Pierogi World: How Much of Poland Is There in Cyberpunk 2077?
As the emotions following the release of ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ have slowly dissipated and as more and more people finish their playthroughs, Culture.pl decided to ask the most pressing question about the best-selling video game: how Polish is ‘Cyberpunk 2077’?
Even though CD Projekt RED is based in Poland and its roots are unmistakably connected to Poland’s recent history and the country’s transformation from communism, today’s video games are the results of international collaboration, teams that utilise assets and software tools developed in all corners of the world. We had no difficulties classifying the studio’s previous hit game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, based on the writings of the legendary author Andrzej Sapkowski, as 100% certified Polish.
However, the futuristic world of Cyberpunk 2077, based on Mike Pondsmith’s cult tabletop RPG system, escapes such simplistic labels. Containing references to American history (both real and imagined), sci-fi classics and pop-culture hits, the game’s lineage is as diverse as the population of Night City, where the story takes place. Nevertheless, a keen eye can spot countless easter eggs and references connecting the story of V, the game’s main character, to the everyday lives of Polish people. Come join us in this investigation of Cyberpunk 2077 and its Polish essence!
A Religious Powerhouse
Have you ever heard of someone called John Paul II? Apparently, he’s quite popular in Poland – in fact, according to Cyberpunk 2077, the Poles of the future became so tired of waiting for another Polish person to rule the Vatican that they decided to start their own Catholic Church. Walking around Night City, players can stumble upon a shard (an in-game encyclopaedia entry) describing how a Polish cardinal decided that it was about time Licheń in central Poland became the seat of the one true Church. Unfortunately, we failed to find a way for V to send a generous donation to the Polish Catholics, but there is no need to worry. According to the tenets of the newly established congregation, Poland is particularly loved by the in-game God. Perhaps this whole Cyberpunk 2077 thing is more science than fiction, after all.
The Wild Hunt (for Easter eggs)
Unsurprisingly, CD Projekt Red didn’t disappoint in scattering countless references to the Witcher franchise throughout the world of Cyberpunk 2077. Early in the game, players who decided to follow the Corpo origin story can look into one of the drawers in V’s office to find an issue of a retro gaming magazine. On the cover is none other than Ciri, the adopted daughter of Geralt of Rivia who, as readers of Culture.pl should all know by now, is the protagonist of the Witcher trilogy. Unsurprisingly, the 2015 superhit is still worth playing years after its original release.
Speaking of The Witcher 3’s leading characters, the developers of Cyberpunk 2077 must have been particularly fond of Roach, Geralt’s favourite and only horse. A quick survey of the many bars in Night City will lead you to believe that over the years, the faithful mare became one of gaming’s most beloved characters – the metropolis is filled with arcade machines you can interact with to play Roach Race, a racing game featuring the horse’s signature glitchy movement. A reference to Roach can also be found on Cyberpunk 2077’s preferred mode of transportation, as V’s first car sports a cartoon sticker of Geralt’s companion.
If that’s still not enough Witcher references for you, head to V’s apartment (assuming you purchased the game on CD Projekt RED’s GOG platform or linked your game there) and open the closet to find the Wolf School Jacket with Geralt’s medallion printed on the back (there is also a Wolf School T-Shirt, if that suits your style a bit more). With your new outfit, it would be best to head to Dandelion Cocktails (most likely named after Geralt’s best friend, the bard Dandelion) to enjoy a drink. Unfortunately, it is not possible to actually enter the bar, but let us hope that the developers will implement this feature in a future update. While they’re at it, they may as well add full functionality to the Pierogi World fast food restaurants that can be found on the streets of Night City – apparently people of the future finally realised that pierogi is the ultimate food and it’s about time that CD Projekt RED opened one of the in-game pierogi places to the players.
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The Sound of Music
Cyberpunk 2077 composers Marcin Przybyłowicz and P.T. Adamczyk put a lot of effort into the music heard in the game’s background, but other developers also snuck some of their musical tastes into the final product. Perceptive players who make it to the final credits might spot the name of Quebonafide, a popular Polish rapper. Although he did not record any songs for the game’s soundtrack, he nevertheless left a lasting mark on Night City. The eccentric artist voiced and served as an inspiration for one of the cyberpsychos, the game’s optional minibosses V is tasked to defeat. Players who opted for Polish language settings can head to North-Eastern Watson to fight Matt Liaw – Quebonafide’s in-game persona.
Alternatively, if your music taste is more 1980s and you are looking for an alternative soundtrack for your Cyberpunk 2077 playthrough, look no further than Maanam. In the Polish version, one of the missions from Judy Alvarez’s questline is called Tysiące Twarzy, Setki Miraży, which is a clear reference to the cult Polish band’s hit Szare Miraże. And although Cyberpunk 2077 does not feature the song on any of the in-game radios, we are fully convinced that driving through Night City whilst blasting Maanam’s 1980s rock bangers is actually the way the game was intended to be played.
Night City Bestsellers
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‘Cyberpunk 2077’, photo: CD Projekt Red
On that note, there is another reason why playing the game in Polish can be a good idea. During one of the missions for Meredith Stout, your choices might lead you to the discovery of a unique sex toy-shaped weapon. English-speaking players might merely chuckle at the item’s name – Sir John Phalustiff – but the Polish-language joke has additional layers of meaning. To some, Pan Twardeusz might be a forgettable crass joke, but others will take it as an invitation to form a deeper connection with Pan Tadeusz, one of Polish literature’s most famous characters and the protagonist of Adam Mickiewicz’s national epic.
And if you boot up Cyberpunk 2077 specifically to find suggestions for good Polish-language reading, the game has you covered! We did not manage to find the exact references, but the final credits hint that excerpts from Olga Tokarczuk’s brilliant novel Flights as well as from Wisława Szymborska’s poems appear in some of the in-game written entries. If you are ever feeling tired of the game’s neon-filled and hyper-stimulating ambience, the work of these two Nobel laureates might be the perfect way to decompress.
Naturally, these are not all of the Polish easter eggs and references present in the game. Rather than attempting to create an exhaustive list, we figured that Culture.pl readers might be tempted to jump into the world of Cyberpunk 2077 and go off on their own scavenger hunt for Polish traces in Night City. As for the verdict about the game’s Polishness, we’re afraid it’s still too early to tell. The current iteration of Cyberpunk 2077 sure has some Polish qualities, but if it were up to us, CD Projekt RED would amp up the Polish factor and base the upcoming expansion in Warsaw. In our view, Night City is only a teaser for the real Pierogi World.
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