Cyberpunk 2077’s Food Is Begging For Cooking & Vendor Systems
Food doesn’t do much for players in Cyberpunk 2077. CDPR should have included the ability to prepare stat-altering meals at vendors in Night City.
Cyberpunk 2077‘s food options don’t add much to the game, and they could have been improved with the implementation of a proper cooking and vendor system. Prior to the game’s launch, it was speculated that Cyberpunk 2077 would feature a detailed cooking system, one that allowed for culinary creations, similar to how cooking functions in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. It was soon discovered this was not the case.
Most food items in Cyberpunk 2077 provide no real benefit as food is essentially equivalent to health packs. This can be useful for regenerating health outside of combat while exploring Night City, but not for much else. A well-developed cooking and vendor system could have added an extra dynamic to the role-playing element of Cyberpunk 2077.
While Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t feature hunger or thirst meters, something that harder difficulties could have benefited from, V can gain some passive buffs through eating and drinking. A positive nourishment status increases maximum health by 5% and health regeneration by 0.5% outside of combat, and a positive hydration status increases maximum stamina by 10% while also providing a 50% increase in regeneration speed. However, that seems to be the extent of the food-related element of Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 Could Have Included Meals To Buff Attributes
A well-developed cooking and vendor system would have added an extra layer of immersion to the already deep RPG and most played Steam game of 2021. Cyberpunk 2077 could have allowed players to craft meals with specific recipes and ingredients at vendors located throughout Night City. Instead, the food stands exist primarily for cosmetic purposes. Although it’s nice to be able to have V sit and enjoy some noodles and take in some Night City people-watching, it would have been beneficial to the game if these types of vendors were able to prepare special stat buffing meals.
There are locked doors and hackable targets throughout Night City that require V to have points invested in particular attributes in order to interact with the given object. Players running a melee-focused build in Cyberpunk 2077 will likely have the majority of their points invested in strength, preventing them from accessing content that requires a high amount of tech and intelligence stats. Those running a hack-focused netrunner build will encounter similar problems, only they will be lacking strength.
If players were able to temporarily increase their attributes through the preparation and consumption of specially crafted meals at vendors, they would be able to freely explore Night City without having to worry about which stats are required out of combat. This would allow for fully invested combat builds, no longer requiring the odd investment into an unrelated attribute. Even though CDPR has made it easier and more cost-effective to respec V’s stats with patch 1.3 in Cyberpunk 2077, nobody wants to spend their hard-earned eddies to temporarily reallocate attribute points.
CDPR missed an opportunity by deciding not to make food and vendors more impactful in Cyberpunk 2077. However, it is still possible that a cooking system could eventually be added to the game. With games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild laying the groundwork for well-developed cooking systems, and with next-gen updates on the horizon, it’s still not entirely clear what the next series of updates will provide. Hopefully, Cyberpunk 2077 will continue to see improvements and additional features as the future looks bright for this RPG title.
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