The deadlift is an intimidating lift. If you've never pulled a heavy deadlift - relative to your strength - then it's hard to understand. In theory, all you do is bend down, grab a big weight, and stand up straight. In practice, regular deadlifters are ticking off a mental checklist, double and triple-checking their form and how their body feels. Wrong moves on this lift can result in serious injuries, and even if you get absolutely everything right it's not unheard of to see monoliths of men start bleeding from the nose like Master Roshi and fall to the floor unconscious. This shouldn't put you off of the deadlift - it's an excellent movement that can help you build a strong, healthy body - but if you are pushing yourself, then your form is of utmost importance.
This is exactly why, when strolling through the dense, layered streets of Night City, I couldn't help but stop and stare when I saw an NPC attempting a deadlift. I've performed this lift potentially hundreds of times, and I've watched others do something wrong almost as many. When I came across an NPC setting up for what looked like a potentially over 100kg pull, I couldn't help but stop and stare.
Conventional form? Check, knees are on the inside of the hands, with a fairly wide grip. Back, butt, and knees in position? Check, back is straight, butt is pushed out, and knees are bent to accommodate the back angle. I continue watching the NPC and their feet shuffle beneath them, finding their balance and where their soles feel completely flat against the floor, the position where they can push with the most force. After a moment paused in this position, with feet still, the bar begins to move, and the NPC stood up straight. I almost couldn't believe it. Bathed in the neon lights of Night City's outdoor gyms, this NPC did a deadlift with near competition-level form.
Now, it wasn't perfect. The elbows were ever-so-slightly bent, which is a good way to prep yourself for a bicep tear, but this clearly motion-captured movement has to accommodate NPCs of different shapes and sizes. I couldn't help but be seriously, genuinely, impressed. Not just with the deadlift itself, but the attention to detail on display. I'm so used to walking around open worlds which profess to be as detailed as possible, but any time you put a critical eye too close to things they break apart. But here, in so many situations, the illusion held tight. This deadlift followed all the motions I would, and so many aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 did the same.
I found a man on a sofa, playing guitar with his small amp. He would just sit on the side of the street and play, and when looking closer at his fingers, it tracked. The chord shapes his hand made on the fretboard, the way he plucked and strummed at the strings, it was in time, it was convincing, it was clearly motion-captured, and it was clearly made with care and attention. That care and attention perseveres throughout Cyberpunk 2077, and it's made me take things slower, walk through the city more often, and take time to look at the small details.
The guys doing 100kg bicep curls in the gym are ridiculous though, I don't care if you have gorilla arms.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available for PC on GOG.COM, Steam and Epic, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Stadia from December 10, 2020. When you buy Cyberpunk 2077 on GOG.COM, 100% of your money goes to CD PROJEKT Group and supports their future projects.
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