooth Movement 1.1 – Tweak-XL Version – A mod that makes movement less jittery and allows for smoother control. The vanilla version of CP 2077 doesn’t do movement well; this fixes that.

Unlock Me the Mods 2.1 – A mod that allows weapon mods to be removable. Not being able to move mods from one weapon to another is just annoying.

Walk by Default 2.0 – A mod that readjusts the walking and jogging speeds in the game.

Zoomable Scopes 1.4 – A mod that makes scopes zoomable because they are not for some reason.

Simple Flashlight – A mod that gives V a flashlight to use because I get scared in the dark.

Enable_Advert_Animations – A mod that animates all the billboard ads.

Ragdoll Physics Overhaul 2.0 BETA - A mod that improves the physics of ragdoll effects.

Better Vehicle First Person - A mod that improves player perspective while driving in first-person.

Other Settings – No enemy indicators or health bars. No crosshairs. Driving is in first-person only. AHK script that lets me swap the first two weapons only because Hunt has ruined me.

Playstyle Details – Very Hard difficulty, Male V, Net Runner build, smart/tech weapons, first-person driving only, save scumming at a minimum, and any % or whenever I feel like stopping.

I will be streaming the run on twitch.tv/GamewithDeath until it is finished. Enjoy, Chooms.