Highlights

  • Cyberpunk 2077 offers an open-world exploration of a dystopian cybernetic genre, with distinct characters and unique perspectives for fans to expand on.
  • Shards in the game provide extra information about a character's journey or history, but some are quite dark and should be approached with caution.
  • The lore of the game includes details about the Green Death, J.E. Davidson's Final Confession, Nomads, Dubai's destruction, and the Voodoo Boys, all of which add depth to the game's narrative.

Cyberpunk 2077 is filled with open-world exploration of the dystopian cybernetic genre in the fictionalized Night City. With an array of distinct characters, from Judy Alvarez to Johnny Silverhand, the series offers many unique perspectives for fans to expand on as they play the game.

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Throughout Cyberpunk 2077, weapons, mods, and vehicles all change the trajectory of a player's gameplay and character-to-character interactions, but the shards are a gamer's perfect mini-Easter egg since they offer more details regarding a character's journey or history. These data shards provide ample opportunity for players to shift through extra information that could help later down the line in their progression. However, some shards are quite dark, so players should prepare to get the quivers before reading them.

6 The Green Death

Type: Readable Literature Shard

The Green Death
  • Location(s): Ho-Oh Club in Kabuki, Aldecaldo Camp in Rocky Ridge, Badlands

"... when a man lives alone in the middle of the desert, he has a right to ask uncomfortable questions." Uncomfortable is a light way of putting it. This readable literature data shard reads like an excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, illustrating the isolation of the physical body and the desolation of the mind as the Green Phantom looms. Players are left to ponder if this entity is merely a myth or fact. Found in either the Badlands or in Kabuki, the Green Death shard shows a theme of exhaustion with the hellscape of the current world.

The Green Phantom itself embodies a hellish boogieman for criminals and miscreants alike. The exalted fear that protrudes around a green death is an eerie one for any player to come across. The revelation that criminals could suffer even more in a sublime hell is a quaking thought.

5 War Without End: J.E. Davidson's Final Confession

Type: Readable Literature Shard

War Without End Shard

  • Location(s): In V's Glen Apartment (mission)

Children with guns, murderers lurking in darkness, and recurring nightmares stir the pot in this literature shard. An unsettling scene of a child shooting the criminal narrator, J.E. Davidson, haunts his waking memories. This shard is not for the weak, as the violence is subtly normalized in a world of dreary misery.

The narrator describes his mental tormentor as he stalks him off a bus ride and into darkness. Malicious intent and a lust to kill motivate this killer's confessional shard. One of the most chilling last remarks includes J.E. Davidson's sinister enthusiasm as he pursues his oblivious prey and proclaims, "Only thing I know is: Tonight's gonna be a real good night..."

4 Nomads for the Thick-skinned

Type: Leaflet Shard

Nomads Shard
  • Location(s): Aldecaldo Camp in Rocky Ridge, Badlands, Sunset Motel on the I-9 in Eastern Wastelands, Badlands

Nomads comprise a massive portion of the Cyberpunk 2077 population amid the chaos and adventures of the game. In this leaflet shard, fans delve into the hefty, hard-outlined lore about the collection of Nomads in the game. The mass gang of renegades is the superimposing cyberpunk opposite of Fight Club, installing brazen fear into those who dare test the group's limitations and patience.

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Following three prime rules, the Nomads are a ruthless and dangerous 'bunch' willing to lose nothing and gain everything in the long run. This leaflet shard is extra informative for players looking to find new leads and advances with Nomad interactions and missions.

3 Dubai: Sand and Death

Type: Readable World Shard

Dubai Shard
  • Location(s): Arasaka Industrial Park in a house in Rancho Coronado, Santo Domingo, Aldecado Camp in Rocky Ridge, Badlands, the kitchen table inside Joss' house in Red Peaks, Badlands

Melted sand, shattered glass, and the forgotten vitality of an iconic location are all brought to memory through this data shard. It's revealed that five thermal nuclear bombs destroyed Central Dubai, leaving way for the land to be overrun by criminals and depravity. The nuclear-contaminated area poses a serious threat to anyone who dares venture through it. And the most hardened criminals have a reckless will to live wild and ruthlessly as life expectancy averages at thirty years.

This data shard exposes a grim reality for occupants of this dystopian and devastated Dubai. If a massive corporation like NetWatch refuses to capitalize on the area, players could find this data handy to avoid future combat or conflicts in or near this forbidden Dubian wasteland of terror. This shard can be found in various regions of the Badlands and in Santo Domingo.

2 Pathology of the Badlands

Type: Leaflet Shard

Badlands Shard
  • Location(s): Assault in Progress mission in Jackson Plains on the gas station, Arasaka Industrial Park in Arroyo, Santo Domingo

Following the vein of the Nomad lore, the Pathology of the Badlands is a shard of caution, warding off any naive ventures from devolving to the way of the Nomads and the waste of the Badlands. The plethora of subcultures of the Badlands is rich in terrorism and onslaught, offering a future dusted in nuclear waste and soaked in blood.

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For any generation to come, adolescents are automatically thrust into fight mode with little room for a brighter future like some of their counterparts at Netwatch or high-level techs in the heart of Night City.

1 The Voodoo Boys: What We Know and What We Don't

Type: Article Shard

Voodoo Boys
  • Location(s): East Valley Street in Rancho Coronado, Santo Domingo

Haitian Voodoo carries a long history of negative connotations for the darker uses of the occult. Cyberpunk 2077 fully taps into the mysteries of Vodun culture, while attributing immense power to a group recognized among many in Pacifica. The Voodoo Boys act as netrunners, protectors, and enforcers in any community they become a part of.

Their obscured past and origins leave room for much interpretation, which can be the thin line between life and war in Cyberpunk 2077. The group avoids or potentially wards off inner-city folk, keeping their mysteries and rituals coveted. This shard is eerie due to the vague context for how the Voodoo Boys are established in the series' narrative. Players should keep this shard handy when dealing with smaller, closed-off subgroups like the Voodoo Boys.

cyberpunk 2077 poster
Cyberpunk 2077

Released
December 10, 2020
Developer(s)
CD Projekt Red
Genre(s)
RPG , Action