Monthly Archives: January 2021

Image: CD Projekt Red

Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval, so if you're looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more, this is the place to be.

Cyberpunk 2077 released in early December 2020, and controversy surrounding its notoriously poor performance on consoles aside its a fun, gorgeous game on PC, especially if you have Nvidia hardware that enables ray-traced graphics. If youre still thinking about picking it up, you can snag the DRM-free version of the PC game thats redeemable on GOG.com from Eneba (a marketplace that sells codes weve featured it several times for its excellent deals on PS Plus memberships). Normally a full $60, it costs $35.18 at the time of publishing. Its worth noting that this key will work globally, according to Eneba, not just in the US.

The game might not be in the best state right now (though its many glitches do make for wonderful Highlight Reel content on YouTube), but developer CD Projekt Red has promised a few big updates coming in early 2021 that should address the most glaring issues that still linger.

Prices taken at time of publishing.

CD Projekt Reds much-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 is here. While the game is in need of some bug fixes, the PC version is especially gorgeous.

Sonys WH-1000XM4, its latest flagship noise-canceling headphones, are available for a great price at eBay if youre willing to go the refurbished route. Normally $350 outside of a deal (going as low as $278 for a new set), these are just $228. You can knock 20 percent off the cost by inserting the offer code PAY20LESSCR at checkout.

The seller, who has a 99 percent positive rating on eBay, says that these headphones are in like-new condition, and all original accessories are included. The seller provides free shipping and allows for a 30-day return window. If you live in the US, theyll have a two-year warranty through Allstate. As someone who owns the WH-1000XM3, this deal has me tempted.

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Sonys WH-1000XM4 improve on the previous generation with automatic pausing when you remove them, as well as multipoint Bluetooth connections. They have the same great sound quality and a very effective noise-cancellation effect.

There are more affordable USB-C hubs out there, but Dells puck-shaped model might be the one that suits you best. Normally around $75, Amazon and Best Buy are currently selling it for $60. It features an HDMI port and full-sized DisplayPort (with support for up to a 4K 60Hz monitor), a USB-C and USB Type-A port, Ethernet, and, last but not least, a VGA port. It does not support USB-C power passthrough to charge devices, though, so youll need to keep your laptop powered another way.

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Cyberpunk 2077 is nearly half off on PC - The Verge

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 wants to be like Grand Theft Auto to a certain extent, but theres one area the game didnt quite figure out on the way to launch, its use of cars.

Ive previously written about how all of the games car-based sequences are on-rails scripted, and obviously there is no AI for elaborate police chases, and you cannot even fire out of a vehicle outside of select mission segments. Even regular traffic AI seems baffling at times.

And yet the game has a massive amount of cars for sale, and they are some of the most expensive things you can spend money on in the game, with many priced above even legendary weapons or cyberware from stores. You will be constantly buzzed by fixers trying to sell you new cars, so its hard to know which are good and which are bad other than simply going by price. But even thats not a great idea.

Heres what I would avoid, to start with:

Nearly any vehicle under $50K is probably not going to be worth your time (with one exception in this list). They look bad, they are not fast, and are usually just a collection of vans and hatchbacks that will be no better than the car you start the game with.

Cyberpunk 2077

I would not bother saving up for the $250K Aerondight, the most expensive car in the game, as I do not think its dramatically better than most cheaper options, and if theres a supercar you want, there are easier ways to get one.

I would also not bother with the super expensive Arch Nazare racing bike, again, outclassed by far cheaper options.

All in all, I wouldnt buy more than a scarce handful of cars period, as you simply do not use them much other than to get from point A to point B, you can get a number of cars and bikes for free, and in segments like Claires races, it truly doesnt even matter how fast your vehicle is. In fact, the faster it is, the more likely you are to miss turns due to the games too-zoomed-in minimap navigation system.

But if you want my picks, here they are:

Cyberpunk 2077

Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X motorcycle (Street Cred 12 - $22K) This is a relatively cheap bike clearly modeled after the one for Akira. Bikes are great in Cyberpunk because they allow you to get around constantly clogged traffic lanes, and its one of the only times you can see your character in person. This was the first vehicle I bought. Nothing wrong with Jackies Arch, though, or the bike youll eventually get from the Nomads for free.

