Much variety, customizability, and fluidity were touted for the character creation options coming to Cyberpunk 2077. Those are all well and fully available now as the CD Projket Red game has arrived at long last. But are they actually worth the wait?

Cyberpunk 2077 was touted as an immersive game that would let players take on their ideal version of V, the main character, with a ton of options to do just that. To be completely fair, the "cyberpunk" character customization options, while limited, are pretty cool; a variety of cybernetic implants, chrome and neon accents, and full-body tattoos await you. Beyond that though, it's not exactly cutting-edge and is actually a step backwards when it comes to character creation, in my humble, RPG-oriented opinion.

Let's start with the basics here:

Character creation in Cyberpunk 2077
Image via CD Projekt Red

Body type - You basically get a binary option between a default masculine or default feminine body; same goes for the voice. That's it. Even the much beleaguered and recently resurgent Fallout 76 had a more fluid body type selector in the form of a triangle with Muscular, Thin, and Large body types at each vertex; the ability to pick a point somewhere in between and among those extremes led to a more realistic representation of the human body. Not so in Cyberpunk 2077.

Hair, Skin & Face - Players get a lot of variety here in both shape and visual accents, from color to cybernetic implants to tattoos, to make-up and blemishes. The skin tones are on a gradient but some of them have a bit of a sickly green shade to them, and I'm not entirely sure why. However, elsewhere in the customization, you're at the mercy of the colors and patterns that the CDPR team has chosen to provide. Character creation could have benefitted mightily from simple additions like a color wheel, finish slider (glossy, matte, etc.), and default patterns that can be modified by color, transparency, etc. These are relatively easy adds that had been a part of character creation mechanics for a long time but have been lost for some reason or another in recent years. So while you certainly have options here, they are what CDPR chooses for you.

Genitalia - Earlier this year, we brought you the news of nudity options, though in the game itself those are actually pretty limited and not all that impressive or ostentatious. We're not talking about Conan Exiles here. (Don't worry, no NSFW images here; I kindly point you towards your nearest Google machine if you're interested in such things.) Female body types have three different breast sizes -- small, default, and large -- and both body types have the availability of male or female genitalia. Male genitalia comes in two sizes and both sets of genitalia have a variety of pubic hair style and color options. Why? Who knows! But they're there to mess around with should you choose to do so. However, much like this neutered article, you can also set the Nudity Filter to ON to block any such offensive material.

Character creation in Cyberpunk 2077
Image via CD Projekt Red

The real customization comes, ironically enough, after the character customization screen. Cyberpunk 2077 is more concerned with the internal implants and cyberware enhancements than it is with outward appearance and visual appeal. Being completely fair, the game's character creation has plenty of variety for gamers out there to play with, it's just not rewriting character creation itself. Modifying your own particular cyber-powered protagonist, however, is sure to become a one-of-a-kind experience.