Diary of a Manual: Part Two
08/29/22 — by George Smrekar
Cyberpunk: 2077 released in Dec of 2020. A controversial title, but one I wasn’t really tracking. While I would eventually platinum the game, I was not one of the 8 million pre-orders. More like, an impulse buy on a deep sale. First impressions however, were good. I was immediately drawn to the sleeve on the case, but I was not expecting what lay beneath. Namely the packet of papers that slid onto my lap. Was this…an instruction manual? Increasingly rare the past two console generations, this was surprising to say the least. Surprising in a good way. The collector in me as well as the ‘me’ that simply appreciates cool swag, immediately threw the game aside and collected my wares. All told, a lighter and thinner bundle than the Dragon Warrior set from Diary of a Manual: Part One, but a bundle nonetheless. Be still my beating heart. Where to begin? At the beginning, of course.
The manual cover is an almost obscuring black but undeniably a manual. A faint picture of a leather jacket emblazoned with a fiery visage, the trademark yellow Cyberpunk logo in the footer. But there’s more, something written beneath. ‘World Compendium’ it reads. This wasn’t a mere manual, it was a compendium. I like where this is going.
Presented in a stark black and white, the Table of Contents is chapter based, highlighted by headers pertaining to the contents of that page. We’ve got a history lesson care of ‘The Past’ featuring The Birth of Night City. A before and after of the 4th Corporate War as well as the Reconstruction and Unification, which leads into the story today. This ‘Present Day’ takes up the crux of the compendium with the most headers and the most pages. A Guide to the City with details on districts, gangs and all things gameplay. Weapons, implants, skills and the like. Rounding it off is a one page one-shot dedicated to ‘The Future.’
‘The Past’ introduces the player to some lore I can’t say I remember hearing about during the campaign. The birth of California’s Night City, brainchild of one Richard Night. An Andrew Ryan of sorts who dreamt of a city without poverty, crime or regulations/oversight from a centralized government. The City Council would be comprised of members from the largest corporations. Billion dollar mega-corps, big tech. What could go wrong it asks? Why, the collapse of civilization via three wars (including an orbital one), the fall of democracy, an angry Mother Nature, thermonuclear fallout from the Middle East and a global financial crisis following the collapse of the United States. Take that, Rapture. Things get worse before they get better.
The next few pages lay it on thick. A nuclear device explodes in the heart of Night City in Aug 2023, the death of legendary netrunner Rache Bartmoss triggers the release of thousands of viruses and malware into cyberspace. Global stock plummets, the US Pres’ declares nationwide martial law, a new Blackwall firewall seperates the open web from the rogue AIs of the Bartmoss incident as the public sacrifices vast amounts of knowledge and info for security. Corporations aggresively privatize farmland. Life is bleak. This sets the stage for change. Night Corp offers free cybernetic conversions to people willing to work in radioactive zones. Cities rebuild, the population booms, megastructures rise from the rubble. War ends with the Unification Treaty, as the Japanese Arasaka Corp returns to Night City for the first time since the nuclear blast and capital flows once again. The rich stay rich, while the poor stay poor.
This leads to Chapter Two: The Present Day. Basically a breakdown of the game’s six large districts. Each district gets a page of exposition describing the culture, class, aesthetic and enemies you’ll be facing. The accompanying pictures are unfortunately black and white, somewhat murky. While it does keep with the overall bleak look of the manual, it doesn’t highlight the diversity on offer. From the neon lights to the Badland brights, the Mad Max meets Blade Runner themes don’t fully translate to print. The focus then shifts to the various lifepaths of the Cyberpunk way. You’re a street merc, given three possible backstories from which to start your journey. Eight gangs are broken down and given personality, as are several corporations. It ultimately boils down to, shoot whoever shoots at you. To this end you are told about enhancing your own stock’n’trade via side missions, customization and skills that include hacking and weapon/body modding. The cyber to your punk.
From here it all boils down to a single page. Chapter 3 wraps up the compendium with a tease for Keanu Reeves’ character, Johnny Silverhand. A quick goodbye, yet still managing to put an exclamation point on it all. Something to the effect of “burn the city before it burns you.” ’nuff said.
So, what else is under the hood? The game also comes with three full color postcards illustrating three shots from three districts. Pacifica, Japantown and the seedy Coyote Cojo Club. If that’s not enough, there’s also a sticker pack. Nice inclusions, but they saved the best for last. A big unfolding map of Night City and its outskirts. Single-sided, black and white. Not as vibrant or vital as the Dragon Warrior map of Alefgard, but still a much appreciated trinket. Along with larger districts such as the City Center and Santo Domingo, it’s got tabs on smaller points of interest such as Arasaka Tower, the Northern Oilfields and an area inaccessible in the campaign. The Space Port on the Pacific Ocean. Perhaps the site of future DLC?
This caps the content, save for a card promising said DLC. But a manual, cards, stickers and a map? Not many games still make such cost prohibitive gestures. I appreciate it and will take what I can get. Digital sales have taken a bite out of the physical market, but there’s still a niche for this sort of novelty. The days of Dragon Warrior’s full color fanfare are probably never coming back. Despite this, Cyberpunk bucks the trend. Even though the compendium may fall short of 1989’s lavish Dragon Warrior Handbook, it still stands head and shoulders above the empty cases that dot the 2022 landscape. You’re not even guaranteed a disc with a Collector’s Edition these days. A story for another time. But this time, all is right with the world. If for a moment.