Cyberpunk 2077

Mizutani Shion "Coyote" (Street Cred 20 - $115K) This is my desert ride, as it will make navigating the dunes and long highways a breeze out in the badlands. Its expensive, but actually worth it. There is a way to get a version of this car for free, but it requires you to effectively betray Panam, so just be a good person and save up for it.

Cyberpunk 2077

Quadra Type-66 "Javelina" (Street Cred 30 - $73K) - There are a few different versions of this car in the game, but the badlands Javelina one is easily the best, a blend of strength, speed, handling and Mad Max-style looks. And unlike some of these others, theres no way to get one for free.

Cyberpunk 2077

Rayfield Caliburn (Street Cred 40 - $157K or free) For my money, this is probably the best all-around car in the game. Its fast, handles well and is less clunky than the Aerondight for $100K less. And as many players have figured out, this is a car you can actually get in the game for free if you go to a secret spot in a desert tunnel. Heres a video as to where to find it here. But if you want uh, both colors, youll have to pay for it.

Thatskind of it. I really just dont think its a good use of money to buy a bunch of cars in Cyberpunk given how many you can get for free through main or side missions or that you can find in secret locations on the map. I dont see any reason to buy cheap cars because theyre bad and sluggish. I dont see any reason to buy larger trucks and military-style vehicles as there is no real car combat in this game that you need to be sturdy for, ramming people off the road and such (with every sequence scripted, you cannot purposefully ram people of the road, in fact). So dont bother.

Those are my picks, you might have your own, but I think this is one area of the game that needs further development before you invest too many of your Eddies into it.

Follow meon Twitter,YouTubeandInstagram. Pick up my sci-fi novelsHerokillerandHerokiller 2, and read my first series,The Earthborn Trilogy, which is also onaudiobook.

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I Bought Every Cyberpunk 2077 Car And Motorcycle: Here Are The Best Ones - Forbes

The dead-eyed NPC has been the butt of endless jokes and memes for pretty much as long as 3D games have been around. When playing big-time open-world RPGs, you spend most of your time talking to digital faces. Whether thats in Deus Ex, Skyrim, or even The Witcher 3, if the NPC talking to you seems off in any way could ruin every gamers favorite synergistic word, immersion. This often leaves NPCs in the tough spot of either looking like a puppet or looking like Angelina Jolie in that movie Beowulf from 2007.

Now, with the release of Cyberpunk 2077, a new system for facial animation has entered the video game industry. Jali Technology has worked to create an animation system that takes all 44 of the English phonemes and animates them to an NPCs face along with an audio file. This is all based on machine learning and basic locations of jaw, lip, and tongue movements. Jalis tech also goes beyond English and supplies other phonemes from other languages, allowing Cyberpunk 2077 to sync multiple languages with relative ease.

So what does the future hold for this technology, and will it bring us closer to crossing the uncanny valley?

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Cyberpunk 2077 got its facial animation mostly right - Polygon

Cyberpunk 2077 mods

(Image credit: CD Projekt/xRevo94)

Cyberpunk 2077's modding scene is still in its infancy, but we've picked out a few of the best from the early selection. Check out the best Cyberpunk 2077 mods.

When Cyberpunk 2077's Night City was first shown off, a lot of people seemed to be surprised about just how sunny it was. Bright blue skies is not what the mind immediately conjures up when you think of dystopian cyberpunk cities, even if they are in the California desert. If you never quite got over this, there is of course a mod for what ails you.

I think there's room for more sunshine in cyberpunk, but I'm also Scottish, which means I just freak out at the sight of all that open space up therewhere the heck are all the clouds? It's unnatural. Essenthy's Climate Change mod means I can escape the terror of the great blue void by replacing it with something a bit gloomier.

