What’s an open-world adventure without its characters?
Even in post-apocalyptic environments like those of Horizon: Zero Dawn (2017) and TLOZ: Breath of the Wild (2017), it’s the characters that make exploring worth it.
Characters are critical in games set in densely populated urban sprawls like Night City. It’s no longer enough just to have a couple key characters. Instead you need vendors, police, enemies, and all sorts of diverse crowds to breathe life into the concrete jungle.
There are many unique and intriguing non-player characters in Cyberpunk 2077, but modders are never satisfied.
Whether you want to spruce up the looks of story-relevant characters or make crowds more believable, here are some fantastic NPC mods you can download right now.
Humans have the unshakable fantasy that someday, somehow, we’ll be able to ward off aging for good – but will we have such a thing by 2077?
According to this mod by Flameshaow, we definitely will.
This add-on lets famous fixer Rogue Amendiares look as young as she did back in the 2020s. She already looks remarkably young for someone presumed to be over 80 years old, but this takes it to the next level.
Whether she’s really stopped aging or just replaced her entire face with prosthetics is up to you to decide.
Johnny Silverhand’s identity as a cybernetic ghost is shown by the glitchy visual effect seen on his model whenever he’s on-screen.
It’s practical, but is it realistic?
Most of what we see of Johnny is being rendered inside your character’s head rather than projected out into the world. Why would they look like they’re on a screen?
Plus, it’s 2077!
I really hope we’ve solved v-sync issues by then.
This simple mod by SilverEzredes removes the glitch effect and lets you admire your childhood rockerboy hero in all his glory.
After you’ve cleared the game at least once, you’ll be raring for some novelty on your second run.
Mods are one of the best ways to add subtle changes for a renewed experience.
The NPC Appearance Mod by modder xBaebsae makes slight changes to the wardrobe of many major characters. You’ll see Johnny wearing the Samurai jacket, Panam trying out new tops, and you’ll even catch Vik with no glasses for once.
It’s not a complete overhaul of every character, but every little bit of variation is a win in open-world sandbox games.
One of the most surprisingly popular characters in Cyberpunk 2077 is Viktor Vektor, a seasoned ripperdoc with an excellent work ethic and more than a soft spot for V.
After so much time spent ripping people up (to make room for implants), it was a matter of time before he ripped off his own shirt.
And, of course, this doc is totally ripped.
His sculpted abs will look fantastic under the moody light of his workshop, and at least you can distract yourself with his glistening biceps while he’s working on your new cyberware.
I’ve seen developers try to nail crowd behavior over and over again ever since Assassin’s Creed II made crowds a critical part of any realistic open-world city.
There’s a fine variety of random NPCs in Cyberpunk 2077.
But their seemingly complex routines won’t stand an examination. Hang around in the same place for a couple minutes and you’ll see them walk around in circles.
Modder TemplarGFX improves the illusion of a living, breathing city by cycling through NPCs more often, creating the illusion of many more people passing through Night City’s busy streets.
One thing I don’t like about Cyberpunk 2077 is its apparent lack of goth girls.
I know societies change and evolve as time passes, but if Misty can go around looking like a glam rocker, there should be at least one goth gal in Night City.
Creator Smorris2012 fixes this issue by turning Misty herself into the goth babe we always deserved.
Considering she’s some sort of new-age spiritualist, I think the look fits the character well.
The dark lipstick and oddly comfy-looking goth clothes transported me to a time where goth babes were all the rage and all games or teen-oriented media had at least one. Those were the days.
For something much less dramatic (but nonetheless appealing), consider Koralina’s improved take on Judy’s face.
Even while working as a skilled techie, this idealistic young woman finds some time for her skincare routine. You can’t hide anything from 4K resolution.
Depending on your tastes, you get to choose whether Judy has cute freckles or skin as perfectly smooth as a K-Pop singer’s.
What’s an open world without companions to traverse it with?
Creator Catmino must have felt kind of lonely when they created the Companion Mod, which lets V recruit anyone to travel and fight alongside them, no matter their previous relationship.
It’s like playing a character with maxed-out charisma in a pen-and-paper RPG.
Not even the well-trained cyber-enhanced soldiers of Arasaka will know what to do when an army of vendors, story-relevant characters, and even their own mind-controlled comrades marches into their territory.
If you really want to unlock Cyberpunk 2077’s potential as a sandbox to make your futuristic chaos dreams come true, you’ll need to expand your control over the game world.
The NPC Tool by Raymandv is a fantastic way to achieve this.
It gives you almost complete control over anyone around you, from their looks to their life.
You can choose from various appearances for any NPC and stun or overload them, set them on fire, or prompt them to take their own lives.
Conveniently, this tool will also work on vehicles, letting you choose from any possible version of supercars you find lying around in Night City.
Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.
