„You can tell Night City was designed by Europeans.” Cyberpunk 2077 fans in the U.S. spotted some inconsistencies in the dystopian city
The Night City may look menacing at first glance, but it is, against all appearances, quite a nice place. At least for pedestrians.
Is Night City too... European? This may seem like a joke, but it's not - it's an actual discussion that recently appeared on a Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit. The author began by comparing the design of the megacity to real-life cities they're familiar with, which led them to an interesting conclusion - there’s nowhere to park, something that seems unimaginable to a typical American.
Given how 22% of a typical American city's surface consists of parking lots, finding a parking space in Night City seems nearly impossible in comparison. Majority of the time i end up parking just on the curb, usually knocking down a few rails to make space
Where are the parking lots?
Although parking problems - and driving, for that matter - appear to be common in Night City, other fans note additional signs indicating that the city is not very American:
What really baffles me is that in a world run by huge corps the only sources of nourishment look to be small independently run street vendors.
Where are the chains of huge supermarkets?
Before we accuse the developers at CD Projekt RED of inconsistency in designing public spaces, let’s consider another perspective that highlights a crucial issue - one tied to the origins of the entire game (and the cyberpunk genre itself):
Cyberpunk is just the 80s exaggerated, and a lot of places in California during the 80s had some parking issues, such as Santa Cruz, the city Mike Pondsmith is from.
This interesting reflection is also supported by other fans who lived in Santa Cruz for a while, including during the 80s. On the other hand, the discussion also offers some ingight that sheds more light on the differences between America and Europe. One of them is an efficient public transportation system people actually want to use:
Another thing that you can tell the game was made by poles, is the fact that two fold fact that there is a robust and well maintained public transportation system, and that the city is VERY walkable. As someone whose lived in SoCal my entire life, that is utterly farcical that a Californian city whose name is not San Francisco has such robust alternatives to cars. Also there is a lot of parking, in mostly closed to player parking structures, both above and below ground.
It seems Night City isn’t quite as dystopian as it seems - at least compared to some U.S. cities. Whether that’s a flaw or a boon is up to you to decide - but the fact is, when it comes to public transportation, the city is a pretty good alternative to many modern urban areas.
This is a joke, obviously - there are plenty of dangers in Night City that overshadow the convenience of an efficient subway system. Still, it’s reassuring to see that the city isn’t all grim and tears after all.
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Author: Danuta Repelowicz
Spanish heart and Japanese soul. A film studies graduate with a particular fondness for RPGs and fighting games. An enthusiast of arcane knowledge, space sciences, musicals, and volcanoes. Grew up on Onimusha, Tekken, and Singstar. Previously associated with GamesGuru, she has been writing and creating since childhood. Personally, she is also a vocalist and a 4th Kyu Shorinji Kempo practitioner. She specializes in narratology and character evolution, adeptly navigating themes of archetypes and symbols. Her hallmark is versatility, and her curiosity often leads her into the wildest realms of the mind and imagination.
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