Instead of sunshine, you can enjoy fog, pollution, toxic fog, clouds, overcast and the most cyberpunk of them all: plain rain. All of this foul weather appears normally without the mod, but picking one will make it the default, replacing sunny weather entirely. You'll still see other kinds of weather, so you won't be stuck with your choice, but that will become the most common type.

Creator Essenthy notes that the mod doesn't work in North Side, for some reason, and can be spotty in the Badlands. They hope to find a solution once more advanced modding tools become available.

The oppressive basic and toxic fog settings are my personal favourites, calling to mind Blade Runner 2049. That's when Night City looks as malevolent as it really is. Perfect weather for crime.

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This Cyberpunk 2077 mod makes Night City's weather appropriately crap - PC Gamer

Cyberpunk 2077 fans are sharing their best and worst photo mode pictures over on Twitter under the Shutterpunk2077 hashtag, which was rolling along Friday night. The results will make you cringe or stare with wonder, or sometimes both. Its no secret that the game can look stunning on the best hardware available, but, as you would expect, some of the PS4 and Xbox One users want to remind people that their experience is much different than anything going on with the PC or next-gen console versions.

During the launch of the game, it was a constant source of conversation as the last ten versions of Cyberpunk. CD Project Red had to put out a statement almost immediately to apologize to fans who couldnt secure a next-gen version of the title. To hear them tell it, there just wasnt enough time to make the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game sing.

Michal Nowakowski, the SVP of Business Development, issued this statement on a call. "It is more about us looking as was previously stated at the PC and next-gen performance rather than current-gen," Nowakowski said. "We definitely did not spend enough time looking at that. I wouldnt say that we felt any external or internal pressure to launch on the date other than the normal pressure, which is typical for any release. So that was not the cause."

"In terms of the certification process and the third parties this is definitely on our side," he added. "I can only assume that they trusted that were going to fix things upon release, and that obviously did not come together exactly as we had planned."

What is your favorite area of Night City? Let us know down in the comments! Check out the reactions down below:

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Cyberpunk 2077 Players Share the Best and Worst Photo Mode Snaps - ComicBook.com

Once V unveils the dark truth behind Jefferson and Elizabeth's mysterious personality changes in Cyberpunk 2077, they have a difficult choice to make.

After discovering the sinister truth behind Jefferson and Elizabeth Peralez inCyberpunk 2077's Dream On side quest, V will have a difficult choice to make: lie to Jefferson or tell him the truth. Here are the outcomes of both options, which influence the end credits ofCyberpunk 2077.

Following a successful investigation with V and River Ward, Jefferson Peralez and his wife Elizabeth hire the mercenary for avery disturbing sidequest in Cyberpunk 2077. Jefferson and Elizabeth have been experiencing strange lapses in their memories and events such as an intruder in the middle of the night. But after discussing it with their private security team, the team claims to have no footage of the incident and tell the married couple that it's just a dream.

RELATED:The Hardest Choices in Cyberpunk 2077

Of course, Elizabeth and Jefferson suspect something different and bring V in to do their own investigation. The protagonist eventually finds a hidden room inside their luxurious apartment in Heywood, where the private security team was seemingly doing secret surveillance. After further digging, V discovers that the Peralezes are being brainwashed, explaining the lapses in memory. Elizabeth suspected this herself as she saw her husband's personality changing before her eyes.

She'll meet with V in private and ask them to lie to her husband. Vmust meet with Jefferson, as he was the one who hired her,to explain what she found. But Elizabeth has been threatened by this mysterious group and fears their lives may be in danger if he finds out the whole truth. On the other hand, Johnny Silverhand believes living a lie controlled by possible rogue AI is wrong and he deserves to know the truth.

It seems that as far as the current version ofCyberpunk 2077goes, this decision has no influence on the main campaign and V will not observe much change with the Peralezes afterward. Either way, V will receive some dark text messages and be blocked from contacting both Jefferson and Elizabeth, and this is the last they'll hear from either until the credits.

On one hand, if V lies to Jefferson andtells the story that Elizabeth came up with, he'll be satisfied with the case. During the final credits ofCyberpunk 2077, he'll seem cheery with a positive outlook, but V knows that he's likely still being brainwashed. On the other hand, if V tells him the truth about being brainwashed, the credits will show Jefferson driven mad, no longer trusting the wife he once had a great relationship with.

