Cyberpunk 2077 has three different origin stories for your character, and oh god choosing which one is already tricky
Cyberpunk 2077's origin stories sound like they'll decide where your character got their start in life
Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be an absolutely mammoth game when it comes out, so it's fitting that I'm already paralysed by indecision when it comes to deciding my character's design. Speaking to VG247, lead quest designer Pawel Sasko revealed that there are three origin stories (or 'lifepaths' as CD Projekt Red calls them) to pick from which decide how your character came to be.
Sasko says that "the player in Cyberpunk 2077 can create a custom character that has one of three origin stories, that we call lifepaths: you can be Nomad, Corpo, or Street Kid. Each of that lifepaths has a different starting location and story background that are strongly connected with the origin story. Anything more I say can reveal too much from the story, so I will leave it like this." What those three origins could specifically mean is anyone's guess, but as we have a vague knowledge of the world of Night City it's possible to take an educated guess at what the Nomad, Corpo, or Street Kid origins could be.
Nomad is a word usually used to describe a wanderer, so this origin might be for a character who didn't grow up in Night City, but ended up there. Considering V sounds like they're going to be a gun for hire, making a name for yourself in the wider world and then having to flee/move to Night City completely makes sense. Onto Corpo: it's possible this lifepath has something to do with the powerful corporations that thrive in Night City. Perhaps V belonged to one of the corporations before getting fired or quitting to pursue a more adrenaline-fuelled lifestyle, or simply decided that they weren't into a wardrobe entirely made up of black clothing.
As for Street Kid, it's pretty self-explanatory. Pick this option and V will likely have grown up on the streets of Night City, knowing its ins-and-outs more than other characters and potentially saving your skin when people try to jump you in alleys. Who knows. According to the gameplay demo at E3 2019 your chosen lifepath will affect the dialogue options you'll have to pick from, with other options from different lifepaths being greyed out - so choose carefully…
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While here at GamesRadar, Zoe was a features writer and video presenter for us. She's since flown the coop and gone on to work at Eurogamer where she's a video producer, and also runs her own Twitch and YouTube channels. She specialises in huge open-world games, true crime, and lore deep-dives.
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