The developers introduced many diverse quests in Cyberpunk 2077, which players continue to discuss to this day. Recently, a user under the nickname Synth Potato recalled The Hunt quest (or “Okhota na Okhotnika” in Russian localization). According to the plot, the hero needs to find River's nephew.
According to Synth Potato, this quest “stayed in his head forever” and he considers it one of the creepiest tasks ever created for video games.
Paweł Sasko, Cyberpunk 2077 Quest Director, reacted to the social media post and explained the idea behind this quest. The developer wanted to create an effect of unsettling anticipation without resorting to overt display of violence on screen:
The Hunt quest is a psychological thriller: violence is almost never shown directly, but is presented through thoughtful, deliberately restrained narrative techniques — files, emails, while the main discovery is hidden inside a braindance. The shocking discovery is the result of real detective work, not an action scene.
According to Paweł, the idea was for the quest to feel like True Detective:
It's a police drama in a cyberpunk setting, intertwined with River Ward's storyline. The creepy cartoon hints at the violence the villain experienced as a child; every slap sounds unpleasant and wrong, and the sight of a cow in a stall literally sends shivers down your spine. This is what I like about the cyberpunk genre — we can mix genres and themes to add spice, surprise and delight the player.
Currently, CD Projekt RED is developing a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 — Paweł Sasko is the game director of the project.