While it might seem that this is all there is to the Dream On side quest, many fans believe this sinister story will make a return in the form ofCyberpunk 2077DLC.

Cyberpunk 2077is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.

MORE:Cyberpunk 2077's First DLC Might Be Cut Content

CD Projekt Red Dev Says Players Have Not 'Uncovered Everything' in Cyberpunk 2077

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Cyberpunk 2077: Should You Lie to Jefferson in Dream On - GameRant

While most choose to escape, one YouTuber decides to see what happens when Adam Smasher is eliminated in Cyberpunk 2077's prologue.

One of the aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 not enjoyed much by gamers was how short the main story felt in comparison to other games in the same genre. With this most recent in-game discovery, however, players may be even more shocked at how quickly the game can cut to the end credit sequence. This article contains story spoilers forCyberpunk 2077.

When Cyberpunk 2077was finally launched, fewpredicted that it would suffer from such a poor release. For the most part, player experience varied depending on the platform, with performance on the last-gen consoles being poor enough to spark refunds and a class-action lawsuit. Those that did manage to play through the story found that it didn't quite live up to the level of quality of previous CD Projekt Red games, likeThe Witcher 3. With this move, players may find a way to end the story before it even begins.

RELATED:CD Projekt Red Responds to Judy Romance Confusion After Modders Find Male V Voice Files

The prologue of Cyberpunk 2077 culminates in a mission called "The Heist," which sees V and Jackie infiltrate Konpeki Plaza to stealan experimental biochip from Yorinobu Arasaka. Eventually, the duo manages to make it back to the entrance and Delamain cab, which is surrounded by Arasaka guards. At this point, V would join Jackie in the back of the cab and the two would speed out of the plaza, with the guards and Smasher in hot pursuit. YouTuber KhrazeGaming instead decided to face the cyborg head-on.

Khrazeadmits to utilizing a cheat to glitch through the garage door, linking a clipping trainer that allows him to go through things. Withamod, the YouTuber manages to clip through the door that the Delamain cab would normally smash through. Navigating through the hallway leading outside brings Khraze face to face with the towering militant himself.

Surprisingly, despite the reputation of the deadly mercenary, Khraze managed to defeat him with a combination of breach protocol and a single Contagion cyberhack. Even more interestingly, when the gamer tested to see ifSmasher would attack him first, he found that the enemy was entirely nonresponsive. A prompt for Khraze to commence a takedown from behind didn't go through, although a simple melee attack was sufficient to reducethe cyborg mercenary to pieces.Upon death, the cyborg drops an access token that grants playersaccess to a secret stash normally inaccessible until later in the game, and includes the blueprint forthe legendary smart shotgun, Ba Xing Chong.

Strangely, once Khraze finally entered the Delamain cab, the following sequence still played out as normal, including the actions by the defunct cyborg. However, as the cyborg was dead and his body on the floor, he was missing from the sequence altogether, making for apeculiarexperience. Though this was all the result of a curious exploiter, this only highlights the various issues surrounding the bugs and glitches of Cyberpunk 2077 in hindsight.

Although this scenario doesn't induce a true early endgame scenario in the vein of Far Cry or Nier: Automata,it's still fun to see the outcome of V facing off against one of Cyberpunk 2077's most intimidating enemies.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, andStadia, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in development.

MORE:Hogwarts Legacy Should Learn From Cyberpunk 2077's Lifepaths

EA Claims It'll Develop Star Wars Games for 'Years To Come' Despite Lucasfilm and Ubisoft Partnership

Rumor has it that Frankie sees everything as if he himself were inside a video game. Although his passions lean more towards the silver screen, writing about video games isn't a bad trade. Besides, his love for immersive RPGs and story-driven action-adventure games means getting lost in the details of some of his favorite games, which include Destiny 2 and God of War. You can find him on Twitter @anerdcreates, on Stadia @bedsavvvy, and Soundcloud @bedhead.

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Someone Killed Adam Smasher During The Prologue in Cyberpunk 2077 - GameRant

Lets just get it out there in the open to start with, a lot of people have already been calling Cyberpunk 2077 out for a number of things, from faulty software to transphobic issues that a lot of people are having a problem with. But the most frustrating part of this is that its a GAME. There are bound to be a few bugs that might have been missed in the editing process but it does feel as though they should have fixed everything before releasing the game to multiple platforms. As far as anything else though, people feeling marginalized goes well beyond the gaming world since like it or not, people will find something, anything, to gripe about no matter where they have to go to do it. Itd be kind of surprising if people didnt feel the need to gripe about this anime version of the game for one reason or another, perhaps to say that it didnt feature enough diversity in it or that it didnt feature the characters that people wanted to see. It is a little trippy to be certain since the game itself is kind of a trip just to look at. But the whole idea of griping and whining about whats shown properly, whos represented the way they want to be, and what might need to be fixed apart from some very real programming bugs, is a bit juvenile. All a person has to do is not pay attention and go on with their lives, theres representation for just about everyone these days thats available in so many ways that its hard to think that people havent picked up on this yet.

The anime is just about as trippy as one would expect since this games whole point is to find a cybernetic implant that will grant the character immortality. In a game that focuses on cybernetic implants to upgrade and improve your character, this is something that would likely be one of the best and most rare things to find, especially playing online so many others that are willing to spend what it takes and sit in front of their screens for hours on end to find what they need to dominate. The anime kind of makes it clear that the game is a breakneck and ruthless kind of experience thats going to test a lot of people and likely inspire a lot of gamers to push past whatever social inequities that others are claiming exist. Without trying to negate such concerns, its still smarter to simply play the game, see what its like, and make snap judgments later. As far as the anime goes its another way to show that pretty much anything can be turned into anime and its going to get even crazier than it was before this kind of presentation.

Cyberpunk 2077 has been a highly anticipated game for a while now since not only does it feature Keanu Reeves, whos been one of the top dogs when it comes to action, but the vibrant and interesting world its been promising has been something that people were looking forward to seeing. But the fact that anyone has to gripe about it in any way other than performance is proof that theres almost nothing these days that folks wont pick apart when looking for something they want versus something thats already there and is the same grimy part of a grimy world that is bound to represent what the designer was going for in the first place. Those that want to go on record as having a problem with the material might want to think about creating their own games, their own stories, and their own content since like it or not, with games, with anime, and with anything in this world, those that create pop culture usually do so in a way that tries to be inclusive but might falter at some crucial step. But they also cater to the majority more often than not, and the majority of people that play games are bound to see the types of representation that they enjoy the most. If people have an issue with this, and they usually do, then its time to do something about it rather than sitting and crying in their gaming chairs that life isnt fair.

Change is still happening in the video game market and has already been coming to anime and the rest of pop culture as the years have gone by. But the truth is that were still bound to see storytellers and designers cater to those that are going to spend the most money to see what they want, and even designers are going to prefer to tell their own stories. What this means is that when it comes to pop culture, those that want to sit and whine about it are out of luck, while those that get up and do their own thing, which Cyberpunk is definitely a product of, will be able to write their own ticket.

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Cool Video Looks at Cyberpunk 2077 As if it Were an Anime - TVOvermind

Cadillac's Lyriq SUV represents a fairly dramatic shift in purpose for the American luxury brand. It's the company's first fully electric SUV, and as such, Cadillac is looking to distinguish it from other models. One way that it's doing so is by going outside normal automotive channels to design the user interface for its infotainment system.

Cadillac announced Thursday that it's teamed up with Territory Studios, a veteran of the video game industry that recently contributed to CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077, and Rightpoint, a company focused on designing user experiences.

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Now before you get all your Cyberpunk bug jokes ready, Territory was responsible for the Cyberpunk 2077 logo design and not, well, everything else. Rightpoint has worked on campaigns for retailers such as B&H Photo and Walgreens.

"In designing the user interface for Cadillac, we started with a vision but recognized that we were going to need a fresh perspective and new ways of thinking to turn it into a reality," said Bill Thompson, GM senior manager of user interface design, in a statement. "That's where Rightpoint and Territory Studio came into the picture. Both teams are incredibly talented and brought a new perspective that enabled us to design a personalized and elegant user-focused experience."

And elegant is an excellent way to describe the user interface, at least as far as Cadillac's demo video, embedded above, is concerned. It's all clean, minimalist illustrations and clear, legible text. The digital buttons or touch points are clearly labeled as well, and as long as the system is as snappy and smooth as it appears to be in the video, there's plenty to be excited about.

Cadillac's Lyriq is set to go on sale in late 2022, with a starting price of around $60,000.

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Cadillac works with Cyberpunk studio on the UI for its Lyriq EV SUV - CNET

Did you that if you own a copy of Cyberpunk 2077, you can also claim a copy of the Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop RPG?

Did you that if you own a copy of Cyberpunk 2077, you can also claim a copy of the Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop RPG? It's one of the many rewards you can get if you connect your version of Cyberpunk 2077 to a GOG account. It's not the most advertised or intuitive bonus to claim, however, so we'll walk you through the process.

Cyberpunk 2077 is actually part of a series created byMike Pondsmith. Its timeline is like our own, except that it splits off in 1990 to become the world of corps and body-altering tech seen in CDPR's video game. The first entry was a TTRPG released in 1988 but taking place in 2013. Pondsmith cited Blade Runner, Hardwired, and other sci-fi novels, movies, and anime as his inspiration.

The second edition released in 1990, called Cyberpunk 2020. The2020 sourcebook is what you get for free with Cyberpunk 2077.The Cyberpunk TTRPG actually has a more current edition called Cyberpunk Red, but 2020 is considered a seminal entry. It also happens to take place during Johnny Silverhand's heyday, giving you free reign to put Keanu in your tabletop adventures and blow up Arasaka yourself.

Related:Cyberpunk 2077 On Stadia Is Actually Pretty Good, So Long As You're Pulling 200MB/s Down

No matter which platform you're playing on, you need a GOG account to claim rewards. The ease of registering Cyberpunk 2077 to GOG depends onwhereyou're playing. This page from CDPR has a breakdown, but the easiest way is to buy Cyberpunk 2077 through GOG. This will automatically add all associated rewards to your account.

If you're using Steam/Epic, you'll need to log into your GOG account when the REDlauncher appears to start Cyberpunk.

If you're playing on PlayStation, Xbox, or Google Stadia, you should see a "My Rewards" option on the bottom right of Cyberpunk's main menu. Select this tab to reveal a special link to a rewards activation page. Alternatively, you can use the provided QR code to activate rewards on GOG Galaxy.

If you used a Steam or Epic copy ofCyberpunk, then the digital rewards will be downloadable through those clients. This includes a soundtrack, wallpapers, and a PDF of Cyberpunk 2020.

If you used the other methods, you'll instead have all these goodies in your GOG library. The quickest way to claim them is to download the GOG Galaxy launcher. Then, from your GOG library, access Cyberpunk 2077. You should see a tab at the top labeled "Extras." That tab will show you all of your digital rewards, including the Cyberpunk 2020 PDF.

Or you can go to GOG.com, click on your games collection, find Cyberpunk 2077 Digital Goodies, and download from there.

Once you've got your book, you can read up, create a campaign, and take your chooms on a wild ride through Night City!

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Sergio is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer. But usually he asks people to call him "Serg" because he wants to sound cool like the guy from System of a Down. He began as a convention reporter for FLiP Magazine and Albany Radio's The Shaw Report to get free badges to Comic-Con. Eventually he realized he liked talking to game developers and discovering weird new indie games. Now he brings that love of weird games to TheGamer, where he tries to talk about them in clickable ways so you grow to love them too. When he's not stressing over how to do that, he's a DM, Cleric of Bahamut, cosplay boyfriend, and occasional actor.

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If You've Got Cyberpunk 2077, You Have Tabletop Cyberpunk For Free - Here's How To Claim It - TheGamer